''An Klondike'' (

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 ...

for " The Klondike") is an Irish

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

television series created by Dathaí Keane for

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 ...

. Internationally, the series is known as ''Dominion Creek''. Set during the Klondike Gold Rush, it portrays the lives of three Irish brothers in the fictional town of Dominion Creek who possess their own mining claims. An edited version of ''An Klondike'' was screened as the closing gala at the

Galway Film Fleadh The Galway Film Fleadh (; Irish for "festival") is an international film festival founded in 1989 as part of the Galway Arts Festival. Describing itself as Ireland’s leading film festival, the event is held every July in Galway city in Ireland ...

in August 2015. The series premiered on TG4 on September 8, 2015, and concluded on February 22, 2017, after two seasons.

Premise

In the late 19th century, three Irish emigrant brothers travel from

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

to the

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

during the Klondike Gold Rush and settle in the town of Dominion Creek. Each has a different desire; middle brother Séamus heads out first with the hope of striking it rich, eldest Tom looks to control the family's mining claim, and youngest Pádraig chooses to instead work at the town's only hospital. They meet new allies and love interests, but also come into conflict with Dominion Creek's dangerous individuals.

Cast

Main

Owen McDonnell Owen McDonnell (born 1974) is an Irish actor best known for playing Garda Sergeant Jack Driscoll in RTÉ Television's '' Single-Handed'' and Niko Polastri in BBC's ''Killing Eve''. Early life McDonnell was born in Galway in Ireland. He attend ...

as Tom Connolly, the temperamental and protective oldest of the Connolly brothers * Dara Devaney as Séamus Connolly, the reckless middle Connolly brother * Seán T. Ó Meallaigh as Pádraig Connolly, the compassionate youngest of the Connolly brothers * Julian Black Antelope as Skookum Jim (season 1), a

Hän The Hän, Han or Hwëch'in / Han Hwech’in (meaning "People of the River, i.e. Yukon River", in English also Hankutchin) are a First Nations people of Canada and an Alaska Native Athabaskan people of the United States; they are part of the At ...

hunter and trapper who becomes an ally to the Connollys * Robert O'Mahoney as Jacob Hopkins, a powerful businessman and colonel in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

who intends to control Dominion Creek *

Ned Dennehy Ned Dennehy (born 8 December 1965) is an Irish actor who has appeared in multiple films and television programmes. He is best known for his role as Mider in ''The Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog''. He also appeared in ''Blitz'', ''Harry Potter and t ...

as Captain Pat Galvin, Jacob's enforcer and fellow Civil War veteran * Clive Geraghty as Father Judge (season 1), a humanitarian who runs Dominion Creek's only hospital *

Bríd Ní Neachtain Bríd Ní Neachtain ( ; born 1959) is an Irish actress known for ''Dancing at Lughnasa''. Early life Born in Galway, Neachtain is a native of Connemara. She starred in an adaptation of Máirtín Ó Cadhain's 1948 novel, ''Cré na Cille''. Sh ...

Belinda Mulrooney Belinda Mulrooney (1872–1967) was an entrepreneur and purportedly the "richest woman in the Klondike". She made one fortune in the Klondike Gold Rush, lost it, and amassed a second, which lasted most of the rest of her life. Biography Mu ...

, a formidable, but compassionate entrepreneur * Siobhan O'Kelly as Kate Mulryan, a saloon singer betrothed to Sam, but pursued by Séamus * Steve Wall as

Sam Steele Major General Sir Samuel Benfield Steele (5 January 1848 – 30 January 1919) was a distinguished Canadian soldier and police official. He was an officer of the North-West Mounted Police, most famously as head of the Yukon detachment during the ...

, the superintendent of the Yukon's

North-West Mounted Police The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian para-military police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert’s Land and North-Western Territory ...

detachment * Ian Toner as JJ Hopkins (season 1), a saloon owner, Jacob's son, and Estella's husband * Megan Riordan as Estella Hopkins, JJ's wife and later owner of his saloon * Michael Glenn Murphy as

Soapy Smith Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith II (November 2, 1860 – July 8, 1898) was an American con artist and gangster in the American frontier. Smith operated confidence schemes across the Western United States, and had a large hand in organized crim ...

, an English conman operating in Dominion Creek * Seamus Hughes as Petey McDonagh (season 1), an Irish emigrant working for the Hopkins * Chloe Ewart as El Soo, the sister of Skookum Jim and Chief Isaac and Tom's love interest * Fionnuala Flaherty as Bridget Mannion, Estella's maid who becomes romantically involved with Pádraig *

Glen Gould Glen Gould (born June 6, 1971) is an Indigenous Canadian actor, director and producer of Miꞌkmaq and Italian descent. Between 2016 and 2020, he played the role of detective Jerry Commanda on the television series ''Cardinal''. Career Gould ...

as Chief Isaac (season 2; recurring season 1), a Hän chief and brother of Skookum Jim and El Soo * Tim Creed as Micí Bán Connolly (season 2), a cousin of the Connolly brothers *

Timothy V. Murphy Timothy Vincent Murphy (born 5 April 1960) is an Irish actor based in Los Angeles. His notable 2015 roles have been on ''The Bastard Executioner'', ''Grace and Frankie'', and ''True Detective''. He played Galen O'Shea for three seasons on the ...

as Peachy Taylor (season 2), a dangerous ally of Pat *

Duane Howard Duane Howard (born 1963) is an Aboriginal Canadian actor who is best known for his role as the Arikara chief Elk Dog in the 2015 film '' The Revenant''. He has also appeared in ''Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee'' (2007), ''Pathfinder'' (2007), th ...

as Mr. Angel (season 2), Peachy's

Miꞌkmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the nort ...

partner * Donncha Crowley as Al Carbonneau (season 2), Soapy's friend and fellow conman pretending to be a French count

Recurring

* Barry Barnes as Michael Dillon (season 1), a friend of the Connollys * Mimi Carroll as Maude, a prostitute who partakes in mining a claim with Pádraig and Bridget * Gary Murphy as Dr. Dunn, Dominion Creek's doctor * Mary Lou McCarthy as Una, a young Irish prostitute

Production

Created and directed by Dathaí Keane, the show was filmed on location in

Connemara Connemara (; )( ga, Conamara ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speak ...

, Ireland, with the County Galway scenery standing in for the

. The fictional town of Dominion Creek was built near

Oughterard Oughterard () is a small town on the banks of the Owenriff River close to the western shore of Lough Corrib in Connemara, County Galway, Ireland. The population of the town in 2016 was 1,318. It is located about northwest of Galway on the N5 ...

, while the mining scenes were shot at

Glengowla Mines Glengowla Mines is a "show mine" dedicated to the lead and silver mining history of Glengowla and the Oughterard area. History Mining at Glengowla began in 1851, after a farmer discovered galena just under the soil surface. The first mine shaf ...

, a 19th-century

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

and

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

mine. ''An Klondike'' was produced by the Galway-based company Abú Media Teo. Pierce Boyce, Eileen Seoighe and Bríd Seoighe served as producers of the series. A second series of four episodes was filmed in the summer of 2016 and aired in early 2017.

Reception

''An Klondike'' has received mostly positive reviews, ''

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 ...

'' noting "I’m not sure there's TV gold in ''An Klondike'', but you can’t fault its ambition and style," also noting its similarities to '' Deadwood''.
/ref> In 2016, the first season of ''An Klondike'' received nine

Irish Film and Television Award The Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) is an all-Ireland organisation focused on film and television. It has about 1000 members, and is based in Dublin, with branches in London and Los Angeles. The IFTA now holds separate ceremonies for the ...

nominations, winning four awards - for Best Drama, Actor, Make-Up and Script. In 2017, the second season of ''An Klondike'' received ten IFTA nominations, winning two awards - for Best Director Drama, and Supporting Actor

References

External links

Official sitePage on the TG4 site
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Facebook page
{{TG4 Shows Irish drama television series 2015 Irish television series debuts Irish-language television shows TG4 original programming Television series set in the 1890s Television shows set in Yukon