Kilroot worker’s ‘longest night’ features in broadcast

On Saturday, December 21 the sun set at 3.53pm and did not rise again until 8.04am the next morning.

And over the course of a single night cameras filmed some of those who have turned their backs on the normal nine-to-five in favour of working during the hours of darkness.

‘True North: The Longest Night’, follows Martin, who works at Kilroot Power Station, part of the small team making sure the electricity power remains on.

It features too Kieran, a street cleanser from Londonderry as he sets about keeping the city’s streets tidy; and Alice who has devoted her time to helping out at a shelter for vulnerable young women in Belfast.

Cameras also film Roberta, a call superviser with a Belfast taxi company on what is one of the busiest nights of the year for the local taxi industry; Martin from Maghera who makes his living from taking spectacular photographs of Northern Ireland at night and brothers John and Thomas from Randalstown on their farm as they prepare 4,000 turkeys for Christmas.

The film has been made for BBC Northern Ireland by Alleycats, and is part of the True North series.

True North: The Longest Night will be shown on BBC One NI at 10.35pm.