Making The Pigeon People

Sarah Breen on the making of new UTV series The Pigeon People

The inspiration for this four-part series began unexpectedly one evening while I was driving around the back streets of east Belfast to try to reduce my time stuck in rush hour traffic.

Above me was a flock of birds circling in a uniform fashion. They came to land on a shed roof in the estate just ahead of me (which I now know the correct term is to light on the loft).

I was somewhat intrigued. Pigeons. Could this be the topic of my next series?

As I delved deeper into the world of pigeon racing, I discovered a whole world I didn’t even know existed, a community rich in tradition, devotion and competition.

Despite the oozing passion fanciers had for the sport, a number of people I spoke to told me the same thing, ‘it’s not how it used to be’, ‘it’s a dying sport’, ‘young people aren’t interested anymore’ and ‘they’re more interested in their phones’.

Somewhat disheartened it was a breath of fresh air to meet 20-year-old Keelie Wright, a generational pigeon fancier with such passion for her birds.

Keelie not only races her pigeons but in the quieter winter months she has a team of show pigeons which she shows in competitions across the country.

As I was standing at a show at Lisburn Swimming Pool, surrounded by over 300 birds hoping to win an array of awards I was perplexed. How is this even a thing? Does anyone else know this exists?

In the making of this series, I met so many other passionate fanciers but another stand out character was 89-year-old Ronnie Johnson. A veteran of the sport, racing pigeons for more than 70 years.

His wealth of knowledge and experience provided a historical perspective on pigeon racing and how it’s changed over time.

He’s still top of his game and has no intention of giving up the sport anytime soon.

This is an engaging, character-driven series. It allows you to feel as if you are part of the pigeon community as you follow the fanciers as they navigate through the season. 

From egg to chick (probably your first time seeing a baby pigeon) to being race ready.

It was a pleasure to make this series and meet so many passionate people along the way.

How a pigeon can be let off at a race point and find its way back to its own loft is something that still blows my mind.

The Pigeon People is a brand new four-part documentary series coming to UTV on Friday October 11 at 9.30pm.

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