Aisling Walsh facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Aisling Walsh
Walsh at Berlinale in 2017
Born	September 1958 (age 66) Dublin, Ireland
Nationality	Irish
Alma mater	Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology
Occupation	Film director, screenwriter
Years active	1985–present
Spouse(s)	Dermot Ryan ​ ​ (m. 1980; died 2018)​

Aisling Walsh (born in September 1958) is a talented Irish writer and director. She creates movies and TV shows. Her work has been shown at film festivals all over the world. She has won many awards for her amazing films.

For example, she won a BAFTA TV Award for her TV series Room at the Top in 2012. She also won an Irish Film and Television Award and a Canadian Screen Award for directing the movie Maudie in 2016. Aisling Walsh is known for showing Irish society in a very honest way.

Early Life and Education

Aisling Walsh was born in Dublin, Ireland. Her father, Raphael Walsh, was a furniture designer. When she was 16, in 1975, Aisling started studying at the Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology.

She then continued her studies at The National Film School in Beaconsfield, England. There, a Scottish filmmaker named Bill Douglas was one of her teachers and a big influence. After her studies, she moved to London.

A Career in Film and Television

Aisling Walsh began her directing career in 1985. She wrote and directed her first short film, called Hostage. Her first full-length movie as a director was Joyriders in 1989.

Working in Television

During the 1990s, Aisling started working a lot in television. She directed episodes for popular TV shows like The Bill (from 1991 to 1994) and Doctor Finlay (in 1993). She also directed parts of Roughnecks (in 1995) and Trial & Retribution (from 1997 to 2002).

Directing Feature Films

In 2003, Aisling Walsh wrote and directed her second feature film, Song for a Raggy Boy. This movie won many awards at film festivals around the world. It even won Best Film at the Copenhagen International Film Festival.

Her third feature film was The Daisy Chain, a horror-thriller movie, which came out in 2008.

More Television Success

Aisling continued to direct many TV series and films in the 2000s and early 2010s. She directed Fingersmith (2005), which was nominated for a British Academy Television Award. She also directed the BBC One film Sinners (2007).

In 2010, she directed The Fifth Woman. This was a special long episode of the BBC series Wallander, starring the famous actor Kenneth Branagh. In 2012, she directed Room at the Top. This TV mini-series earned her a BAFTA TV Award in 2013 for Best Mini-Series.

Focus on Biographies

In 2014, Aisling directed A Poet in New York. This film explored the life and death of the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. He died in New York when he was 39. The film was made to celebrate 100 years since Thomas's birth.

Her fourth feature film was the biographical movie Maudie (2016). This film tells the story of the Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis. Aisling herself had studied painting, so she was drawn to the simple and beautiful art of Maud Lewis.

Maudie received very good reviews from critics. The Japan Times newspaper called it "an unabashedly intimate portrait of a remarkable woman." The New York Times also praised the film.

Awards for Maudie

Aisling Walsh won several important awards for her work on Maudie. She won a Canadian Screen Award for Best Director. The movie Maudie won a total of seven awards at the 6th annual ceremony in 2018. Aisling also won the award for Best Director at the 15th annual Irish Film and Television Awards in 2018.

Filmography

Film Projects

Television Projects