A Feature by Dymphna Lonergan
There is no doubt that Ireland has punched above its weight in literature: four Nobel Prize for Literature winners that could have been ‘five’ had James Joyce’s Modernisim been recognised by the Nobel Prize Committee.
Perhaps because of this international recognition of Irish literary achievement, may Irish governments in the 20th and 21st centuries have actively support Irish arts and culture. The current policy for such support includes a clear goal ‘To provide a capital infrastructure for the national Cultural Institutions (www.gove.ie). This year the Department of Culture, Communication, and Sport announced its highest grant to date, this time to support Irish artists taking to the international stage.
The Irish Film Board was established in 1980 and last seven years. Revived in the 1990s, in 2015 the name Fís Eireann/Screen Ireland was adopted. Funding for feature and short film and TV series has grown.
This year we can see the fruits of all this development in the Oscar nominations. Recently elected President Catherine Coonnolly has congratulated the Irish film industry for its continued international recognition.
Not all Ireland arts and cultural productions reach the internation stage. There are ongoing local, small, and medium sized companies applying the same excellence in production that we have come to expect from the Irish in recent times. One such is NO18 Films that prides itself on being innovative and unforgettable.’ One of their productions popped up in my YouTube feed recently: Made in Dublin: George Horn Gloves. Promoted as ‘the first of a planned series ‘exploring the stories that have shaped Dublin through intimate portraits of the people preserving its craft, heritage, and resilience.’
Made in Dublin: George Horn Gloves
This is a short video (8 minutes) about Brian Horn, an 81-year-old Dubliner who is recently retired as a glove maker in Dublin and is a lovely raconteur of the video in an easy Dublin accent.
The family business, George Horn Ltd, has operated in Dublin from the 1940s. His English-born father, George Horn, set up the business in Dublin, and Brian started there at the age of fifteen around about the same age his orphaned father had been apprenticed to a glovemaking firm in England. George moved to a job in Dublin during the Depression and ultimately started his own glovemaking business in Dublin 1943. His grandson, Gerard, continues the business.
Directed by Simon J. James and produced by Caddy Munnelly of Dublin-based NO18 films, the documentary gives an intriguing insight into glovemaking by hand, including the terminology used, e.g. ‘forchettes’ (from the French, I presume) for the inserts that strengthen the fingers. We also learn of the perils of overstretching the fabric lest you end up in O’Connell Street!
The employees were mostly from Cabra and Dunboyne, areas northwest of Dublin who had access to the Ashtown factory by bus. Also included is some original footage of glovemaking and of Dublin city. A short shot of pubicity fliers from Dublin outlets that used the Horn glovemaking services included one of Galligans in Henry Street, Dublin, where my late husband worked. George Horn Ltd also supplied such famous outlets as Dior, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Bergdorf Goodman.
According to producer Caddy Munnelly, the video ‘was created to capture Brian’s deep knowledge of the craft, specifically the specialised stretching and table cutting techniques that modern machines simply cannot replicate…and serves as a visual record of a vanishing skill and an important piece of the cultural fabric of Dublin’. It certainly did all of that for me and more. Brian’s account of losing one of a pair of gloves he had made for himself reminded me of the consternation when seven-year old me managed to lose one of my white Communion gloves. I was never allowed to forget that.
In response to my email questions, Producer Caddy Munnelly provided an update:
Future plans for the Made in Dublin series? Yes, we will continue to make episodes of Made in Dublin. We are hoping to have the next episode released before St. Patrick’s Day and will feature the wonderful publican and Irish musician Tom Mulligan and the history of his pub, The Cobblestone. The Cobblestone is a institution for traditional Irish music and has become a home to contemporary Irish music players, passed down from father to son.
And some more information on director Simon J.James:
Simon is a Director and Producer at NO18, driven by a deep belief that the most powerful stories are human ones. He has a natural instinct for finding the emotional core of a subject, the tension, the passion, the quiet moments of humanity that make an audience lean in and feel something real.
With over ten years of industry experience, Simon has worked across some of the most visually demanding and emotionally rich areas of the craft. From the raw adrenaline of motorsport, where split seconds carry the weight of years of sacrifice, to intimate travel narratives that capture the soul of a place through the people who live it, he brings the same commitment to authentic human storytelling to every frame.
That same sensitivity carries through to his work in long form content, where he has developed feature length productions and television projects built around layered, mature narratives that resonate long after the credits roll. For Simon, every project, regardless of scale or subject, is ultimately about people and the stories only they can tell.
And more about her good self:
Caddy Munnelly is a rounded creative whose practice spans visual arts, writing, producing and filmmaking. With a strong foundation in storytelling across disciplines, she combines conceptual depth with practical rigour, bringing both creative sensitivity and clear strategic thinking to her work.
She specialises in video production, project management and client relationship management, overseeing end to end production from concept through to final delivery. Ensuring projects remain on schedule and within budget, she balances organisation with creative ambition, shaping ideas into cohesive, cinematic outcomes.
At NO18 Films, Caddy aligns creative output with strategic objectives, fostering strong client partnerships and coordinating teams to deliver seamless productions. Driven by a commitment to thoughtful storytelling, she consistently delivers work that meets and exceeds expectations.
I provide these as examples of all-round-excellence in this small production company from the hands-on-work to telling the world about it.
Watch the story here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yez9I17ouuc
or here: https://no18films.com/
Tinteán 