Seán Ó Baoil plays Adam on TG4 soap Ros na Rún, presents BBC's I Lár an Aonaigh and An Focal Scoir and is a shooting director on RTÉ’s new Irish language series, An Teach Seo Againne. "It was challenging to produce content of any kind during the pandemic," he writes.
I spent the first lockdown at home in Donegal with my parents. I had moved home from Dublin the previous April, with the intention of only staying for a month or two. Almost a year later when the pandemic began, I was still living at home, something which I was very grateful for.
Have you ever met anyone from Donegal who doesn’t unapologetically love Donegal? No, of course not. We are all very proud of our wee County and during lockdown we got to explore and appreciate it even more. Donegal is home to some of the most stunning beaches, beautiful scenic walks, magnificent hills and mountains to climb and plenty of islands to explore off the North-West coast, Oileáin Ghabhla being my favourite to visit.
At home, I spent every day jogging, walking, catching up with friends (when allowed and socially distanced) on Carrickfinn Beach.
Carrickfinn Beach is my 'Happy Place'. It doesn’t matter what time of year it is or what the weather is like, that place does my soul and mind wonders. I love being near the sea.
Another favourite walk of mine is into Loch Altan Farm or climbing Errigal mountain. I really enjoyed being outdoors and keeping active during the lockdown, it was good for the body and mind.
I won't lie, I did my fair share of Netflix-bingeing, Schitts Creek, Pose, How to Get Away with Murder and The Queen’s Gambit being my favourites.
I would love to say I read all these amazing books, learned an instrument and baked banana bread (perhaps there was one or two failed attempts at a lemon drizzle cake) but I was very fortunate to have worked all through the ongoing pandemic.
During this time I continued working as a video journalist with the Irish language news website meoneile.ie.
We produced a special series of An Focal Scoir for BBC NI which looked at the impact of Covid-19 on our health and mental health, our education, our economy and much more. We also managed to complete our ninth series of our Irish language magazine show I Lár an Aonaigh, which was also broadcast on BBC NI.
It was challenging to produce content of any kind during the pandemic. We had to get to grips with a new way of working, but we were all very happy and proud to have produced a very strong series in the end.
I had also been working on a series for RTÉ as a shooting director, before the Covid-19 outbreak.
We were halfway through filming when the pandemic broke out, and although we had to suspend filming for a short period, I was delighted to get back to filming with our amazing and inspirational families.
An Teach Seo Againne is a four-part series that features four single parents and co-parents as they navigate family life and face the tough realities of bringing up their children, and you can catch it on the RTÉ Player.
And finally Adam made his return to streets of Ros na Rún, which was a lot of fun. Acting is my first love and it was so good to get back into the scripts and being on set, and of course I was delighted to see all the cast and crew. If you havem't been watching in the last week, things are all about to kick off on the show, so it is one to watch at the moment!
When I wasn't busy with filming, I was helping my father in his shop. He owns a paint and hardware shop in Annagry (County Donegal) called The Colour Shop. At the beginning of the pandemic it wasn't long before paint took over from toilet roll, it was like gold dust.
We had people ringing from far and near looking for paint and other DIY materials. I would put money on it that Donegal is now home to some of the most freshly-painted houses and nicest gardens in the country!
It was a real family effort, with myself, my Dad and my Mom working together, and I have to say I really enjoyed the quality time I spent with them.
I have since moved to Belfast with work and am living with one my best friends Brídín, aka Katy Daly from Ros na Rún. Although we are in lockdown and our movements are restricted, I have had the best time with the best company.
I returned home to Donegal in early December to be home for Christmas. It was a very different Christmas, but I enjoyed it. It was quieter and more family-orientated, which was nice.
We had my sister, her husband and my little niece Phreya (my favourite person in the whole world) spend Christmas day with us, along with my Nan who is on our bubble at home. She lives next door as my Mom is her carer.
I climbed to the peak of Errigal Mountain in the snow with another of my best friends before the 5km restriction came into effect. It was like being in the French Alps, we spent the most of the way down on our bums!!
I must admit I have been very fortunate in every single way during this pandemic, especially in comparison to others and I count my blessings each day.
However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. I know personally I am looking forward to hearing that both my grandmothers have been vaccinated and are safe. We just have to follow the guidelines a little longer and all do our part to get over this last hurdle.
Fanigí slán, fanigí sa bhaile agus bígí ag coimhéad ar Ros na Rún!!
Ros na Rún, TG4, Tuesday, Thursday, 8.30pm; omnibus edition Sunday, 7.30pm
