In this new documentary series for RTÉ, former governor of Mountjoy Prison, John Lonergan, works with teenagers from disadvantaged communities around Dublin who have joined the circus.
After spending 24 years running Mountjoy Prison in Dublin, John Lonergan turned his attention towards helping out young people from disadvantaged communities establish goals in their lives and instilling them with confidence, morale, and a sense of creativity. All throughout his career in Mountjoy Prison, Lonergan dealt with many young men and women from disadvantaged communities who were unable to escape the shortcomings of their environments and thus, alcohol and drug abuse, crime, poverty, and unemployment were re-occurring obstacles for these men and women. Lonergan believes in investing in young people to break the cycle of disadvantage and this new documentary gives us an insight into Lonergan’s three-month long motivational and mentoring programme he established for the young Dublin teenagers.
The subjects of the documentary series were selected with the help of local youth groups and community leaders and since January, they trained every week at the Belfast Community Circus School with the help of the circus director Will Chamberlain, his staff, and Maybel Troy, an accomplished performer who also worked with prisoners in Mountjoy Prison. Most of the subjects were early-school leavers and only one of the teenagers is still in school.
All of the teenagers came from different parts of Dublin: Jake Augusta (15) is from Pearse Street, Paul Gilligan (18) is from O’Devaney Gardens, Amiee Brady (15) is from Ballyfermot, Eddie McElligot (17) is from Ballymun, Chantelle Ward (15) is from Clondalkin, Anton Carass (16) is from Finglas, and Francesca Grant (17) is from Inchicore.
All of their dedication and hard work culminated in a performance in Merrion Square in Dublin as part of the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. The series gives the viewer an insight into the lives of these teenagers, the trials and tribulations of coming from disadvantaged areas, and explores the reasons why all but one of the subjects has left school early.
‘John Lonergan’s Circus’ was produced by Independent Pictures and was made with the support of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and RTÉ. The series will air on Thursdsays and begins this week on RTÉ One at 10.15pm.
