''An Crisis'' ("The Crisis", using the Irish article and the English noun) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

comedy television series A list of comedy television series by country of origin. Australia Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina * '' Viza za budućnost'' Brazil Canada China *'' Number One Surprise'' Croatia *'' Odmori se, zaslužio si'' *'' Zauvijek susjedi'' Egy ...

which was first broadcast on

TG4 TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was formerly known ...

in 2010 as a six-part miniseries satirising the inner workings of an

Irish-language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was the ...

quango A quango or QUANGO (less often QuANGO or QANGO) is an organisation to which a government has devolved power, but which is still partly controlled and/or financed by government bodies. The term was originally a shortening of "quasi-NGO", where N ...

. It was written by Antoine Ó Flatharta and directed by Charlie McCarthy. A sequel, titled ''Crisis Eile'' (; "Another Crisis") aired in 2013. The action shifts to the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

, with Maeve Kelly Clarke (

Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh (; born 12 November 1970) is an Irish TV presenter, she has presented '' Echo Island'', ''The Afternoon Show'' and ''Charity ICA Bootcamp''. She was a judge in ''The All Ireland Talent Show'' and participated in ''Celebrit ...

) exiled to

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

as Ireland's new Commissioner.

Production

Location filming took place in

Killiney Killiney () is an affluent seaside resort and suburb in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It lies south of neighbouring Dalkey, east of Ballybrack and Sallynoggin and north of Shankill. The place grew around the 11th century Killiney Churc ...

and

St Stephen's Green St Stephen's Green () is a garden square and public park located in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. The current landscape of the park was designed by William Sheppard. It was officially re-opened to the public on Tuesday, 27 July 1880 by ...

. The series received funding from the Sound and Vision scheme of the

Broadcasting Authority of Ireland The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) ( ga, Údarás Craolacháin na hÉireann) was established on 1 October 2009 effectively replacing the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) ( ga, Coimisiún Craolacháin na hÉireann). The BAI is ...

Plot

An Chomhairle Teanga (ACT, "The Language Council"), an Irish-language government agency, deals with cutbacks after the

post-2008 Irish economic downturn The post-2008 Irish economic downturn in the Republic of Ireland, coincided with a series of banking scandals, followed the 1990s and 2000s Celtic Tiger period of rapid real economic growth fuelled by foreign direct investment, a subsequent p ...

, media scrutiny and a difficult new Minister.

Cast

Both series

Conor MacNeill Conor MacNeill (born 4 July 1988) is a film, television, and stage actor from Northern Ireland. Biography MacNeill was born in West Belfast and has appeared in such films as ''Fifty Dead Men Walking'' and ''Peacefire'' directed by Macdara Valle ...

as Ciarán Mac Ionraic, ACT's financial controller. From

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

and with a chip on his shoulder about it, as well as a crush on Aoife. In ''Crisis Eile'', he becomes

Chef de Cabinet In several French-speaking countries and international organisations, a (French; literally 'head of office') is a senior civil servant or official who acts as an aide or private secretary to a high-ranking government figure, typically a minist ...

for Maeve Kelly Clarke. *Norma Sheahan as Emer de Barra. ACT employee. A lesbian with a young baby. In ''Crisis Eile'' she works with SPIEL (Support and Protection for Inter-European Languages) *Michelle Beamish as Aoife McBride, ACT's receptionist. A failed

Irish dance Irish dance refers to a group of traditional dance forms that originate in Ireland, encompassing dancing both solo and in groups, and dancing for social, competitive, and performance purposes. Irish dance in its current form developed from vari ...

r, she spends her time at work doing yoga and meditating to the sound of Raidió na Gaeltachta's death notices. *Donncha Crowley as Muiris, longtime civil servant and etymologist who spends his days doing

crossword A crossword is a word puzzle that usually takes the form of a square or a rectangular grid of white- and black-shaded squares. The goal is to fill the white squares with letters, forming words or phrases, by solving clues which lead to the ans ...

s. In ''Crisis Eile'' he moves to Brussels as an

archivist An archivist is an information professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to records and archives determined to have long-term value. The records maintained by an archivist can consis ...

. *Kate Nic Chonaonaigh as Caoimhe Ní Chuinn, an assessor sent in by the Minister to decide if ACT should be shut down. In ''Crisis Eile'' she becomes a

junior minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry (government department), ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is desi ...

''An Crisis'' only

Risteárd Cooper Risteárd Cooper (; born February 1969) is an Irish actor, comedian, singer and writer and is one third of comedy trio ''Après Match''. Cooper attended St Michael's College, Ballsbridge. He joined the National Youth Theatre aged 16. On leavin ...

as Setanta De Paor, acting director of ACT for ten years. *Caitríona Ní Mhurchú as Deirdre De Paor,

violinist The following lists of violinists are available: * List of classical violinists, notable violinists from the baroque era onwards * List of contemporary classical violinists, notable contemporary classical violinists * List of violinist/compose ...

wife of Setanta who runs away with a Hungarian fellow musician. *

Don Wycherley Don Wycherley (born 15 September 1967, Skibbereen, County Cork) is an Irish actor. He played Father Cyril McDuff in ''Father Ted'', Father Aidan O'Connell in ''Ballykissangel'', and Raymond in '' Bachelors Walk''. Wycherley is a fluent Irish ...

as Donncha, the Minister. Has a voice reminiscent of

Michael D. Higgins Michael Daniel Higgins ( ga, Mícheál Dónal Ó hUigínn; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, sociologist, and broadcaster, who has served as the ninth president of Ireland since November 2011. Entering national politics throug ...

and a grudge against Setanta *Maeve Fitzgerald as Eileen, partner to Caoimhe

''Crisis Eile'' only

as Maeve Kelly Clarke, Transport Minister exiled to Brussels as punishment for her many gaffes and scandals. *Helen Norton as Ana Conda, a Spaniard. Maeve's deputy Chef de Cabinet and PR spokeswoman. *Jamie O'Neill as Peter Westerville, a German. Maeve's Climate Action officer. *

Moe Dunford Moe Dunford (born 11 December 1987) is an Irish actor. He is best known for his roles in ''Vikings'' and '' Patrick's Day''. He is the recipient of a number of accolades, including three Irish Film & Television Awards. Early life Dunford was b ...

as Christian * Mark Lambert as Van de Veld, President of the European Commission.

Reception

''An Crisis'' was well-received, the ''

Connacht Tribune The ''Connacht Tribune'' (''An Curadh Connachtach'') is a newspaper circulating chiefly in County Galway, Ireland. The main regional newspaper for the county, the Tribune Group prints two titles every week - the ''Connacht Tribune'' on Thursday ...

'' calling it "one of the most entertaining things on TV at the moment, poking fun at so many sacred cows that you wonder how they get away with it." ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' noted ''An Crisis''' "sharp satirical bite" and said it was "a subversive subject for TG4 to give the green light to". It was shown at the

Monte-Carlo Television Festival The Monte-Carlo Television Festival is held every year in June in the Principality of Monaco at the Grimaldi Forum, under the Honorary Presidency of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco. The opening ceremony inaugurates each new edition, intro ...

where it was nominated for six

Golden Nymph Award The Golden Nymph Award(s) are the prizes awarded to the winners of the Official Competition of the Monte-Carlo Television Festival. History Prince Rainier III of Monaco created the Festival de Télévision de Monte-Carlo in 1961 to "encourage ...

s. ''An Crisis'' was nominated for a Special Irish Language Award at the 8th Irish Film & Television Awards.

References

External links

* 2010 Irish television series debuts 2013 Irish television series endings Irish drama television series Irish-language television shows TG4 original programming Television shows set in the Republic of Ireland Workplace comedy television series Political satirical television series {{Ireland-tv-prog-stub