A Derry television company is holding its own in the competitive independent industry worldwide.
Taking on a challenge is at the heart of Alleycats TV after having been founded by thrill- seeker, multi-award-winning producer and director, Ed Stobart 10 years ago.
With family connections to Northern Ireland, he could see that Derry, with its renowned creativity, could be the ideal place to start his own independent television production company, away from the crowded markets of Belfast and London.
Read More
Related Articles
Read More
Related Articles
The company’s first productions, ‘Life Patrol on the Banks of the Foyle’ on BBC NI followed the volunteers from Foyle Search and Rescue and ‘Here Comes the Summer: The Undertones Story’ on BBC NI and BBC4, appeared in 2012.
Since then, output has snowballed, with international documentary films and much-loved local shows winning Alleycats TV award after award from the Royal Television Society (RTS) to the Celtic Media Awards.
AlleycatsTV – Some of the team from the award-winning Derry independent production company
(Image: Stephen Latimer)
Currently making two factual entertainment series for BBC3, as well as series three of the RTS award-winning format ‘Pulling With My Parents’ for RTE, producer / director and ‘Derry girl’ Niamh Minihan, who has been with the company since 2012, still can’t believe she found her dream job right on her doorstep.
She said: “Having worked in other cities, it is not all it is cracked up to be. I realised you can have the best of both worlds, you can have an exciting, creative career in your hometown which offers quality of life and access to your family and Donegal.
She said: “I didn’t think that would be possible, I always thought you would have to leave Derry to get the job opportunities.”
Adding to their television plaudits, Alleycats have moved into filmmaking in more recent years, with the Des Henderson directed, award-winning feature length documentary, ‘How to Defuse a Bomb: The Project Children Story’, narrated by Liam Neeson, released in 2016.
It tells the story of Denis Mulcahy, the man behind ‘Project Children’, the first scheme of its kind that brought children from both communities in Northern Ireland to the USA for the summer in a bid for peace and reconciliation.
Welcome to MyDerry, a brand new local news channel dedicated to the city.
Falling under the Belfast Live banner, MyDerry is part of our drive to cover news, people and events in your area.
We’re always open to ideas and if there’s a story that you think needs reported or a person doing great things in the community, you can send us an email at [email protected] and we’ll do our best to cover it.
Sign up to our FREE newsletter here for the latest news straight to your inbox.
You’ll also find MyDerry on:
In 2019 came ‘Tiananmen: The People Versus the Party’, an international feature-length documentary for PBS, ARTE and BBC Storyville.
Niamh said: “There is a misconception that we only do local programmes. We have done a number of shows for BBC NI, but we’ve done a lot more besides, including the documentaries and projects commissioned by US and European broadcasters.
“‘Raiders of the Lost Past with Janina Ramirez’, a history series which has just finished on BBC, has just sold to over 30 territories around the world.”
AlleycatsTV – Some of the team from the award-winning Derry independent production company
(Image: Stephen Latimer)
Closer to home, Alleycats TV are the geniuses behind local favourites like ‘Keeping Her Country’ and ‘Pulling With My Parents’.
Having survived the pandemic, Alleycats TV is now stronger and busier than ever, with generally over 20 people working for them at any given time, with currently 13 in the Derry office, and the rest in Belfast, Dublin or London.
Niamh said: “It’s such a great place to work and there’s such great communication between the team that everything gets done and we’re enjoying the success that comes to us through our hard work and commitment. There’s always another exciting story to be told and it’s up to us to find it.”
For more Derry news, visit our new site MyDerry.
Read More
Related Articles
Read More
Related Articles
