It’s all down to the 1990s film Hook, really. Seeing Robin Williams fly away as Peter Pan was an eureka moment for Claire Morrissey, one that has subsequently taken her all over the world as a production designer on some of the biggest TV, film and live shows.
Now, she is bringing it all back home to her native county as creative director for the 5th Púca Festival in Athboy and Trim, Co Meath, from 29 October to 1 November. Her message to everyone is to “come out and play” and enjoy the “spooking and the messing”.
It’s very clear from the off that Claire loves what she does. The Kildalkey native is an infectious presence and is full of enthusiasm as she excitedly talks about “being a great believer of going out into nature” after the autumn equinox for inspiration for the festival.
“This couldn’t be more art and agri if you tried,” she quips.”The opportunity to work locally with stories and the changing seasons is such a blessing.”
On board since 2023, there’s great pride and joy for her in telling the story of Halloween and Samhain, bringing the characters to life, whether that’s in the Púca Procession on the streets of Trim or the lighting of the Samhain fire in the Fairgreen, Athboy.
Speaking to Irish Country Living recently, she jokes that she is in the “whirlwind phase” working alongside local artists, makers, performers, educational partners and community volunteers to bring the ancient traditions associated with fire and the landscape to a modern audience. In doing so, she is celebrating the Boyne Valley’s rich heritage while nurturing the next generation of Irish creative talent and providing a €3m boost to the local economy.
Claire grew up in a creative household, her father Jerome was a young principal of the then Ballyfermot Senior College, now Ballyfermot College of Further Education, whose animation school meant there were some unusual house guests in Co Meath.
“The guy who first drew Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig – Chuck Jones stayed in our house one time. He was amazing,” she says, laughing.
Her mother Patricia McCormack also loves art and in later life got into sculpture. Asked if she thought a creative career was for her as a youngster, she beams a wide smile. “I think everything is possible,” Claire replies, which could almost be a motto for her future career designing and building memorable sets. “Once you set up your parameters,” she quickly adds.
Globe trotter
Initially, though, she opted to study science and maths before leaving to do an art, design and illustration course at the then Ballyfermot Senior College, now Ballyfermot College of Further Education. Then a trip to the cinema to see the 1990s fantasy film Hook changed her career trajectory entirely.
Captivated by a flying Peter Pan (Robin Williams) and Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffmann) and the whole hideout and fantasy world set-up, she asked herself – can you imagine building that? The answer was an overwhelming yes.
An outdoor kid, Claire jokes that she grew up “kind of in the ditch” out in the fields with her brothers building hideouts, so the film wasn’t that far removed from her youth.
“When we were driving home, I couldn’t stop talking about it, and Dad had a prospectus for Wimbledon School of Art down the pocket of the car door, and he pulled it out, and he went here, ‘Would you not look at doing this?’”
“I just went, ‘Oh my God, that’s me! And yeah, I went and followed that path [to study technical art and design]”, an avenue that wasn’t available in Ireland at the time. “Literally, Hook the movie was my lightbulb moment.”
From there, her work has taken her all over the globe – from London, the US and Dubai – working on TV and film sets as well as live spectacles for RTÉ. Her most recent high-profile job was on RTÉ’s hit show Traitors in Slane Castle, which was “great fun”. She was also involved in set design for a section of the Fast and the Furious 7 shot in the UAE, Clear Historiesfor Kite Entertainment and Laughing for Ireland for Amazon among many others.
She sums up her production designer role as building “a lovely home for people to tell a story” .
“On a TV set, as a production designer, you’re one of the first in with the director and the producer. So, you’re setting the environment that this story happens in. The environment has to make it possible for lighting and for camera crews and for actors and everyone to work in. The budget will decide how much you can make of that.”
When we were driving home, I couldn’t stop talking about it, and Dad had a prospectus for Wimbledon School of Art down the pocket of the car door, and he pulled it out, and he went here, ‘Would you not look at doing this?’
It all starts with 2-D drawings before moving to 3-D designs and models before construction drawings and building crews come on board, which Claire oversees, and makes changes, if needed.
“When you get to the upper league of that, you want to get to a point where you’re flicking a channel and instantly recognise it’s that show from that channel. The channel will have a look, and the shows will have a look. The story within that show will have a look,” she explains.
It’s a similar idea for Púca Festival, where she works collaboratively with a team so that people know they have come to Ireland, the home of Halloween, and the flagship festival celebrating the legends, folklore and characters associated with this time of year.
“They have to feel like they’re in that world,” Claire says of her ultimate goal for the procession and ancestral fire events.
It’s easily her “most heart-led” job because “you’re working with a community that all have their own stories, that all have their own crafts. They’re all living their story, living the landscape, and seeing that creativity come out for 60,000 visitors, and how that effects them is so satisfying.
Claire believes the Púca Festival has been pivotal in bringing back the “performative aspect” of the stories associated with Halloween and Samhain.
“There is a really lovely wellspring of creativity here. The stories that the locals have mean that I can go away and conceive a character [to make],” she explains.
The cast of characters will grow this year to include Cailleach, which will be retired vet Pat Farrelly and his team telling the story of the ‘veiled woman’ or hag who “turns the autumn into winter”. Cú Sidhe, the hound of the Tuatha Dé Dannann, will also make an appearance, alongside a Bean Feasa (wise woman) and Fear Feasa (wise man).
“Our Bean Feasa might have contorted into being the witch when she travelled around the world, but it’s the person that can walk between worlds which is the theme of the festival for this year, ‘Between Worlds’.”
Honouring the Boyne River’s part in folklore will also form a big part of the parade featuring the Bó Finne and the Bealach Bó Finne (The Way of the White Cow) or the Milky Way above.
For Claire, bringing her skills back to her homeplace is incredibly special. “It’s massive because I left Meath to be a creative,” she says. “To be able to come home and see the interest in other people who I see as my young self, it’s great to see. I can’t scream it loud enough for everyone to come and play. And this year’s theme, ‘Between Worlds’, is really interesting.
“It’s like this old and new, light and dark, past and present, the Samhain Festival, or the Halloween Festival, or the All Hallows Eve Festival – that is this Púca festival.
“It’s got such an ability to carry anyone who’s interested in creativity, from music, language, storytelling, making, crafting, art, the whole gamut. Seeing people realising that is just the most amazing thing.”
See pucafestival.com
*Amended October 30
