Glenroe

''Glenroe'' was a television drama series broadcast on RTÉ One in Ireland between September 1983, when the first episode was aired, and May 2001. A spin-off from ''Bracken'' — a short-lived RTÉ drama itself spun off from ''The Riordans'' — ''Glenroe'' was broadcast, generally from September to May, each Sunday night at 8:30 pm. It was created, and written for much of its run, by Wesley Burrowes, and later by various other directors and producers including Paul Cusack, Alan Robinson and Tommy McCardle. Glenroe was the first show to be subtitled by RTÉ, with a broadcast in 1991 starting the station's subtitling policy.

''Glenroe'' centred on the lives of the people living in the fictional rural village of the same name in County Wicklow. The real-life village of Kilcoole was used to film the series. The series was also filmed in studio at RTÉ and in various other locations when directors saw fit.

The main protagonists were the Byrne and McDermott/Moran families, related by the marriage of Miley Byrne to Biddy McDermott. Other important characters included Teasy McDaid, the proprietor of the local pub; Tim Devereux and George Black (the Roman Catholic priest and the Church of Ireland Rector of the village respectively); Fidelma Kelly, a cousin of Biddy; Blackie Connors; George Manning; and Stephen Brennan. Dylan D'Arcy, renowned Button accordionist from Kilcoole, Co Wicklow, had a passing role as a child.

Title sequence

Imagery

''Glenroe'' was noted for its original title sequence, which featured the words "Gleann Rua" in Gaelic script morphing into "Glenroe" over a series of rural images. The original title sequence was used from the 1983/84 series to the end of the 1992/93 series, and was replaced with a more up-to-date title sequence at the start of the 1993/94 series.

Jarlath Hayes (1924–2001), master Irish typographer and designer, "who gave his best years as a man of letters working within Irish publishing…drew his own type, Tuam Uncial…it became familiar to a generation of Glenroe viewers on RTÉ television where it featured in the credits".

Theme tune

''Glenroe''s theme tune was that of a traditional Irish song called "Cuaichín Ghleann Néifinn" and was arranged by Jim Lockhart of Horslips. The original version was used from the 1983/84 series to the end of the 1992/93 series. A newly recorded version, arranged by Máire Ní Bhraonáin of Clannad, was introduced with the start of the 1993/94 series, along with changes to the title sequence.

Setting and characters

The central focus of ''Glenroe'' is the fictional rural area of the programme's title, located in County Wicklow. The setting is an area consisting of a collection of farms, small village, period house and other rural locations. The programme focuses on a cast of characters living near the village. The main characters are Miley Byrne and Biddy McDermott, whose courtship and marriage form the centerpiece of the action during the early years. Their parents also feature heavily in the storylines. Miley's father Dinny Byrne is a chancer and Biddy's mother, who has been widowed early in the series, conducts a long-running relationship with Dick Moran, the local solicitor. Dick occasionally has other affairs, such as that with Terry Kileen. A number of themes are explored throughout the series from relationships, facing tragedy and other life challenges. While the main theme is drama, there are elements of comedy evident, e.g. the interactions between two central characters of Miley Byrne and his father Dinny Byrne (continuing their character portrayals from Bracken).

Origins

''Glenroe'', as a story, had origins in two previous shows, ''The Riordans'' and ''Bracken''. The three productions were the brainchildren of Wesley Burrowes.

Narratives

Affairs of the heart

Michael Judge, Irish playwright who wrote scripts for ''Glenroe'', published ''Glenroe: Stories from the RTÉ series created by Wesley Burrowes'' through Gill & MacMillan in 1990. The book relays the intricate relational beginnings of what would become the soap's linear storyline which would span 18 years. In the beginning two contrasting storylines of the amorous kind were present: that of the wholesome Biddy and Miley, contrasted with th
risqué
Mary and Dick.

The blow-ins, as they are referred to by the book, are the Byrnes, who arrive in Glenroe from the mountains. The character of Biddy is central to the story. Her parents, Mary and Michael MacDermott, are married and dissimilar in age bracket. Biddy becomes interested in one of the blow-ins. Biddy's first comment on Miley is "he looked a bit of a gom".

The relationship between Dick and Mary emerges as they have a secret love affair, Mary being frustrated in her relationship with Michael MacDermott whom she married out of obligation. The love affair would blossom through secret getaways, with the couple once trying to arrange to be together under the guise of getting away to a Bridge Congress. In the book, when Michael discovers his wife is having an affair, he strikes her.

Religion

The subject of religion featured in the programme throughout the series. One storyline showed how Miley, a devout Roman Catholic, believed his daughter, who had been critically ill with meningitis, was saved by prayer and divine intervention, while Biddy, who rarely went to Mass, credited the doctor with her recovery. The parish priest, Father Tim Devereaux, was upset that nobody was listening to his pastoral advice, and retired to embark on a round-the-world cruise with Shirley Manning, a widow of Protestant and Jewish ancestry.

Another storyline evoked the question: How much money should be spent on a First Communion dress?

Travelling community

In the fourteenth season, Tommy McArdle, the show's producer, began to explore the topic of Irish Travellers in greater depth. However, the topic had not been absent from the programme before this. The character of Blackie Conors is a member of the Irish travelling community.

Another narrative which revolved around the topic of the Travelling community is Miley and Biddy trying to evict a family of travellers who park their caravan on the edge of the farm. When two pet rabbits disappear, the community suspects the travellers have eaten them.

In a later episode, Anne Synnot reveals to her daughter Aileen that she is the product of her mother's affair with a Traveller. Previous to this revelation, Aileen was shown in conversation with Joseph Timlin at the bar in the Molly Malone, using the derogatory term "knacker" referring to the character Francie Donnelly.

Cancellation

In 2000, it seemed the soap was going into inevitable decline. If the actors who played the main characters and whose appearance and likeness were so intrinsic to the beginnings and the storyline of the soap were leaving, it would cease to be ''Glenroe''.
Through a press release the public learned in May 2000 that Joe Lynch, who played Dinny, was to leave. Kevin O'Sullivan wrote, " RTÉ last night confirmed his departure after 20 years, taking into account Glenroe from its beginning and its precursor Bracken. 'No reason was given.' A statement said the 75-year-old actor had made the decision."

On 19 January 2001, despite claims four years previously that it could run for another ten years, RTÉ announced that ''Glenroe'' was to end after eighteen series. The final episode of the soap was to be broadcast the following May. The RTÉ Director of Television, Cathal Goan, said it had been clear for some time that Glenroe was "coming to the end of its natural life". In 1 August of that year, Joe Lynch, who played Dinny, died at the age of 76.

The character of Biddy had been killed off in a car accident, and the actor Joe Lynch had died. ''The Irish Times'' published irreverent, tongue-in cheek-headlines about the ending of a soap and characters who were fair game for mockery and satire.

John Boland, in the ''Irish Independent'' in 2001, criticised the ''RTÉ Guides coverage and lack of critique or analysis about the end of Glenroe: "a supposedly loved friend was expiring after 18 years and you're supposed to feel something about that, aren't you? Then you realised that the programme had been expiring for years and years, and that this final death throe was merely embarrassing in its lateness."

Wesley Burrowes in his article for ''The Irish Times'''s Arts section on 27 January 2001, discussed the beginnings of ''Glenroe'' as a story. This started with ''The Riordans'', after which RTÉ asked Burrowes to write a spin-off which became ''Bracken'', and then on to Glenroe where the characters Miley and Dinny Byrne were carried forward to the slightly more urban setting of ''Glenroe'' (set in Kilkoole, Wicklow). ''Glenroe'' evolved around Miley and Biddy's love affair, with Miley admiring Biddy for her farming expertise.

Burrowes articulated the problems around the decline of the series, explaining how both ratings and frequency were both guiding factors in the show's ascent and then demise. He drew correlations between '' Coronation Street'' and '' EastEnders'', which both competed for frequency and ratings at the BBC
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