The Collectors
1 x 52” RTÉ One
RTÉ One – Tuesday July 26th
Press Release:
The Collectors is a one hour documentary about six very diverse Irish people with one unusual thing in common, they are all dedicated collectors.
The documentary examines what compels each person to pursue their hobby and why they have chosen the particular item they like to collect.
Lego, Barbies, Dinky cars, Coca-Cola merchandise, Comics and Porcelain dolls all feature within the programme as our characters explain their love and devotion to their collection and how it functions as both a crucial part of their life and their identity. Most people have collected at some point in their lives but for these people, their collection is central to their life and we find out what drives them to collect on such a grand scale.
Format: The Collectors is the first documentary broadcast on RTÉ television filmed entirely on the iphone 6s plus.
It is also the first feature length (52minute) documentary to be commissioned and shot in 4K (UHD) on an iPhone by a broadcaster anywhere in Europe.
Contributors:
Lillian O’Donoghue – Coca-Cola Memorabilia
Lillian O’ Donoghue from Cork is married with two boys and she is a collector of Coca Cola memorabilia. She first started collecting when she was a teenager after going on a summer holiday to Europe. Her ambition is to transform her entire house into a Coca Cola house. So far she has decorated her kitchen, utility room, dining room, a bedroom, a toilet and an outhouse. She is currently decorating a second bedroom. Her younger son Robin’s room was the first one she ever did up and started the obsession with all things Coke. She is meticulous in hunting for the right materials and the right Coca-Cola colour for furniture/paint. Her husband is the DIY man who performs the room transformations and is a gifted craftsman, creating chandeliers out of Coke bottles for various rooms in the house. Lillian regularly hosts parties for all of her friends to celebrate the latest transformation as her house slowly becomes overtaken with Coca-Cola merchandise.
Jessica Farrell – Lego
Jessica is a mother of four who lives in Co. Kildare. She is an adult Lego builder and has a serious talent for creating intricate designs. She has a room in her house dedicated to Lego and has all of her blocks sorted into colour coded boxes. She wanted to be an artist all her life and the rest of her family are artists. Discovering her skill for Lego-building has been life-changing for her – “Lego never lets you down”. Up until two years ago it was very much a lone activity until Jessica discovered Brickie – the Irish society for adult Lego builders and this has given her a new lease of life. She has travelled everywhere with her Brickie pals and it has widened her social circle. Jessica’s ultimate aim is to become a commissioned Lego builder. Her Lego model of Her Majesty’s Theatre in London has been bought by Andrew Llloyd Weber. She was first inspired to build it when she went to see Phantom of the Opera.
Helena Scully – Porcelain Dolls
Helena Scully from Co Meath is an avid collector of porcelain dolls as is her 95 year old mother Mary. Mary had more than 600 dolls at one point. Helena loved being a mother to her five children and looking after her dolls allows her to continue to indulge her maternal instinct. She shops for clothes for them, washes them and knits outfits for them. Helena is also an avid collector of coins, callcards and Waterford Crystal.
Helena’s daughter Anna Marie passed away from leukaemia aged 19 and her husband Tommy passed away a few years later. Helena believes that the doll collection has kept her going through the hardship in her life.
Robert Glick – Comic Books
Robert is originally from Florida and came to live in Ireland 10 years ago where he met his wife Liz. He lives in Balbriggan with Liz and her son Sean. Robert has more than 10,000 comics in his collection. His mother bought him his first comic book at the age of nine and he fell in love with all things Spiderman. Robert went to his first comic convention when he was thirteen and that was when he first started to collect comics as an investment. He lost his much of his original valuable comic book collection when he went through his first divorce in his 20s. He has since built his collection back up and now has over 10,000 comic books which he keeps in a special ‘seomra’ (garden shed) in the back garden. Robert has Cystic Fibrosis and is housebound 90% of the time. His comics are a lifeline for him and keep him busy and occupied.
Martin Bolger – Dinky cars
Martin Bolger lives in Co Cavan and is an avid collector of dinky cars. He has transformed his entire terraced three bed house into a shrine to the cars. Martin is unemployed apart from some sporadic work on a CE scheme so he devotes all of his time to his toys and preparing for vintage shows where he gets to show off his vast collection and socialise with other collectors. He admits that if it wasn’t for the toys he wouldn’t know what to do with himself. He travels to a number of shows each year where he buys and sells new toys. He got his first car in 1987 when one caught his eye at a vintage show and he started from there. Martin’s dream is to one day open a museum in Kingscourt but it’s too expensive so his house will have to suffice for now.
Glenda Taylor – Barbies
Glenda Taylor from Co. Sligo has more than 600 Barbies in her collection. As a member of the exclusive Barbie fan club in America, Glenda has access to limited edition dolls which might not be available in Ireland or indeed Europe. Glenda is getting married next year and would love to have a table at her wedding dedicated to some of her Barbies. She only gets to display her dolls once a year at the Riverstown Vintage Show which she painstakingly prepares for unpacking every doll so locals can view her impressive collection. Glenda is a huge fan of Barbie and sees her as a role model for young girls because Barbie has had so many careers over her 50 year lifespan.