''The Hanging Gale'' is a four-episode television serial which first aired on

RTÉ One RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís � ...

(

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

) and

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

(

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

) in 1995. The series was a British–Irish co-production, made by Little Bird Films for

BBC Northern Ireland BBC Northern Ireland ( ga, BBC Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster-Scots: ''BBC Norlin Airlan'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Northern Ireland. It is widely available across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ire ...

in association with

Raidió Teilifís Éireann Raidi (; ; also written Ragdi; born August, 1938) is a Tibetan politician of the People's Republic of China. He served as a vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 2003 to 2008, and the highest ranking Tibeta ...

(RTÉ), with support from the

Irish Film Board Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland, formerly known as Bord Scannán na hÉireann / the Irish Film Board, is the Republic of Ireland's state development agency for the Irish film, television and animation industry. It provides funds for the developm ...

. The serial, set in 1846 in

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

in the west of

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

at the beginning of Ireland's Great Famine, starred the four McGann brothers:

Joe McGann Joseph McGann (born 24 July 1958) is an English actor. His roles include the lead role of Charlie Burrows, the "housekeeper" in the TV comedy series ''The Upper Hand'' (1990–1996), '' Night and Day'' and his voice role as Sir Gideon Ofnir i ...

Paul McGann Paul John McGann (; born 14 November 1959) is an English actor. He came to prominence for portraying Percy Toplis in the television serial ''The Monocled Mutineer'' (1986), then starred in the dark comedy ''Withnail and I'' (1987), which was a ...

Mark McGann Mark Anthony McGann (born 12 July 1961) is an English actor. Early life He attended the De La Salle Grammar School, Liverpool. Mark's father Joe was a Royal Naval Commando who died in 1984, and his mother Clare was a teacher. His three bro ...

and

Stephen McGann Stephen Vincent McGann (born 2 February 1963) is a British actor, best known for portraying Dr Patrick Turner in the BBC One medical period drama series ''Call the Midwife''. He is one of a family of acting brothers, the others being Joe, Pau ...

, and was based on an original idea by Joe and Stephen McGann while researching their family's history. The title of the series comes from the term 'hanging gale', the name for a widespread practice in Ireland at the time, where a landlord would allow new tenants a six-month grace period on payment of their rent, with the expectation that the rent owed would be paid when the land's crops were harvested and sold.

Plot

Under pressure to pay rental arrears, members of a secret society convict

land agent Land agent may be used in at least three different contexts. Traditionally, a land agent was a managerial employee who conducted the business affairs of a large estate (house), landed estate for a member of the landed gentry, supervising the farmi ...

Henry Jenkins in a "hedgerow trial" and brutally execute him, also murdering his coach driver. The replacement agent, Captain William Townsend (

Michael Kitchen Michael Roy Kitchen (born 31 October 1948) is an English actor and television producer, best known for his starring role as Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle in the ITV drama ''Foyle's War'', which comprised eight series betwee ...

), soon arrives and begins reviewing papers and investigating the state of affairs of both the land and tenants. Within minutes he is attacked by a mob who demand an audience. After agreeing to see a group of three only on the following day, he narrowly avoids being lynched when the conversation doesn't go the way the tenants would like. He is rescued by British soldiers. The Phelans are a family of Irish

tenant farmer A tenant farmer is a person (farmer or farmworker) who resides on land owned by a landlord. Tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and management, ...

s: Sean (

) and his wife Maeve (

Fiona Victory Fiona Victory (born 1952) is an Irish actress. Her television roles include: Louise Daly in ''Bracken'' (1980), Harriet Wright in ''Shine on Harvey Moon'' (1982), Maeve Phelan in ''The Hanging Gale'' (1995) and Dr Annie Robbins in '' Dangerfield ...

); Conor (

); Liam (

) and Daniel (

), a schoolteacher who is also a member of the secret society. Further conflicts arise in attempts to collect their rent and fight against the Agent (Mr. Townsend) who continues to try to be as fair as he might under the circumstances. He defers the payment of the rent until after the harvest. He orders that a Catholic priest be brought to the parish since there is none; Father Liam Phelan (

) arrives. Father Liam attempts to make peace and opposes Daniel's violent "solution". Daniel, fails in an attempt to assassinate Townsend, only seriously wounding him in the leg. Townsend arrives home battered and gulps down brandy to numb the pain. He asks Mary Dolan (

Tina Kellegher Tina Kellegher (born 1967 in Cavan), is an Irish actress, best known for her work in film and television in the 1990s. She currently plays Ger Lynch in the RTÉ soap opera ''Fair City''. Early career Kellegher began in theatre, working in ...

) his maid who was hired on after being turned out of their land by Townsend himself when her family could not pay rent, to help him off with his boots. The brandy and his proximity to her in her night shirt encourage him to make a pass at her, but he does not assault her. He begs her pardon the next day. Mary sneaks away and sees Daniel, whom she still loves, despite his violent ways. After a night together with him, Daniel accuses her of losing her virginity to her English employer, which wounds her deeply and she belatedly realizes her allegiance to Daniel is misplaced. In response to the attempt on his life by Daniel Phelan, Townsend unlawfully evicts all of the Phelans despite the fact their rent is paid in full. The Phelans fruitlessly resist the eviction. Sean and Conor are captured and sentenced to six months in prison. Conor manages to escape on the way to the jail. Sean dies in prison. Mary, Townsend's servant, has discovered she is pregnant by Daniel and tries to eat a kind of wild berry to cause an abortion. The berries make her ill and she is nursed back to health by Townsend and his doctor who recognizes her signs of pregnancy. Townsend tells her that she can stay at his home and have her baby. Conor, still on the lam from British soldiers after his escape finds Sean's wife and children, and joins them as they emigrate to America on an assisted passage scheme, which Townsend creates false documents to facilitate. Daniel arrives the next day determined to kill Townsend. With Mary throwing herself in front of her master, Daniel still manages to shoot and kill him. He is then captured and executed.

Cast

– Sean Phelan *

– Conor Phelan *

– Liam Phelan *

– Daniel Phelan *

– Captain William Townsend *

– Maeve Phelan *

– Mary Dolan *

Seán McGinley Seán McGinley (born c. 1956) is an Irish actor. He has appeared in about 80 films and television series. Early life McGinley was born in Pettigo, County Donegal, in Ulster, Ireland, where his father was a customs officer, and raised in near ...

– Ferry *

Gerard McSorley Gerard McSorley (Irish: Gearóid Mac Somhairle; born 1 January 1950) is an Irish theatre, television and film actor. Early life He was born in the County Tyrone town of Omagh and, after attending a Christian Brothers school in his hometown, ...

– Coulter *

Joe Pilkington Joe Pilkington (1940 – 7 July 1999) was an Irish actor, best known for his portrayal of Eamon Maher in the long-running TV series ''The Riordans''. Father of actress Rachel Pilkington, Joseph Pilkington made a marked contribution to Irish art ...

– James Phelan *

Ciarán Fitzgerald Ciarán Fitzgerald is an Irish film and television actor. Early life and career Fitzgerald was born in Dublin, Ireland. He made his film debut in 1992 when he played the role of Ossie Reilly in '' Into the West'', a film which he is perhaps ...

– Joseph Phelan *Ciara Marley – Molly Phelan *Dylan O'Connell – Baby Hannah *Barry Barnes – Michael Dolan *

Birdy Sweeney Birdy Sweeney (14 June 1931 – 11 May 1999) was an Irish actor and comedian. Born Edmund Francis Sweeney in Dungannon, County Tyrone, he garnered his nickname "Birdy" from his childhood ability to imitate bird calls which he demonstrated on BB ...

– Patrick Dolan *Maire Ni Ghrainne – Sarah Dolan *Mal Whyte – McBride *Dave Duffy – McCafferty *

Peter Caffrey Peter Caffrey (18 April 1949 – 1 January 2008) was an Irish actor best known for playing Padraig O'Kelly on Series 1-4 of ''Ballykissangel'' and Christy Barry on Bracken. He was also known for playing the role of the Eurosong selection ju ...

– Dr. Davis *Joe Savino – Meagher *

BJ Hogg William Henry Brian Hogg (30 April 195530 April 2020), better known by his stage name BJ Hogg, was a Northern Irish actor best known for playing Big Mervyn in the BBC sitcom ''Give My Head Peace''. He also played the title role in the Oscar-nomin ...

– Harkin *Gerry Walsh – Brady *Oliver Maguire – Mr. Denny *

Eileen Colgan Eileen Colgan Simpson (2 January 1934 – 10 March 2014) was an Irish theatre, television and film actress. She was best known for her recurring role as Esther Roche on the RTÉ One soap opera, ''Fair City''. She also appeared in the RTÉ televis ...

– Mrs. Denny *

Alan Stanford Alan Stanford (born 1949) is an English-Irish actor, director and writer. He has worked in the theatre for many years, including a 30 year association with the Gate Theatre as both actor and director. He is well known for playing George Manning ...

– Henry Jenkins *Liam Carney – Shanahan *Seamus Moran – Constable Coyle *Albie Woodington – Sergeant Major *George Shane – Brewster *Frank O'Sullivan – Kerryman *

Ian Beattie Ian Beattie (born 3 March 1965) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He is best known for playing Antigonus in the film ''Alexander'' (2004) and Ser Meryn Trant in the television series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2015). Career Beattie’s star ...

– Brian Sweeney * Stephen Kennedy – Martin

Broadcast details

''The Hanging Gale'' first aired in the

, at 9.30pm on Tuesday nights, from 2 to 23 May 1995. The series aired in the

on Sunday nights at 9.00pm from 14 May to 4 June 1995."TV Guide", ''Irish Independent'', 2 May 1995.

Awards

Composer

Shaun Davey Shaun Davey (born 18 January 1948) is an Irish composer. Early years Shaun Davey was born in Belfast in 1948 and attended Rockport School in County Down. He graduated from Trinity College, Dublin in the history of Art in 1971. He then took a ...

won an

Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...

for his soundtrack to the series. The series was nominated for four 1996 BAFTA TV awards in the Best Drama Serial, Best Television Music, Best Design and Best Costume Design categories.Explore the Awards
British Academy of Film and Television Arts, 1996.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanging Gale, The BBC television dramas BBC Northern Ireland television shows 1990s Irish television series 1990s British drama television series RTÉ original programming Irish drama television series 1995 Irish television series debuts 1995 Irish television series endings 1995 British television series debuts 1995 British television series endings 1990s British television miniseries Great Famine (Ireland) English-language television shows Television shows set in Ireland Television series set in the 1840s 1990s television series from Northern Ireland