I come from a small village in County Wexford. My interest in studying journalism comes from my natural curiosity and my love for talking to many different people about many different things. Coming from a big family with four siblings probably encouraged this! I think journalism is so important, and I am lucky and grateful to have had the opportunity not just to write but also to produce radio and video pieces on multiple topics during my four years.
My passion lies with Environmental reporting and human-interest stories, in which, throughout my thesis and final year documentary, I covered both areas of interest. Choosing video as my major for my final project was easy, as I wanted to try something new; I have always had an interest in video from a young age. I was delighted to have the opportunity to make a documentary this year.
Alone, not lonely.
The piece focuses on loneliness in rural Ireland, particularly among the elderly community. Ireland is the loneliest country in Europe, with 16% of our population being over 65. The narrative follows a farmer in his eighties who lives alone in Wexford. Whom, even though lives alone, is not that lonely, thanks to his work that keeps him busy, and his good neighbours. The Documentary shows his everyday life, following him around his farm.
Uncovering his personality as you watch. I chose this topic after a conversation was had at an event I attended last year, where the discussion lied with neighbours and how often you would see/ interact with them. Being from a small village this was often for me, but I found out it is not as common as I thought. This with the mixture of loneliness and ageing sparked my idea, thinking about all the people living alone in rural Ireland and wondering what they do to survive it. The documentary style is character driven with my subject being the focus, dipping out an in of the main issue at hand loneliness. I hope that people feel inspired to get to know their neighbours if they don't already after watching my piece.
