Radio Drama

high density

Drama on Newstalk recently broadcast “HIGH DENSITY”, my comedy-drama about the housing crisis that explores the tensions that arise in a community when one resident in a small cul-de-sac refuses to sell her home to a developer who wants to build apartments on the site.

HIGH DENSITY” is told partly from the perspective of Councilor Benny Kelly, a shifty local representative who is in cahoots with the developer. He also writes an anonymous weekly newspaper column called The Secret Councilor, a juggling act that enables him both to comment on, and drive events.

Deirdre Finnegan is the only resident in a crescent of cottages who is holding out against a developer.  The developer is offering the owners 150,000 Euro plus one of the new apartments – but only if all eight cottage owners agree to sell their sites.  As a member of the local residents’ association Deirdre clashes with the reactionary Mick Delaney, who is keen to take the inducement.

With other committee members divided on which outcome would be best for the area, the stakes are raised when Emma Johnson, a journalist who is also on the committee, writes an inflammatory article for her paper.

With past resentments and betrayals coming to the surface, the conflicts go beyond housing, and battle lines are drawn.  But just when it seems that matters might be resolved, a dramatic intervention takes place, with the outcome twisting in a direction that none of the participants expected. 

Starring Marion O’Dwyer, Claudia Carroll, and Mark O’Regan, “HIGH DENSITY” was written and produced by Brian Gallagher and was funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland with the Television License Fee.  HIGH DENSITY can be listened to as podcast on Documentary on Newstalk. See link below.

https://link.goloudplayer.com/s/pGIfpyuDnY72

idlewild

Idlewild pic

Drama on Newstalk recently aired the radio premiere of “IDLEWILD”, my radio adaptation of Jimmy Murphy’s stage play, in which the leaders of two feuding crime groups meet to explore the possibility of a radical sacrifice to end their bloody feud.

Starring Rex Ryan and Ruairi Heading, Idlewild was written by Jimmy Murphy, and adapted for radio and produced and directed by Brian Gallagher. The programme was funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland with the Television License Fee.

IDLEWILD can also be listened to as a podcast at Drama on Newstalk.

 

 

 

secrets

Bray HeadDrama on Newstalk recently aired the premiere of “SECRETS” my radio play that travels back in time to a seaside holiday in Sixties Ireland, during which two women face an intriguing moral dilemma.

“Secrets” tells the story of the extended Lawlor family who take a summer holiday in Bray, County Wicklow, in 1964.  Unaware that such holidays will be soon made redundant by package holidays to sun destinations, they go about their usual two-week break. Despite the surface good humour, tensions are evident in the family dynamic, and when the Lawlors cross paths with a holidaying Scottish family the seeds are sown for a dramatic outcome.

The 1964 scenes are viewed through the eyes of twelve-year-old Damian Lawlor, while simultaneously the now-adult Damian looks back on the action.

Reappraising the moral choices of that summer, over fifty years later, gives Damian another dilemma now as he has to decide whether or not to leave the past undisturbed.

Starring Aonghus Og McAnally, Mary Murray, Mark O’Regan, Marion O’Dwyer, and Claudia Carroll, SECRETS was written and produced by Brian Gallagher.  The programme was funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland with the Television License Fee.

SECRETS can also be listened to as a podcast at :

https://www.newstalk.com/documentary-and-drama-on-newstalk/secrets-drama-newstalk-954673

paid in full

Image - Paid in FullDrama on Newstalk recently aired the premiere of “PAID IN FULL”, my radio play that looks at the murder-mystery genre in an Irish setting, with twists, turns, and nothing being quite what it seems.

Written in the style of “DEATHTRAP” and “SLEUTH”, “PAID IN FULL” goes beneath the surface in a small Irish village that seems peaceful and law-abiding. But appearances can be deceptive, and dangerous game-paying is taking place behind closed doors. Who is telling the truth, and who is lying? And more importantly, who is likely to live and who is going to die? With greed, adultery and murder on the menu, a lethal cocktail is served up to the listener.

Can anyone guess what’s going to happen next as the twisting plot leads this way and that? Tune in to the podcast, to hear a top-rate cast immerse themselves in a deadly game of cat and mouse.

Starring Aonghus Og McAnally, Sharon Hogan, Mark O’Regan, Mary Murray and Marion O’Dwyer, PAID IN FULL was written and produced by Brian Gallagher.  The programme was funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland with the Television License Fee.

PAID IN FULL can also be listened to as a podcast at http://www.newstalk.com/documentaryonnewstalk

 

captives

Desert image for CaptivesMy radio play Captives will air on Newstalk 106 – 108 fm on Sunday May 2nd at 7.00.a.m. and will be repeated on Monday May 7th at 11.00 a.m. It will be podcast on Newstalk after the broadcast.

Captives is a drama about a group of Irish soldiers taken hostage while on UN duty in Lebanon, and their varying relationships with an existing American prisoner. With the clock ticking towards an execution date, interpersonal tensions rise to boiling point as the characters are forced to confront their most deeply held beliefs.

Starring Mark O’Regan, Aonghus Og McAnally and Sharon Hogan, the programme was funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland with the Television License Fee.

fitting in

Fitting In image

My radio play FITTING IN will be air on Newstalk 106-108fm on Saturday June 10th at 10 00 p.m. and will be repeated on Sunday June 11th at 8.00 a.m. It can also be listened to as a podcast after the broadcast.

Fitting In tells the story of the moral dilemmas faced by a medical rep in a large pharmaceutical company. His ongoing struggles to conform with the company culture come to a head when a drug is withdrawn from the market, and he has to decide where his loyalties truly lie.

Starring Aonghus Og McNally, Mark O’Regan, and Michael Ford, FITTING IN was written and produced by Brian Gallagher.  The programme was funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland with the Television License Fee.

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midfielder

My radio play MIDFIELDER will be air on Newstalk 106-108fm on Monday April 17th at 11 00 a.m. and can also be listened to as a podcast after the broadcast.

Midfielder is the story of a former soccer player, Billy Murray.  With wry humour Billy recalls the social and work adjustments he had to make on going to Seventies England, to follow his dream of being a professional footballer.

Starring Mark O’Regan, Stephen Jones and Marion O’Dwyer, the programme was funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland with the Television License Fee.

http://www.newstalk.com/Soccer-Drama-on-Newstalk

 

BROTHERS AND SISTERS

Image for Brothers and SIsters

Brothers and Sisters

My radio play Brothers and Sisters will air on Newstalk on Monday June 6th at 11.30.a.m. and can also be listened to as a podcast after the broadcast.

Brothers and Sisters looks at the tensions arising in the staff room in an eighties Dublin school when it’s suggested that a Christian Brothers School and a convent should amalgamate because of falling pupil numbers.

Starring Denis Conway, Karl O’Neill and Marion O’Dwyer, the programme was funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland with the Television License Fee.

 

 

THE LAST SUMMER

Deer bay river

My radio play The Last Summer will air on Newstalk on Monday May 2nd at 11.30.a.m.

The Last Summer is a drama about the relationship between a young Irish boy, Kevin Riordan, and an elderly English lock keeper, John Bennett, in late-Fifties Ireland.

Despite its idyllic summer setting, trouble is coming with the proposed closure of the local canal, and when Kevin discovers that Mr Bennett – a conscientious objector – had fled to Ireland to escape conscription in the Great War, both characters are faced with difficult moral dilemmas.

Starring Michael James Ford, Marion O’Dwyer, and Eoin Brady, the programme was funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland with the Television License Fee.