Caoimhe Louise Willemoes, a Danish-born TV producer with local connections, has recently received prestigious awards for two different documentaries she produced.
Although Danish by birth, Caoimhe has roots in Creagh. Caoimhe’s grandmother, Maureen Casey, lives in Portnick and is still active in the town although now in her eighties. Her father, Kevin Casey, went to Creagh N.S. followed by Garbally College. He is now a journalist based in Brussels. Her great-grandfather, Gus Hynes, worked in St Brigid’s hospital and was involved in setting up the town’s credit union.
Caoimhe spent many of her summers and Christmases in with her relatives and she says the town “has a special place in my heart…growing up, my Dad and I would make short films on his handheld camera in my Granny’s backyard in Portnick. Little did I know what that would one day lead to!”
The town was also important to her professionally. “One of my first documentaries was shot in part in Ballinasloe mart and Poolboy bog” she explains. “We spoke with farmers about their experiences, a fun and colourful experience. The other story was about hydropower vs turf. Galway has an ambitious plan about using hydrogen power in the future; meanwhile, we were also looking into the other side of the coin, which was about turf’s role in Irish culture, how it is being outfaced and how this ‘black gold’ brings a lot of memories for people working in the bogs.”
While a Producer with TRT World, Caoimhe worked on the multi-award- winning production, “Beyond Borders”. The documentary series looks in detail at headlines from across the world, offering a first-person perspective on current affairs.
Caoimhe and her colleagues won two silver awards for a Beyond Borders production at The Telly Awards, a celebrated US-based awards that receive over 13,000 entries globally from all six continents. Their winning documentary, ‘Death Row USA’, examines the death penalty in Ohio. Caoimhe was also part of the team that won the bronze award at the New York Festival TV and Film Awards for a documentary about the indigenous Sami people in Norway titled ‘Land, language and loss’.
Caoimhe says that recognition: “means the world to me, because telling stories is my passion and powerful storytelling can make an impact for the better… the most important thing is to recognise the people who opened up to us. This was only possible because of the people who allowed us to tell their stories, whether it’s an innocent man who had been on death row for 20 years, or a Norwegian spy who was imprisoned in Russia.”
Currently a Freelance Producer for two international TV companies, including Britain’s ITV, Caoimhe has just returned from shooting a new project in Greenland.
Her aunt, Marie Ryan, who lives in Ballinasloe is full of praise for Caoimhe, saying: “her hard work, and dedication have taken her to award-winning heights. Not only are her parents Cecilie and Kevin proud of her, but her Irish family from Ballinasloe and beyond are delighted to know of and celebrate her well-deserved success.”
Caoimhe while on location recently in Greenland.
