Baylin pupils’ short film up for national award at Dublin event

by Kevin O'Neill

Excitement is building at St Ciaran's National School, Baylin, as its pupils prepare to travel to the 2026 FÍS Film Awards at The Helix Theatre in Dublin.

Twenty-one pupils from the school will be Westmeath's sole representatives at this year's FÍS awards, which are in their 20th anniversary year and take place on Thursday, February 12.

Baylin NS qualified for the final stage of the national competition with their five-minute film 'Reports From The Courts' being selected by a panel of judges.

The children, under the guidance of teacher, and the film's director and producer Declan Finn, will be among a total of 22 schools to attend the event.

The films are divided into several different categories for the awards' ceremony.

To make their film, the pupils from the Athlone school arranged to use facilities in the courthouse in Mullingar. Mr Finn said he was very grateful to the courts service for allowing the children to avail of the premises.

It was the first time that Baylin NS applied to take part in the competition, so Mr Finn told the Westmeath Independent that everyone at the school was “delighted and proud” when their production was selected for the finals.

"The whole process started around this time last year," he said. "We had a total of 28 pupils involved, including some of last year's sixth class who since moved on to secondary school.

"Twenty-one of our current sixth class were involved and it was a brilliant experience for them. It had very little to do with me, because the kids were so enthusiastic and came forward with so many good ideas.

"They are a pleasure to be involved with and I'm very excited for them ahead of the awards ceremony. It should be a great occasion," added Mr Finn, who has long held a personal passion for many sectors of the Arts. He thanked everyone involved in obtaining use of Mullingar courthouse for the filming, which took about three hours. The short film has already had a few screenings in the school, including for the parents of the children and members of the local community in the Mount Temple/Baylin area.

"The reaction from everyone who has watched it has been so positive, and the children really deserve enormous credit for their work and commitment to the project. I would also thank our school principal, Pat Canty, for his support and for encouraging us to go ahead with the project.

"The kids now have a very exciting day out to look forward to, and I'm looking forward to seeing their faces when we arrive at The Helix.

"At this stage it's not about winning prizes or anything. It's a great achievement for the pupils to have reached this stage of the competition, and I am very proud to have played a small part in that,” Mr Finn said.

During the judging process, many of the criteria focused on aspects of film production including imagination and creativity, originality of the story, curricular relevance, literacy development, excellence in storytelling, excellence in set and costume design, film direction and production, use of sound, acting, and cinematography.

The awards ceremony, at which all the short films will be screened, and the winners announced, will be live-streamed via the FÍS Film Awards website.