Ground-breaking Máire celebrated at FÍS film summit
An award in honour of ground-breaking TV producer, Máire Ní Thuthail on the 10th anniversary of her death, was among the highlights of the 2026 FÍS Film and TV Summit, held in Galway last week.
An award in honour of ground-breaking TV producer, Máire Ní Thuthail on the 10th anniversary of her death, was among the highlights of the 2026 FÍS Film and TV Summit, held in Galway last week.
Hosted by Galway-based screen development body Ardán, the event attracted people working in the industry from across the country and further afield.
The Síol Award recognising female producers who have made an outstanding contribution to the Irish screen industry, was in memory of Máire, who was Executive Producer of TG4's long-running series 'Ros na Rún'. Her company, EO Teilifís, in An Spidéal also produced many other programmes for the broadcaster.
TG4 Commissioning Editor Máire Ní Chonláin, a great friend of the late producer, presented the award to Siobhán Bourke of Saffron Pictures.
Ms Bourke co-founded Saffron Pictures with Kathryn Lennon in the late 1990s, and has produced IFTA Best Drama winners 'Love is the Drug' (2005) and 'Whistleblower' (2009), as well as Acceptable Risk (2017) and ‘Hidden Assets’, now in its third season.
The internationally successful series has strong local connections. It features Galway actor Nora-Jane Noone as Detective Sergeant Claire Wallace, while several episodes were directed by city woman Mia Mullarkey, and the series was co-written by Tuam-based screenwriters Marty Thornton and Mary Fox.
A FÍS highlight was the keynote panel that examined the hit Netflix drama 'Adolescence'. Speakers at that event included Netflix Commissioner Toby Bentley and WARP Films CEO Mark Herbert.