Doc: ‘A young Traveller Lost’
Patrick ‘A Young Traveller Lost’, a ground-breaking documentary by Virginia's Alan Bradley that shines a light on the alarmingly high suicide rates within the Irish Traveller community, will be shown on RTÉ One next Monday, November 27.
Directed and produced by Bradley for Alleycats Films, the 9:30pm documentary tells the harrowing, deeply personal story of 12-year old Patrick McDonagh from Finglas who lost his life to suicide a year ago.
Sensitively following his parents, Michelle and Pat, as they come to terms with their loss, the film explores the wider multifaceted challenges facing the community and highlights the devastating impact on those left behind.
Leading Traveller voices from around the country including Senator Eileen Flynn and Director of the Traveller Counselling Service Thomas McCann, contribute to delve into the complexities facing this marginalised and often discriminated against community. It also hears the accounts of Bernie Power, Helena Power, Samantha Joyce and Josie Cash (Kilkenny Traveller Movement).
Michéal MacDonnachada, a member of the Irish Traveller community, was an assistant producer throughout the making of the documentary.
The award-winning Bradley who recently had his documentary short 'My Cure and Me' selected for screening at the DOC NYC festival - an annual documentary film festival in New York City- worked closely with multiple Traveller organisations in the making of Patrick ‘A Young Traveller Lost’, including Meath Traveller Network and Kilkenny Traveller Movement.
Along with directing - working for RTÉ, BBC and VMTV - this year saw Bradley play the role of ‘Owen’ in RTE drama ‘Clean Sweep’ and ‘Sean’ in the current EBS Mortgage commercial.
In 2020 he directed and produced the hit RTÉ One documentary ‘Seán’, exploring the life of the legendary GAA manager Seán Boylan.
The year after Bradley directed and produced ‘Unspoken’, a landmark documentary for RTÉ One exploring the hidden issue of men living with eating disorders in Ireland. The documentary was Royal Television Society and Celtic Media Festival nominated and won two awards at the Headline Mental Health in Media Awards 2022.