A sensitive time told with feeling
THERE was success for Sligo’s David McGowan at last week’s Royal Television Society (RTS) Awards.
‘ The Funeral Director’, produced and directed by Gillian Marsh of GMarsh Productions, scooped top prize in the Specialist Factual category.
The programme, which aired on RTÉ in December 2019, offered a unique insight into the work of Mr McGowan and his staff in the funeral business.
The documentary lifted the lid on the work of an undertaker and embalmer in caring for a deceased person when they pass away, and also focused on the rituals and traditions surrounding a funeral in Ireland.
The documentary won widespread acclaim following its broadcast, and it has now been further recognised through this award.
Mr McGowan, a native of Easkey, owns and runs McGowan’s Funeral Directors with funeral homes situated in Market Yard, Sligo (Foley and McGowan’s Funeral Home) and in Ballina (McGowan’s Funeral Home).
The award ceremony, broadcast on Virgin Media Television last Tuesday, included a contribution from Mr McGowan who was on screen via a virtual link.
“I’m delighted and I’m delighted for Gillian Marsh as well,” he told host Muireann O’Connell.
“I had to trust the producer coming inside my business because its a very sensitive business and I didn’t want to offend any people of the thousands of people I had looked after.”
Further praising the efforts of producer Gillian Marsh, who is based in Crossmolina in North Mayo, Mr McGowan said the sensitive nature of the production was a key part of its success.
“She [Gillian Marsh] knew what she wanted but she did it in a very sensitive way and that allowed me get permission from all the families.
“I guaranteed the families that it wasn’t making a skiff of the funeral or a laugh about it, I told them people needed to see what happens.
“I needed to tell and let the world know about our culture, ritual and traditions, how they’re so important to a bereaved family and maintaining the dignity of the deceased.
“So the person I got to do this had to be somebody that I could trust and Gillian filled all of that and I’m delighted for her.”
There was also success for the drama Normal People, part of which was filmed in Sligo.
The series, which has been broadcast all over the world, was set in rural Sligo and included a period of filming in locations such as Tubbercurry and Streedagh.
The TV adaptation of Sally Rooney’s novel won the Screen Ireland Drama Award (see page 52 for further details).