Ben Murnane
Ben finished his degree in Drama and Theatre Studies at Trinity College Dublin in 2008. He completed a Masters in Popular Literature at Trinity in 2010, and a PhD in English in 2016. His PhD research was on Ayn Rand and posthumanism. Ben has tutored at Trinity and has also facilitated creative writing and drama workshops elsewhere. In the 2013-14 academic year, he was co-convenor of the TCD School of English Staff-Postgraduate Seminar Series.
Throughout his years at school (at the Bray School Project, Co Wicklow, and later St Andrew’s College, Booterstown, Co Dublin) and during college, Ben ran his own small magazine, The Fush Monthly (TFM), later called Totally Fushed (TF), which was published by his own ‘company’, probably the world’s smallest media consortium, Nottwel™
Writer-Director-Actor
Ben is writer-director, with Emma Eager, of an award-winning short film, Two Suitcases, which is based on his book Two in a Million. He is also a writer and presenter of an online travel video series, Dublin: The Local Way.
‘When you go into hospital, you take two suitcases with you: one to carry your clothes, and another to pack away your dignity.’
Two Suitcases is an innovative and award-winning new short film, written and directed by Emma Eager and Ben Murnane. Ben has a rare genetic disorder, Fanconi anaemia; when he was 16 years old, he became the first person in Ireland to undergo a new type of bone marrow transplant. The film describes (in 11 minutes) the journey of his transplant and recovery, combining a myriad of storytelling methods, including live action, animation, puppetry, home movie footage, and original music. It was filmed using the iPhone 4S.
Two Suitcases was made with the involvement of teenagers living with chronic illness, who took on roles both on camera and behind the scenes. It has now won two awards: best film in the under-18s category at the 2012 Charlie Chaplin Comedy Film Festival in Waterville, Co Kerry; and best film at the First Cut! Youth Film Festival in Cork. It was also showcased in October 2012 at the Dublintellectual event, ‘Creative Entrepreneurialism and the Humanities’, as part of Innovation Dublin. The short is part of a broader ‘Two Suitcases Project’, established by Emma – with the assistance of a range of artists – to promote and encourage the creativity of young people with chronic illnesses. A new film is to be made with a wider group of teenagers in November 2012, and Emma recently established OAK, a creative web-space for teenagers, as part of the Two Suitcases Project.
Ben Murnane 