At 8.00 pm on Saturday night in the Droichead Arts Centre the projector will roll to screen the premiere of a documentary film called “Welcome to Ballsgrove” which the creator, Ballsgrove man Sean Mathews, says flies Drogheda’s brightest colours to the mast.
Seán Mathews is first and foremost a musician who describes his work as “Urban Folk” because he tends to write songs that tell stories about his environment and formative experiences through the lens of the folk tradition in mind.
“Welcome to Ballsgrove” began life as drone video footage to accompany a song of the same name which went, as Sean says “locaviral” with 25,000 plays.
This lead to the new album, also called “Welcome to Ballsgrove” which Sean says inspired him to hold a secret gig in Ballsgrove to raise the spirits of his friends and followers after a dreadful 14 months of COVID.
To give people an idea of what Ballsgrove was like he decided to film three people who live there as they talked about their experiences. Seán says he was charmed and surprised by the humour and quality of the participants.
“Before the Secret Gig even began I had already decided to complete a documentary about Ballsgrove” Sean told Drogheda Life.
“Three more people were interviewed and the result is the Welcome to Ballsgrove documentary.
“The Documentary not only shows off the songs from the album but also gives an outside viewer a deeper sense of what Drogheda is like ‘under the bonnet.’
“There is a great saying in life: “If you really want to know me, come see where I’m from.” Storytelling is the best route to seeing beauty amidst negativity.
“During the pandemic, I was suffocating from the negativity people had about Drogheda on social media. If Drogheda was a person and Ballsgrove is where they lived, this Documentary sets out to show you its beauty. You know, moaning on Facebook will not achieve anything. I made this documentary to make people proud again.”
Both the album and documentary are set to be launched at a screening followed by a short performance on Saturday 27th August at 8.00 pm in Droichead Arts Centre.
Here’s a trailer for the documentary featuring well know Ballsgrove personalities Petrina Finn, Councillor Paddy McQuillan and many others.
A limited number of tickets for the premiere are still available but they are selling fast.
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS
