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TV Times
Through Irish eyes
The cast and crew of ITV's Irish police drama, Single Handed are two weeks in to filming the second series in Connemara, Co Galway, when TV Times arrives on set.
So unusually sunny has the weather been that the shows star Owen McDonnell, who plays lonely Garda sergeant Jack Driscoll, prefers kayaking up and down the lake of an evening to sinking a pint of Guinness. Until today, that is, when the heavens open and thick grey clouds hover over the mountains in the distance.
Owen (37) jokingly tuts that we've brought the bad weather with us from London, while we're secretly pleased. It's not that we didn't want to spend a couple of days in the sun, its just, well, this is exactly what we pictured when we imagined being on the set of the atmospherically bleak crime drama. The chatty leading man can't help but agree with our observation.
'The landscape is the real star of the show,' he explains over a drink in the hotel bar once the day's filming is over. 'It's so vast and shows how insignificant people are against the massive backdrop. It's also got a touch of the Western about it. I think the director must have been watching a lot of John Ford movies!'
Owen also sees changes in his character for the second run.
'Jack's the son of an ex-Garda and, in the first series, he struggled with his role and status in the village,' he says. 'Now that his father, Gerry, is no longer around, as terrible as it sounds, it's made his life a hell of a lot easier.'
But it's not all plain sailing for Jack, as local bar owner and retired Garda Denis Costello (Sean McGinley) continually tries to undermine him.
Jack's life is made even more complicated when his English cousin Brian (Matthew McNulty) arrives out of the blue with his fiancée, photographer Gemma (Bad Girls star, Simone Lahbib). Brian is trying to trace his family and find out who his dad is.
'At first, Jack's quite pleased to have him around because it unlocks a big part of his own history,' explains Matthew (28). 'But Brian and Gemma's relationship is on tenterhooks and it doesn't get any easier when there's a spark between Gemma and Jack.'
Oh dear, Jack doesn't have much luck, does he?
'I think he's getting to the stage where he'd love to settle down and have a family.' sighs Owen, who will shortly appear alongside former Corrie stars Sally Lindsay and Angela Griffin in comedy-drama Mount Pleasant on Sky 1. 'But he's just moved into the flat above the police station, so his work life balance isn't spectacular!'
Ironically, Matthew, who perfected an Irish brogue as Fisher Bloom in Lark Rise to Candleford, Brian hails from his native Manchester. 'I have to stop myself from slipping in to an Irish accent when I'm on set!' he admits.
After a sensational first series that often featured difficult subject matter, we have high hopes for the six hour long episodes. The opening 2 part story, The Lost Boys, examines the fate of young offenders in harsh industrial schools.
'The show holds up a mirror to Modern Ireland,' explains Owen. 'It's an opportunity to tell some stories. The Lost Boys explores the emotional fallout of the penal system and whether people of my generation have the right to question their parents attitudes.'
Adds Scottish born Simone (46) 'It's something that's entrenched in Irish culture. Everyone knows someone who was at an Industrial school. It's an important tale to tell.'
Owen sympathises with his character but couldn't imagine taking on Jack's job.
'Being a policeman must be quite rewarding in its own way,' he ponders. 'But could I do it? No! I can understand the attraction – there aren't many jobs where you can stop something bad happening, and there must be an adrenaline buzz from physically chasing people. I love this role because I'm in fantastic situations that, fingers crossed, won't ever happen to me in real life.'
On the set, the three stars radiate the kind of glow you get from spending several months in the remote Irish countryside. No busy traffic, no paparazzi.....
'We're all here together in glorious isolation!' laughs Galway native Owen, who now lives in north London with his partner, Jill.
In fact, without his padded police uniform, he's barely recognisable. He's noticeably slightly off camera and wears a checked shirt and a pair of dark rimmed specs.
'When you see a policeman we notice the uniform, but you don't really take in the person.' he smiles. 'I don't often get recognised. I was in the pub once when a friend said, “I think people are looking at you – is it because you're on the telly?” I was like, “Well I hope so.”'.
For Matthew, its harder being away from home because he has two young sons, Ellis, five and Oliver, four. He's naturally bonded with Simone whose five year old daughter Skye joined her on set, and he spends a lot of his free time strumming a guitar in his trailer.
'I'm learning from a few cast and crew members who also play,' he tells us. 'Also, one of the crew is a kick boxer and has started training everyone, so we're on a health kick at the moment.'
Adds Simone: 'There are loads of things to do here. There's loads of fishing and golf, or cycling if you can manage the hills. But I just enjoy driving around. Everyone waves at you instead of cutting you up like they do on the roads in London!'
Martha Hayes.