Ferbane’s Tadhg wins Best Supporting Actor award

Rising star of the acting world, Ferbane’s Tadhg Devery, has scooped a Best Supporting Actor award at the Dublin International Film Festival for his comedic role in Ireland’s first zombie apocalypse film 'Follow the Dead'.

The movie, much of which was set in Ferbane and on the highways and byways of rural west Offaly, is the first feature film from Dublin-based Wild Stag Productions and was four years in the making.

The Director of Wild Stag Productions, Adam Cahill, was loud in his praise of Tadhg Devery after he won the best supporting actor award. “This award is greatly appreciated, but we also believe it’s well deserved, as Tadhg is an absolutely tremendous actor, who put in an outrageously funny performance in Follow the Dead, and we couldn’t be more delighted for him” said Mr Cahill.

The Ferbane man was up against some very formidable competition for best supporting actor award, including Jack Gleeson from Game of Thrones.

Follow the Dead has just passed its first year on the festival circuit, and already it has accumulated a total of 12 wins and four nominations, including Best Feature Film at the Kerry International Film Festival.

The film began shooting in Ferbane in April of 2017, and the storyline centres around a family of millennials who are deciding what to do in the wake of an apocalyptic event happening in Dublin.

Adam Cahill describes it as “a horror slash comedy” and says while it has “tense elements” it also has a good measure of comic relief, mainly provided by the character played by Tadhg Devery.

“As news of the apocalyptic events happening in Dublin begin to trickle through to rural Ireland, the family on which the film is based are unsure as to what exactly they are dealing with – is it a terrorist attack, a revolution? “ explains Adam Cahill.

He adds that the “proverbial hits the fan and all hell breaks loose, and eventually the zombies reach rural Ireland, and that’s where the real fun begins.”

Tadhg Devery honed his acting skills at the Sydney Drama School when he was living in Australia, before returning to Ireland in 2015 and joining up with the Irish Film Academy in Dublin.

As well as being an accomplished actor, the son of Marie and Tim Devery from Clonlyon, Moyclare, has also done some modelling and reached the overall finals of the Mr British Isles Elegant Model Competition in 2018, where he represented his home county of Offaly.

Also in 2018, Tadhg Devery starred in a major TV ad campaign for Tipperary Crystal which was broadcast on RTE and Virgin Media in the run up to Christmas and saw him playing the role of a father travelling home to his family for the holiday season.

The following year he penned his first film script, Loose Thread, which began shooting in September 2019. He described the story as “a drama, a tragedy of circumstances” and said he had the idea floating around in his head for a long time before he put pen to paper.

At the moment he is basking in the success of his role in 'Follow the Dead' and his Best Supporting Actor accolade, and is looking forward to more success in the future.

'Follow the Dead' is due to be shown at further festivals both at home and abroad and a distribution deal for the film is also currently in the offing, which means that even more awards could be on their way to Ferbane!