Mary McGuckian

Mary McGuckian (born 27 May 1963) is a film director, producer and screenwriter from Northern Ireland. Early life Born and brought up in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, McGuckian completed her formal education in the Republic of Ireland at Trinity College, Dublin (TCD), where she took a degree in engineering. It was during this time that she became involved with Trinity Players, appearing in many productions as well as producing, designing, directing and lighting various others. Career Her interest in theatre and politics led her to follow an autodidactic post graduate education in literature, theatre, acting and directing on various courses in London, Paris and Italy. During which time she wrote a number of avant-garde plays that were produced in England and Ireland. Most acclaimed was her long-running stage adaptation of Brian Merriman's poem "The Midnight Court". Returning to Ireland, she continued to work as an actor and playwright and was invited to write screenplays in the emergent Irish film industry of the early 1990s. She set up her own company, Pembridge, to develop and produce feature film projects. The company was active as a co-producer on many Irish feature films and produced three films in Ireland which she wrote and directed: Words Upon the Window Pane, (adapted from the play by W.B. Yeats) in 1994, This Is the Sea (an adaptation of her own play Hazel) in 1996, and Best (the life story of Northern Irish footballer George Best) in 1999.