Film starred in by young Maghera girl lands top award

An Irish film detailing the harrowing life of a Catholic priest evading capture during Penal times has won a prestigious Gabriel award, considered the United States Emmys of Faith Broadcasting.

The film, 'Faith of Our Fathers,' was commissioned by global satellite giant EWTN and was written and produced in Ireland with an exclusively Irish cast and crew.

Éinín Duggan, from Maghera, who starred in the film, was delighted to learn of the award.

“I could hardly believe it when I heard the film had won the Gabriel award,” she said.

“Faith of our Fathers is my first film, its just surreal. I'm so delighted for everyone. Everyone worked so hard and it's wonderful for that to be recognised.”

Executive Producer of the film, Aidan Gallagher of EWTN Ireland, said: “This is an incredible honour and a tribute to the hard work and dedication of the entire cast and crew. The production comprised more than 90 people, including actors, extras, a film crew, and support personnel, who were on location for three weeks of filming and rehearsal.”

‘Faith of Our Fathers’ is available to watch on Amazon Prime and continues to be shown on EWTN which broadcasts to over 435 million television households worldwide on SKY 586, Virgin Media 815, Amazon Firestick, Roku and Online at EWTN.ie

Aidan explained: “The plotline, which has caught the imagination of audiences worldwide, follows a Catholic priest who lives in hiding, ministering in secret to evade capture and death. With the help of a devoted community, he continues to celebrate Mass at remote Mass Rocks and teaches in a hedge school. For realism, the hedge school scenes were dramatized with Irish as the main language spoken.”

Éinín added: “This top film award brings focus on the Irish language in the film, which is very special, and I'm very proud to have played a part in that.”

The movie was filmed in County Down, with the grounds of Dromantine Conference and Retreat Centre, outside Newry, serving as the main setting for the production.

The Annual Gabriel Awards, now in their 58th year, celebrate outstanding achievements in film, broadcast, and digital media.

The Gabriel Awards spotlight artistic excellence that embodies a profound vision of humanity and a true vision of life.

The film director is County Down man Campbell Miller, a multi-award winner for his previous work in film.

This is the second EWTN production to receive the prestigious Gabriel award, the first being in 2020 for the EWTN ‘Hope’ docudrama.

Both Gabriel Award productions, along with two other EWTN Ireland docudramas, have been presented in person to Pope Francis and screened in the Vatican, Rome.