Hilary is an award-winning programme maker and journalist with extensive experience of working in television and radio as a series producer and director. As a fiction writer, she is a recent winner of The Sean O’Faolain Short Story Competition. As a journalist, she been interviewing and writing for various national media for over twenty years. She originally graduated from Trinity College Dublin with an honours law degree (LL.B, Bachelor in Laws) and qualified as a barrister from The Kings Inns Dublin (BL, Barrister-at-Law).

Television, Film and Radio

Hilary has just produced and directed ‘The Secret Artists’, for BBC NI, following artists hoping to have work accepted for the RUA Annual, described by Irish Times critic Ed Power as ‘a balm for the mind and spirit in a noisy, overwhelming world.’ Her recent radio documentary ‘Childless’ for Newstalk explores what it means to be involuntarily childless in a child-centred society, it was IMRO nominated and a New York Festival finalist.

She also recently produced and directed the acclaimed documentary ‘Exhibitionists’,  broadcast on RTÉ 1 and described by Sunday Times’ critic Liam Fay as a ‘keen eyed documentary’, which offers ‘unusually candid insight into the practicalities of the unsung artist’s life’. As Hilary follows seven artists, all passionate about having their work accepted for the RHA Annual, Ireland’s most important open call art exhibition, we learn how art is helping them express themselves, find a sense of identity, manage mental health concerns, or simply giving them a reason to live.

Previous work runs the gamut from current affairs to lifestyle and entertainment. Recent credits include the hit architecture series ‘Dermot Bannon’s USA Homes’ and popular science and technology series ’10 Things to Know About’. Past work includes multi award-winning projects such as ‘Imagining Ulysses’ a feature-length film documentary about James Joyce’s masterpiece and ’Cherish All The Children’  a radio documentary about the remarkable women who refused to give their children up for adoption and became Ireland’s ‘first’ single parents.

Hilary has worked in both the Irish State Broadcaster RTÉ and the independent sector. Her work has been broadcast on television and radio in Europe, been in competition at many festivals worldwide and has been included in Ireland’s Biennial Exhibition of Visual Art.

Writing

Hilary was a recent winner of The Sean O’Faolain Short Story Competition.

She has had weekly interview and opinion columns in several Irish national newspapers, was editor of ‘Beyond The Hall Door’ interiors magazine and writes features and travel pieces. Previous features have included a stay at Dzogchen Beara Buddhist Centre and Canaries Yoga Retreat.

For her fiction work, she recently received three Literature Awards from The Arts Council of Ireland. Her fiction has been shortlisted for a number of prestigious awards including The McLaverty, Fish and New Writer prizes as well as being a winner of the Irish Times/ Powers short story competition.

Teaching

Hilary lectures in production, direction and documentary studies at the National Film School at IADT and at Dublin’s Griffith College., where she was Programme Director in 2022. She has also lectured at the Schools of Media, Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) and Dundalk Institute of Technology (DKIT).

Presenting and Voice Over

She has previously worked as a television presenter and continues to work as a voiceover artist. You can listen to some of her work here Telling Stories to Ourselves and Cherish all the Children.

Yoga

Whilst battling pain from a neck injury twenty years ago, Hilary discovered yoga. She is a certified teacher, at Dublin’s Samadhi studio.