College film
Fagans, A Countryside Pub
A short documentary about a community pub during the COVID closures.
- Project
- College film
- Disciplines
- Documentary · Storytelling
- My role
- Scripting, interviewing, filming, sound, editing and post-production.
The brief
For this college project, I wanted to capture the importance of Fagans in Moynalvey and the uncertainty facing publicans while their doors remained closed.
What I worked on
Working with owner John Reilly, I wrote the script, filmed the pub and produced the finished documentary. His experience gave the story a personal perspective on waiting to reopen and the absence of a place that brought the community together.
The outcome
The documentary received a warm response from John and the Moynalvey community, with supportive local feedback. It also reached more than 2,000 views on YouTube. I was delighted with the finished piece and how people responded to seeing the pub’s story captured on screen.
Looking back
The project has taken on added personal significance since the original pub was gutted by fire on 31 December 2025. I’m grateful to have captured its character and John’s story while that setting was still there. The business later reopened in temporary premises; the documentary remains a record of the pub before the fire.
Opens on YouTube.