Watch: Sneak preview of new Kilkenny-made animated movie!

The film is directed by Clíodhna Lyons and based on a concept by animator Polly Holland, who pitched the idea during an in-house open call run by Lighthouse back in 2021. Holland had joined the studio just a few months previously through the Graduate Traineeship Programme for Animation, VFX and Games, run by Cultural and Creative Industries Skillnet in association with Screen Ireland.  

Póg mo Pigeon is set in West Cork in the 1970s and tells the story of Mikey, a young boy who escapes the watchful eyes of Mammy’s Sacred Heart icon by escaping into the freedom of the forest. It’s here he meets Pidgey, whose free-spirited sense of adventure offers a welcome release for Mikey. The film is inspired by real events – a story Holland’s father recounted to her about his childhood in rural Ireland.  

Clíodhna Lyons had this to say about the film: “On the surface, Póg Mo Pigeon is about a young boy, Mikey, and his relationship with Pidgey, a bird he comes across in the forest one day. At its heart though, Póg is the story of Mikey’s relationship with his mother, and how religion impacts their lives. The Ireland we see depicted in Póg mo Pigeon is a different place, and we aim to start a conversation about how far we as a nation have come since then.”

  

Executive Producer of Póg mo Pigeon and Managing Director at Lighthouse Studios, Claire Finn, sees the film’s selection for the Fleadh as a major achievement for the studio and its artists: “Since the studio was founded in 2017, we’ve had the good fortune to work with some of the biggest names in the content world, including Netflix, Apple TV+ and Warner Bros. Animation. Póg mo Pigeon is our tentative first step into the world of original content, developed and produced entirely in-house by Clíodhna, Polly and the wider team of artists and crew. Its selection for this year’s Galway Film Fleadh is a great achievement for all who worked so hard to bring Polly’s story to life. We’re excited to continue development of our slate of originals, alongside our primary focus of delivering top-quality animated content for our partners.”