We were definitely stoked to see news of this documentary series pop up on Instagram over the weekend. Created as a precursor to next weekend’s St Patrick’s Day Festival in Dublin, and presented by Irish radio presenter, photographer and film-maker Donal Dinnen, ‘Pathways: Irish Routes to the Art of the Matter’ speaks to successful Irish creatives making it outside of Ireland about their practice, their approach and their relationship with Ireland.

One of the people featured is Irish skateboarder, photographer and long-time Sidewalk pal Richard Gilligan, who, along with contributing work to the likes of Sidewalk, Document and Slap skate mags over the years, has a highly successful career as a commercial photographer.
Richard discusses discovering his love for photography through his love of skateboarding, and his seamless move into the world of portrait photography from his current home in New York. An interesting Monday watch for sure.

Cover photo – Blayney Hamilton – 360 flip into the ‘Blayney bank’, Dublin by Richard Gilligan

After you’ve watched the Richard Gilligan interview, have a gander at the full length ‘Pathways: Irish Routes to the Art of the Matter’ documentary below for more insight into Ireland’s creative community.
Filmed in Dublin, Kerry, Belfast, London, Malmo, New York and Los Angeles, the full piece includes contributions from the likes of Annie Mac, (Broadcaster), Aoife McArdle, (Film-maker), Brian Ormond, (Sculptor) Enda Walsh, (Playwright), Fiona Shaw, (Actor), Richie Egan aka ‘Jape’, (Musician), Sean Curran, (Choreographer) and more.
Really inspiring viewing.

Go to www.stpatricksfestival.ie/ for more information on Dublin’s St Patrick’s Day festival running from the 15th – 19th of March.

After you’ve done that, have a look at the trailer for Phil Evans‘ 2011 Super-8 documentary film on skate photographers (including Richard Gilligan) here, then go search out the full length version on iTunes.