DUBLIN, 30th September 2014 - Sky today announced Carly Matthews-Lynch as the winner of the recently launched Sky Academy TV Scholarship in partnership with The National Film School at the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT).  Carly, aged 24, will take up her place on the Masters (MA) in Broadcast Production this week, a step towards realising her ambitions to develop a successful career in television. In addition to having her course fees paid, she will also benefit from a work placement with Octagon Films (The Borgias, The Tudors, Love Hate and co-producers on Penny Dreadful) as part of her studies, and mentoring from senior level staff at Sky.

The scholarship is part of Sky Academy, a set of initiatives which aim to use the power of television, creativity and sport to give up to one million young people across Britain and Ireland the opportunity to build skills, experience and self-belief.  It is offered by Sky to individuals who may not otherwise have the financial means to support themselves through further study, or may not have considered a career in the media for financial reasons, and is supported by The Royal Television Society (RTS).

Carly, a graduate in Communications Studies of Dublin City University has always dreamed of developing a successful career in television, and she hopes that the IADT course and support from Sky will help her to build the professional skills that she needs to make this dream a reality.

Commenting on receiving the scholarship Carly Matthews-Lynch said, "I'm absolutely thrilled to have been selected as the first recipient of the Sky Academy TV Scholarship in Ireland. Sky have provided me with an incredible opportunity and I intend to make the most of it. Not only am I able to attend the prestigious MA in Broadcast Production at IADT but Sky have gone above and beyond, providing both a mentor, and the opportunity for work experience within the industry. It’s going to be an exciting year ahead, and I have both Sky Academy and IADT to thank for it."

Director of Corporate Affairs at Sky Ireland, Mark Deering said “Part of Sky’s commitment to developing home grown content is about investing in the next generation of production talent, so we’re delighted to be able to partner with The National Film School at IADT to offer this scholarship to Carly who is clearly passionate about developing a career in television.”

Donald Taylor Black, Creative Director of The National Film School at IADT, said "The National Film School at IADT is absolutely delighted to be working with Sky on the new Scholarship for our MA in Broadcast Production and very pleased that Carly Mathews-Lynch is our deserving first Sky Academy TV Scholar in Ireland.  We're confident that she will benefit hugely, both from the course itself and the experience and contacts that she will gain from the work experience and mentoring."

As part of the scholarship Carly will have her course fees covered and the opportunity for a work placement within the industry, offered by Octagon Films based at Ardmore Studios in Co. Wicklow.

In addition she will receive:

• Mentoring from senior level staff at Sky 
• Tne years’ free membership of the Royal Television Society (RTS)
• Networking opportunities within RTS including invitation to industry events

The MA in Broadcast Production at IADT equips students with the essential production practices to pursue a career in radio and television production, including studio production techniques; editorial and scriptwriting skills; single and multi-camera operation; microphone and sound recording skills; production management; radio and television presentation, production and direction; and editing for radio and television.

Programme lecturers include respected figures from Ireland’s broadcast production industry like Roger Greene, Donald Taylor Black, Bob Corkey, John O’Donovan, and Ferdia Mac Anna, plus guest lectures from professionals such as Larry Bass and Clare Duignan.

                                                                                    -ENDS-

For more information:

Niamh McCarrick

Communications Manager, Sky Ireland

T: 086 3809191

E: niamh.mccarrick@bskyb.com

Notes to Editors:

About Sky Academy

Sky Academy is a unique and ground-breaking set of initiatives that uses the power of television, creativity and sport to inspire young people and help them reach their potential. Launched in 2013, Sky’s ambition is to create opportunities for up to one million young people to build skills and experience by 2020.  Headquartered in a building at the heart of Sky’s West London campus, Sky Academy comprises: Sky Academy Skills Studios, Sky Sports Living for Sport, Sky Academy Scholarships and Sky Academy Starting Out.

Now in its tenth year, one-third of British secondary schools are taking part in Sky Sports Living for Sport, and it’s been launched in Ireland, with over 50,000 young people to benefit this year alone. Sky Academy Scholarships have helped almost 60 talented artists and athletes achieve their goals. And through Sky Academy Starting Out, we're doubling the number of youth employment and work experience opportunities at Sky. 

About Sky

Sky is the UK and Ireland’s leading home entertainment and communications company, and is the UK and Ireland’s biggest investor in television content, investing more than €2.75 billion a year in channels such as Sky 1, Sky Atlantic, Sky Living, Sky Arts, Sky Sports, Sky Movies and Sky News. Around two-thirds of Sky’s content spend is home-grown and Sky is the fastest-growing source of investment in original home-grown programmes such as Moone Boy, Treasure Island and David Attenborough’s ‘Flying Monsters’.  More than 2 million people tune into Sky channels each week in Ireland.

Alongside its commitment to offering customers a greater choice of high-quality content, Sky is a leading innovator.  Customers enjoy total control and flexibility over their favourite TV through Sky+, watch TV on the move through Sky Go, and enjoy the best quality TV experience at home through High Definition and 3D.  Sky also recently launched Ireland’s biggest Catch-Up TV service a total of 47 Sky and non-Sky channels, including TV3 now available to Sky customers in Ireland at no extra cost

Sky believes in making a wider contribution to the communities in which it operates by taking positive action on the environment, supporting grassroots sports and increasing access to, and participation in, the arts.  Sky Ireland is located in offices at Burlington Road, Dublin and employs more than 900 people.  

Sky is increasingly engaged in grass roots activities across Ireland: it is the title sponsor of the Cat Laughs Comedy Festival in Kilkenny where it holds premieres of some of its latest entertainment content; following a rigorous application process involving 100’s of organisations, the Sky Arts Ignition series saw a €230,000 fund exclusively allocated to Dublin-based theatre group Rough Magic for their unique production in the Olympia Theatre in June 2014 of The Rise and Fall of The City of Mahagonny in association with Opera Theatre Company; and the Sky Sports Living for Sport Programme, which launched in 2013 and has already seen 100 secondary schools across Ireland participate in life skills initiatives aimed at 11-16 year olds.

About IADT

Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) is the only Institute of Technology in Ireland with a specific mission to drive and inform the creative, media technologies and cultural industries through teaching, learning, research and innovation. It specialises in creativity and innovation as expressed in the arts, media technologies and entrepreneurship.

IADT's programmes embrace the opportunities and challenges of the digital age and are set in an educational environment that values the whole student experience. Its vision is to remain the leading Irish educator for the cultural, media and entertainment sectors, by harnessing synergies between the arts, technology and enterprise disciplines.

IADT is unique among Irish institutions of higher education in creating an interdisciplinary environment drawing on its strengths in visual arts, media arts, enterprise, technology and psychology and has a national and international remit articulated through its student body and its range of partners. It incorporates The National Film School.

About The National Film School

The National Film School (NFS) at IADT was launched by IADT in November 2003. It is a professional centre of excellence that both reflects and influences practice in the film, animation, broadcasting and digital media industries by providing creative, technical and academic education of an international standard. This status is based on: the consistently high achievements of its student productions in both professional competitions and festivals, at home and abroad; the careers of its graduates in the entertainment and media industries; the very high standard of applied film education that has been provided by us in Dún Laoghaire for 30 years; and the excellence of its staff.

IADT’s full-time and part-time staff possess considerable industry experience and a high proportion continue to work as practitioners. It has the widest portfolio of overlapping, inter-connected practical full-time courses on the island of Ireland, all of which are honours undergraduate programmes (4 years): Film & Television Production; Animation; Design for Stage & Screen (Production Design, Costume Design, and Make-up Design) and Modelmaking, Design & Digital Effects. At postgraduate  level it offers MAs in Screenwriting for Film & Television and Broadcast Production for Radio & Television.

Graduates include directors Aisling Walsh (Song for a Raggy Boy, Wallander); Kirsten Sheridan (Disco Pigs, August Rush); Ciaran Donnelly (The Tudors, Vikings); and Ken Wardrop (His & Hers) as well as award-winning heads of department such as cinematographer Robbie Ryan BSC (Wuthering Heights, Philomena). In 2013 NFS graduates and current students were hugely successful at the annual Irish Film and Television Academy (IFTA) Awards, receiving a record 26 nominations, including three out of the four Best Short Film nominations and three out of four in the Best TV Editing category. Six IFTA statuettes were won: Suzanne McAuley (TV Drama – Love/Hate); Irina Maldea (Documentary – Congo 1961); Maurice Sweeney (TV Director – WB Yeats: No Country for Old Men); Cathy Brady (Short Film – Morning); Michael O’Donovan (DoP – Gaeil Nua Eabhrac); and Sharon Doyle (Make-up – Ripper Street). Donald Taylor Black, Creative Director of the NFS, and Head of the Department of the Film and Media, was also nominated for Best Feature Documentary for his latest film, Skin in the Game. In the 2013 BAFTA Film Awards, recent graduate, Eamonn O’Neill, was nominated for Best Short Animation.

IADT is the only Irish full member of the Centre International de Liaison des Ecoles de Cinéma et de Télévision (CILECT), the International Association of Film and Television Schools, and GEECT, the Groupement Européen des Ecoles de Cinéma et de Télévision, the CILECT regional association.  Founded in Cannes in 1955, CILECT has 160 members in 60 countries and full membership is open only to those film schools whose qualifications, curriculum, facilities, equipment and staff have been approved by the Executive Council; additionally, it must be demonstrated that the school is successful in training students to the professional level of the country in which it operates.

IADT's National Film School studio facilities are the best in Ireland, including the first HD TV studio in any academic institution in Ireland. These facilities are housed within the new NFS Building, which was opened by the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins on 26 November 2013.

The NFS Advisory Board is chaired by producer, Morgan O'Sullivan, and its membership includes Neil Jordan, Jim Sheridan, Cathal Gaffney, John Boorman, Roddy Doyle, and James Hickey.

About Carly Matthews-Lynch

Carly graduated from Dublin City University in 2011 with a degree in Communication Studies. Upon graduation she worked in various freelance production roles, including a dramatic short, “Let Go” which is being submitted to a number of Irish and international festivals, but these were not enough to sustain her and she now works full time as an Apple Technician, working occasional production roles where she can.  Carly was also a member of her university student radio station, and was awarded “Radio Presenter of the Year” at the 2011 Hybrid Media Awards.

About the Royal Television Society

The Royal Television Society is Britain’s leading forum for television and related media. Its Republic of Ireland Centre located in Dublin provides a mix of programme, technical, and craft events.