Declan is a graduate of Dun Laoghaire College of Art and Design (Dublin), and UCLA Extension (Los Angeles), where he studied film and television. His early short films won several awards and played at numerous festivals worldwide. They include BIG SWINGER (1989) winner Best Short at the Galway Film Fleadh, Best Short at the Fuji Film Awards (UK), SUNNYS DELIVERANCE (1992) Bronze Award Worldfest Houston and QUANDO (1997) Audience award for Best Short at the Cork Film Festival. Both BIG SWINGER and SUNNYS DELIVERANCE received a theatrical release as support in Ireland, the UK and the USA.

He founded Paradox Pictures with Producer Liam O’Neill in 1990. The company produced numerous short films, documentaries and several feature films including; SEPARATION ANXIETY (1996), PETES METEOR (1998) and HOW HARRY BECAME A TREE (2001). Declan left Paradox in 2003 to concentrate on his Directing career.

His television work includes some of the top rated show on Irish TV. ANY TIME NOW (BBC/RTE 2002), PURE MULE (RTE 2005), THE CLINIC (RTE 2004-­‐2006), THE RUNNING MATE (TG4 2007). He has been nominated for an IFTA for Best Director on 4 occasions and won in 2005 for his direction of the critically acclaimed ratings hit PURE MULE. The Irish Times wrote PURE MULE had “spectacularly raised the bar for Irish television drama” while THE RUNNING MATE was described as “Truly marvelous…A political drama with balls”

His film, EDEN, was the closing film at the 2008 Jameson Dublin International Film Festival and has since been shown at over 40 film festivals worldwide. It was selected to screen in competition at the Tribeca Film Festival where lead actress Eileen Walsh was awarded the Best Actress Award. The film was released theatrically in the US in late 2008 to critical acclaim. The New York Times described it as“Exquisitely tuned to the terrors of approaching middle age” and was a New York Times “critics pick”.

In 2009 Declan directed PURE MULE – THE LAST WEEKEND, a two part special revisiting the characters from the original series five years on. The show was nominated for seven IFTA awards, including Best Director. In 2010 he directed the TV movie THREE WISE WOMEN for RHI Entertainment and Parallel Films starring Amy Huberman, Fionnula Flanagan and Hugh O’Connor. He has recently completed series two of the IFTA nominated drama SCÚP written by Colin Bateman for BBC/NI and TG4. He is currently shooting the final series of 6 Degrees for BBC/NI. He is attached to direct the feature films ANGLO REPUBLIC for Treasure Entertainment and THE TRUTH COMMISSIONER for Big Fish Films and Samson Films.

He is a member of the European Film Academy, Directors UK and is on the board of the Screen Directors Guild of Ireland (SDGI).