Little Hen

On the surface, Little Hen is a family orientated comedy drama; the story about, Niamh, a young Irish emigrant girl in Rochdale, England who struggles to fit in at school and whose mother struggles to connect with and understand her.  When Niamh rescues an injured racing pigeon, she discovers the local community of Pigeon Fanciers, misfits and outsider like herself.  Within the pigeon racing community she finally finds a place where she fits in.  

Little Hen brings a fresh approach to Ireland's housing crisis by only referencing the crisis indirectly, instead we take the story out of Ireland and placing it in the UK. This isn't a misery story, it's comedy drama that mixes humour and pathos, to explore real issues of homelessness and child poverty but also it tells story of triumph and belonging. The humour comes from young Niamh's obsession with pigeon racing much to her mother's bemusement and confusion.  It's a story about connections and the difficulty emigrant often have when trying to “fit” into their new home. 

Little Hen was selected for the 2024 Galway Film Fleadh Pitching Competition under the working title of "Pigeons"