Rising to occasion for 1916 celebration

Lifestyle – Judy Murphy goes behind the scenes in Woodford of ‘Eipic’ a major new television production

A massive John Deere tractor is proceeding at a stately pace down the street of Woodford in South Galway on a sunny Friday morning. No surprises on that score – it’s the height of silage-wrapping season in this hilly, scenic area.

What is unusual in this quiet place is the cluster of young people and vans assembled on the street outside the former Waldorf dance hall. The upstairs area of this once-buzzing venue has been transformed into an abandoned post office, where posters from 40 years ago warn people not to be TV Licence dodgers and extol the virtues of holidaying in Ireland.

The group are members of the cast and crew working on Eipic, a six-part series, costing about a million euros that’s being made for TG4. Eipic will be broadcast early next year as part of the commemorations for the 1916 Rising.

But Eipic is a commemorative story with a difference, one that’s designed for a young generation. This musical/comedy series tells the story of five teenagers in a fictional town called Dobhar, who take over a derelict post office to create their own revolution. Theirs is a musical rebellion, says Ciara Nic Chormaic, who is producing the series for Magmamedia, an established film company based in Furbo, west of Galway City.

Magamedia decided to shoot the series in Woodford because it had none of the problems that make Galway City and its environs such a nightmare in summer, says executive producer Paddy Hayes. Last year, when Magamedia was shooting the award-winning series Corp + Anam around Galway and Oranmore, cast and crew spent hours stuck in traffic every day, hours when they could have been filming.

Woodford, which has an air of dignified neglect, also has other resources that are rare in the suburban areas of Spiddal and Furbo – it has masses of old, unused buildings that provide perfect sets and backdrops for Eipic’s various scenes. Its hilly, wooded hinterland makes it ideal for exterior shots, while the peace and quiet are a soundman’s dream.

In addition, because film shoots are rarer here than they are in South Connemara, people are glad to see them, Paddy feels.

The Woodford location is impractical on just one level. Being 40 miles from Galway City makes a daily commute problematic. So the cast of 35 and 42-strong crew have settled locally for the duration of the shoot. Renting private houses from Ballinakill to Whitegate, they enjoy an occasional pint in the village pub, although a schedule that runs from 8am to 7.30pm doesn’t leave much time for socialising during the week. Some people have been here for four weeks; the preparatory crew came over two months ago.

Magamedia’s Woodford headquarters is the Mercy College. A Maths room has been turned into production offices; there’s a props department in the gym, and a science lab is the dining area, where a catering company supplies all meals for cast and crew. It’s perfect, says Paddy.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.