In the lead-up to The Young Arrows we’re hearing from past winners. Next up we’re speaking to Music Video Director, Hugh Mulhern, who not only won the award at the YOUNG ARROWS, but went on to win a gold BRITISH ARROWS trophy for it too.

Hugh won the Music Video Director Category for the film Doolally for Hak Baker by Riff Raff Films.

Hugh’s career story shows what’s possible when you set your mind to it. A multi-award winning Irish director working in TV, Film and commercials, Hugh started out in the industry working as a spark before finding his way into editing. Now he’s focused on his true passion, directing.


1. How did winning at the Young Arrows feel?
It's easy to get caught up in the very boring self-deprecating director thing, so winning was a much welcomed pat on the back.

2. Coming off your YOUNG ARROWS win, did you expect to win again at the BRITISH ARROWS Awards?!
Amongst the other work that was nominated I did not expect it at all.

3. What are the benefits of opportunities like the YOUNG ARROWS for emerging talent?
The sheer amount of work out there means it’s impossible to stay on top of everything. The special thing about awards like the YOUNG ARROWS is it just gets industry eyes on your work, which is invaluable.

4. Has winning these had any impact on your career / career decisions?
I guess it has, but not in the ways I expected. It's been a double edged sword - on one hand it's given me the confidence to believe in my abilities and what I can do when I'm trusted, but on the other hand it's also made me a lot more cautious about what I say yes to.

If I'm being perfectly honest I thought it would open me up more to the commercial world, but I think I need to make some more family-friendly music videos before I really get my foot in that door.

5. What are your career goals?
I want to keep developing my tone of voice in music videos and find a version of what I do that can be applied in the commercial space.

I have a feature in development with Screen Ireland back home, so the dream is to get the ball rolling on that soon. In the meantime, I want to secure commercial work that lets me push the boat out!