In December of last year, Film Ireland presented Screen Sessions Live, an afternoon of in-depth conversations on craft, career and creativity between talent from the Irish screen industries - made possible with the support of Screen Ireland and hosted by our partners Griffith College.
We are now delighted to share three of the in-person conversations as podcasts beginning with Casting Director Maureen Hughes (The Miracle Club, Small Things Like These, Once, Abigail) who is conversation with Filmmaker, Producer and Actor Mo O’Connell (SPA Weekend, Girls, Hum, Horseshoe).
Pics: Beta Bajgart
Maureen Hughes
In 1984, she joined Druid Theatre Company, working with Garry Hynes, which led to a three-year contract as Casting Director in 1990 at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin. She worked with Susie Figgis in London as Assistant on The Butcher Boy, directed by Neil Jordan, and The Full Monty. She returned to Dublin to work on The Boxer with Jim Sheridan and Daniel Day-Lewis. Over the past twenty years, she has worked with screenwriter-directors Martin McDonagh, Sam Shepard, Paolo Sorrentino, Jim Sheridan, and John Carney.
Films include The Martini Shot with Matthew Modine, Barber with Aidan Gillen, Extra Ordinary, directed by Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman. Maureen provided additional casting for US blockbusters Abigail, directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, and The Apprentice, directed by Ali Abbasi. Most recently, she cast That They May Face the Rising Sun, directed by Pat Collins for South Wind Blows; Apocalypse Clown, directed by George Kane for Fastnet Films; The Miracle Club, directed by Thaddeus O’Sullivan; Fréwaka, directed by Aislinn Clarke; and, the critically acclaimed Small Things Like These, starring Cillian Murphy, directed by Tim Mielants for Parallel Films.
Her work on Irish television is marked by a five-year series of Love/Hate, written by Stuart Carolan. Other TV dramas include Raw, Charlie, Rebellion, Acceptable Risk, and more recently, the critically acclaimed Taken Down, Hidden Assets, and Louise Lives Large for Tailored Films. For American TV, she has cast Dawn for Hulu and Nightflyers for NBC Universal, directed by Andrew McCarthy.
In theatre, Maureen cast all of Martin McDonagh’s early work, including The Beauty Queen of Leenane, winner of several Tony Awards on Broadway, The Lonesome West, The Lieutenant of Inishmore at the Gaiety with Paul Mescal, Hangmen, Sive, and The Ferryman, which will open in January. She worked with Sam Shepard in Derry on his final play, A Particle of Dread, starring Irish actor Stephen Rea; Piaf at the Gate Theatre; the critically acclaimed The Steward of Christendom with Owen Roe; and the much-loved LGBTQ+ musical, Fun Home.
Mo O’Connell
Mo O’Connell is a multi-award-winning actor, writer, director, and producer. She is the founder and head of 3 Hot Whiskeys Productions. She has recently wrapped on the feature film, Horseshoe (formerly The Clan Canavan), which she co-produced with Wavewalker Films and 3 Hot Whiskeys Productions. Mo has just been selected by Screen Ireland for the Creative Leaders Course, led by Stephen Fagan and Fiona Flynn. She also helmed the Screen Ireland Focus short Come Back as Production Manager in April 2024, with Helen O’Reilly as Writer/Director. Mo won the ‘Best Performer in a Play’ award from the Broadway Ireland Theatre Awards in January 2024 for her role as Lizzie in the critically acclaimed AboutFACE Theatre production of The Devil Himself by Paul Nugent. Mo’s most recent films, Haven and Bruise, have won numerous awards on the festival circuit. Bruise has earned Mo several director awards, including Best Arthouse at the prestigious Fastnet Film Festival in May 2023. Haven won Best Short Film at the B3 Biennale Moving Image Film Festival in Frankfurt in October 2023. Mo holds a BA in Acting from RADA and a Higher National Diploma in Film Production from Ballyfermot College. She has made over 12 short films and directed her own multi-award-winning comedy feature-length film, SPA Weekend, which won the ‘She is on Fire’ Award at its World Premiere at the Female Filmmakers Film Festival Berlin in 2019.
During the Dublin Gay Theatre Festival in May 2023, Mo directed the World Premiere of Garret Baker’s play The War Wounded. It earned four nominations and won Best Actress for its lead, Liath Hannon. Mo was selected for the Advanced Producer’s Programme, run by TU Dublin and Screen Ireland, and was chosen to participate in the prestigious Lord David Puttnam Scholarship. This excellent and inspiring course concluded at the end of July 2023, with Mo being awarded a Distinction for her studies in the Diploma in Advanced Producing, ratified by Screen Ireland and TU Dublin. In addition to her work in film and theatre, Mo runs the Dublin International Comedy Film Festival, which won Screen Ireland funding in 2024. She is a graduate of RADA, London, with a BA in Acting, where she received the Henry Marshall Award for Outstanding Acting in her second year of training. She also holds a Diploma in Film Production from Ballyfermot College.
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About Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland
As the national agency for the Irish film, television drama, animation and documentary industry, Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland is the creative partner to the sector, investing in talent, creativity and enterprise.
About Griffith College
Founded in 1974, Griffith College is Ireland’s largest independent third-level institution, with campuses in Dublin, Cork, and Limerick. Located just a mile from Dublin’s St. Stephen’s Green, the main campus blends historic charm with modern amenities. Recognised by Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), Griffith offers internationally accredited degrees, professional courses, and corporate training to over 7,000 students. As it celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2024, the College continues its legacy of academic excellence, producing graduates who excel in fields such as business, law, media, engineering, and the arts.
About Screen Sessions
Film is a collaboration of creatives, artists and practical skill sets across a number of fields. With the support of Screen Ireland, Screen Sessions brings together emerging and established creative voices and filmmakers and gain a unique insight into their careers and accomplishments.
These talks began as a series of Podcasts which culminated in this live events and featured creatives from a variety of backgrounds; Ed Guiney (Normal People), Nora Twomey (The Breadwinner), Annie Atkins(The Grand Budapest Hotel), Jill Beecher (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), Mark O’Halloran (Adam and Paul), Richard Baneham (Avatar), Ciaran Donnelly and Jérôme Eltabet (The Substance)
Listen back to these in-depth discussions here.
