Joshua Burnside 'March Around the Ladies' Dick Mac's Pub

The idea for this piece was to document not just the music, but the peculiar intimacy of an Irish pub mid-evening. A space where a quiet folk performance could unfold in the middle of ordinary life, surrounded by locals who had mostly arrived for a casual pint.

The creative direction drew inspiration from Peter Lennon’s 1967 documentary Rocky Road to Dublin. In one memorable scene, musicians perform in a packed pub while the camera drifts across the faces of those listening. The moment feels almost anthropological, capturing a social snapshot as much as a musical one. That reference became the blueprint for the film. By staging the performance inside Dick Mack’s during the bustle of Other Voices, the piece aimed to echo that sense of observation. Irish culture seen not as nostalgia, but as something alive and evolving.

Production unfolded inside a working pub with unsuspecting patrons who had no idea they were about to become extras. The team leaned into the unpredictability of the setting. Between takes, the director Eilís made quick appeals to the room, convincing drinkers to hold their seats and lend the performance a moment of quiet attention (get off your phones please!). Shooting on 16mm added another layer of texture, softening the light and deepening the atmosphere of the space.

In post-production, the footage was shaped to preserve that feeling of lived-in authenticity. Editorial decisions focused on rhythm and observation. Lingering close-ups of faces, glasses on tables, and the shifting attention of the room helped frame the performance within the pub itself.

What emerged is less a conventional live session and more a small cultural time capsule. A contemporary Irish folk performance unfolding in one of the country’s most storied pubs, surrounded by a generation navigating its own moment in Irish history.