Meet Paul from Kilmore Quay.

Paul works at what he loves, in a place he loves to live. As the CEO of Telegael Paul regularly experiences the glitz and glamour of Hollywood and Cannes, but it's not something he chases. Having seven Emmy nominations and two wins, as an Executive Producer, Paul mighty be deemed as a Hollywood success but living in Hollywood was never on the cards for him. True to his heritage of seafaring people he always wanted to live by the sea and when a job at Údarás na Gaeltachta took him to Spiddal in Chois Fharraige, he never looked back.

After completing his Commerce degree in UCD Paul went on to qualify as a Chartered Accountant. He got a job working for Údarás na Gaeltachta and one of the projects that fell on his desk was setting up Telegael Teoranta. Aptly the location of the venture would be, and still is, in the former parochial house, known as Teach an tSagairt, right in the heart of the community. The local Connemara people had noticed that their children spoke Irish at home but once they got to the playground they started speaking English. English was becoming the language of fun and entertainment and the people of the Gaeltacht were worried Irish would disappear with that generation. One of Telegael's roles was to create Childrens' TV programming in Irish that would reintroduce the fun and enjoyment of speaking Irish. It's amazing how many people who grew up in the early 1990's can remember who the character Bouli was! Suddenly singing a theme tune in Irish became kind of normal even for those not living in a Gaeltacht region.

While setting up a world class studio such as Telegael in a relatively remote location on the west coast of Ireland has had its challenges, Telegael has managed to re-invent itself over time and is now one of the leading television and animation production companies in Europe. Because of the long lead times involved in getting a feature film or television series from initial concept to the screen, Paul is always looking two to three years ahead. While he is drawn to the creative aspect of Film and TV his main focus has always been towards the business end. As executive producer Paul has assembled a team of experienced and creative individuals who have produced a variety of award-winning film and tv series, from animations such as Blinky Bill and Norm of the North, to live action such as Jack Taylor, Aifric and Out of Innocence. In an exciting new venture, Telegael recently established a Stop Motion animation studio, Beochan, in Baile na hAbhann, Galway which is the only studio of its kind in Ireland. The studio is currently in production on the feature film Captain Morten and the Spider Queen which is the first ever stop motion animated feature film to be produced in Ireland.

Companies like Telegael are generally located in large cities. The availability of high-speed broadband has been a lifeline for the company and allows Telegael to work closely on a daily basis with its partners in Los Angeles, Sydney, India, London, Paris, Munich and elsewhere, something which was inconceivable twenty years ago. When overseas clients visit the studios to view operations first-hand, they are amazed to see a world-class facility located in a beautiful little village looking out over Galway Bay.

If you would like more information about Telegael please click here.