Ballykissangel




INTRODUCTION

Quite simply, Ballykissangel is the best programme ever seen on British television. The storyline revolves around a young English priest, Peter Clifford, who is posted to the tiny Irish village of Ballykissangel. There, he finds himself having to deal with an Ireland that he is totally unfamiliar with.

The main reasons for his difficulty are the colourful array of characters that he finds himself faced with. There is Brian Quigley, the wheeler-dealing businessman and his sidekick Fr MacAnally, the Parish Priest who is not quite as holy as he appears to be. The local Garda, Ambrose and his wife Niamh who just happens to be Quigley's daughter. Most significantly, Peter meets Assumpta Fitzgerald, the young landlady of the local pub. Assumpta has little time for the English and less time for the clergy, which does not explain why she is so interested in Peter.





Peter Clifford is not the sort of priest that one expects to run into in a tiny Irish town. The young man from Manchester is posted to Ballykissangel to escape a tricky situation with a young girl at home. It should be stressed at this point that Peter behaved impeccably to the girl in question, leaving before he got out of his depth. Peter is not bound By the laws of the church. he believes in encouraging people to think for themselves, resulting in much criticism from the Parish priest and the older, more staid members of the community. As this third series commences, we see Peter becoming more uncomfortable with his clerical role as he wrestles with his ever-strengthening feelings for Assumpta.





Assumpta Fitzgerald, at the time of writing, is still mainly a mystery. It is implied that she has had a very difficult childhood, losing both her parents at a very young age and struggling to cope alone with a very demanding business. Young and beautiful, she was, from the outset, the obvious target for Peter's attentions and, as the series progresses, we see the extent of their dilemma. Assumpta clearly has feelings for Peter, but even she cannot bring herself to jeopardise something that she knows is the most important thing in his life - his faith.







Leo McGarvey is the odd man out in BallyK. He is not a local, like Peter he is a city boy, but whereas Peter settles nicely into village life, Leo has more difficulty. He is a journalist, very successful who loves life in Dublin and London and is usually highly amused by goings on in the country. But, he has offered in the past and has shown lately, that he is willing to give it up to be with Assumpta. Leo is one of the few characters who can get through to Assumpta on her own level. He has shown that he is well able to deal with her even in her more sarcastic moods having been on the receiving end for many years!



Niamh is one of the driving forces in BallyK. Only child of the local wheeler-dealer, Brian Quigley, she has inherited his stubbornness and sometimes abrasive manner although her heart is very definitely in the right place. She is Assumpta's best friend and usually the only person that Assumpta can talk to. Niamh is known for her strong sense of duty and is well respected by everyone in the village. On the family front, Niamh is married to the local Garda (policeman) Ambrose and they have a young son, Kieran.





Every village has it's entrepreneur and BallyK has the worst of them all - Brian Quigley, a man always on the look out for money making schemes which, until recently never failed. Unfortunately, in series 3, an involvement with a group of Korean businessmen leaves him bankrupt and suddenly, he has lost his influence over the village. Quigley is a widower with one daughter, Niamh. Despite his hard exterior, Quigley does have a soft centre which is most apparent when he is seen gazing at his new little grandson.


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