New #WeAreMullingar video showcases town centre

(Above) John 'Banjo' Quinn.

A stunning video showing Mullingar's newly reopened town centre in all its glory has just been released online.

A collaboration between award winning documentary maker Noel McIntyre, well known actor John 'Banjo' Quinn and businessman/musician Dec Murphy in conjunction with Mullingar Chamber of Commerce and Westmeath County Council, the video follows Banjo as he makes his way around the town.

The video was shot on Wednesday, edited yesterday and released online this afternoon.

The video's sleek look and high production values, belie that speed with which it was put together. Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, director Noel said that the team involved were eager to get it released as soon as possible.

“Timing is everything. There is a feel good momentum building out there so it was important to get it out. Everyone is looking forward to getting back to normal.”

The video features a cross section of the many independent businesses in the heart of Mullingar as Banjo takes “a stroll down town to see who's around”.

He drops into Fraynes for a pastry, does some shopping and gets a much needed haircut in Dapper Shams Barbers!

They shot around eight hours of footage, which had to be condensed into just under three minutes.

“We had a lot of footage. We were filming for eight hours. It all can't make the final cut. Some people will inevitably be disappointed. It is a collective effort. It is important for everyone in town to know that it is representative of everybody,” Noel says.

“Myself, Banjo Quinn and Dec Murphy, we produced it and wrote the script. We had this general theme of Banjo going down the town and talking about the things he missed but we also wanted to let the viewer go on their own journey. There are so many glimpse and vignettes of town life that we produced it in such a way to encourage the viewer to reach their own conclusions.”

The video can be viewed here.