The winner of the 2005 Galway Film Fleadh (Festival) for Best Feature was ‘Pavee Lackeen’, directed by photographer Perry Ogden, who co-wrote the story with Mark Venner.

‘Pavee Lacken’ is subtitled ‘The Traveller Girl’, and defies classification– a blend of fictional and documentary drama, in parts very sad and also extremely funny. The film is set in the inner city, and was shot on location in Ringsend and Sandymount.

The main actors are a local family from Ringsend, the Maughans and features Rosie and Winnie and their mother, also called Rosie.

The Harbour Hotel, which was the headquarters for the Galway Fleadh was full of well-known directors, actors and producers, but the focus of attention for the film’s premiere was Winnie, aged 12 and her 14 year old sister Rosie.

The girls captivated the audience with their natural acting talents and their poignant portrayal of the life of the travelling community.

Perry Ogden and the Irish Film Board financed the film. The cast included some professional actors such as Michael Collins, who acted in Glenroe, but the real stars of the film are the Maughans.
‘Pavee Lacken’ follows Winnie through her daily life, from being reprimanded at the traveller school for fighting, because the other children were calling her names and jeering her family.

Her mother has a fight on her hands too– with the local authorities to have her children educated locally, in what she described as a settled school. Rosie feels her children will receive a better education and get homework to do in the local schools.

There is one hilarious scene when Rosie and Winnie spend ages getting ready for a night out, as all teenagers do. Their night’s excitement consists of sitting on the traffic barrier of the roundabout eating chips supplied by the local vendor, Deke who runs a shop for truckers at the side of the road.

There are scenes where the girls get into trouble for petty theft and a horrific scene where Winnie is sniffing petrol with other children. It is easy to forget the girls are actresses– they were at pains to point out to me later, that the substance they were sniffing was in fact, Lucozade!

There is another scenario that is extremely funny and yet sad, where the two girls are searching for suitable clothes from the recycling bank in Sandymount Bring Centre. Later in the film, we witness Winnie roaming around the city looking in shops, dreaming of wedding gowns.

She receives a warm welcome from the immigrants of various nationalities, who operate their own shops– they do not treat her with prejudice, she is just another valued customer.

Rosie, the mother who gave birth to ten children spends her day avoiding eviction from the side of the road, and makes it very clear to the City Council, the family wish to be housed in the area and live in a settled community.

‘Pavee Lacken’ has been selected as one of six films to be screened in the prestigious Discovery section of the Toronto International Film Festival, which will take place in September. The film is not patronising in any way and indeed challenges stereotypical images of Travellers in present-day Ireland.

This is an excellent film, and the two girls show a very natural acting ability. Look out for ‘Pavee Lackeen’ in the cinema over the coming weeks.