by Dan Maher

The University of Galway is a place that attracts characters from near and far. Students join societies and share stories, while also trying to complete some college work.

One of these is final year performance, screen and English student, Brogán Mellotte. Mellotte has developed from being a novice pool player into the university’s pool club chairman.

The Roscommon native spoke to Galway Pulse about pool, his love of fashion, his film studies, and career aspirations.

The Galway Pool scene

“I was just looking at clubs while I was in first year, and thought that pool might be cool, so I gave it a go and joined up. I was hooked from the start.”

Mr Melotte said: “I didn’t play great the first night, but after that I used to go down and play every day, just to get better. Since then, I’ve always loved it.”

He reflects on the club’s success in 2025 and also looks ahead to more competitive action in 2026.

“We won the Student Sport Ireland Cup last year. We also won with our A team at the Universities Pool Council inter-varsities in the north of Ireland earlier this year.”

Despite the recent wins, Mr Mellotte has noticed a decline in the number of club members.

“The uptake hasn’t been as strong this year. I’ve organised more competitions and events than any other year, but numbers are still quite poor.”

Fashion, film, and a thesis.

Mr Mellotte’s talents don’t end in the pool hall. He also dabbles in fashion, running a TikTok page that showcases his outfits. He also interviews people about their clothing styles on the page.

“I was out chatting to people on the streets of Galway, my mate was recording the video for me. It was really good fun. I have such a huge passion for it, it’s just a little side hobby that I like doing.”

Mr Mellotte is also an avid movie watcher, studying film at university. He hopes to focus his thesis on ‘The Ninth Configuration’ a piece based on the aftermath of the Vietnam War.

“The Ninth Configuration is a film that I found about an army colonel after the war who is brought in to assess the mental illness of air force members. My thesis is looking at how these men were treated once they got out of Vietnam. They were completely hated by their entire country when they got back.”

As part of the research, he spoke to a veteran who shared his experiences of the Vietnam War.

“He said he’s hardly even able to speak now after the stuff he has seen and the stuff he had to do. I just thought it was so heartbreaking for such a kind person to have been affected in that way.

“That’s what I want to look at in the thesis, how it has affected these men, and it’s not glorifying it. It’s making it human. I’m also speaking to director Elric Kane about it. He’s going to give his opinions on it, and I’ll base some of the thesis around that.”

The Future is bright.

Mr Mellotte sets his sights on pastures new, as he looks ahead to the future when he leaves college.

“When I finish up, I’m hoping to go into lecturing in film studies, and hopefully at some stage become a director.”

For now, his studies and pool practice continue as he enjoys the remaining months of his undergraduate degree.