Killinaskully
Killinaskully is an Irish television comedy series which details the bizarre goings-on in a fictitious Irish village called Killinaskully located in the hills of Ireland. It was actually filmed on location in the villages of Killoscully and Ballinahinch in County Tipperary, the title being a fusion of these two placenames. The show's humour comes from the unusual characterisations of traditional, stereotypical rural Irish folk. The show was chiefly written by the comedian, Pat Shortt, who also performed many of his own roles - starring among him were Jack Walsh, Joe Rooney and Páraic Breathnach. It has spawned its own themed holiday in farm accommodation in the Slieve Felim Mountain range region, within walking distance of the village used for filming the series. In an allusion to the popular song released by Pat Shortt, visitors are given a complimentary "Jumbo Breakfast Roll" upon their arrival. Killinaskully was produced by Shortt's own company and was broadcast by RTÉ as part of their Sunday night schedule from 2004. All five series are available on DVD and have since been released in box set format. The show's fifth and final series, began transmission on 28 September 2008. It ceased on 2 November 2008, although the traditional special at Christmas time aired as normal the following month; in 2008 there were two such specials. Despite having a weekly audience of 800,000, Shortt has stated that the fifth was the final series as he wished to concentrate on the development of a new show with a new style, characters and storyline. RTÉ continued to rerun the series as summer filler. Background Shortt wanted to do a show that would make use of his acting skills and comic talent and this led to him transferring some of his stage show on the screen in the form of Killinaskully; it is this that leads him to play all the different characters that he does in the show. Shooting for the first series commenced in May 2003 in Limerick and Tipperary, continuing for a period of eight weeks. The pilot episode, entitled "The German Fillum', was broadcast during the Christmas period of 2003 and proved to be a massive ratings success. The first episode was broadcast on Sunday 17 October 2004 at 22:50. The intro sequence of Killinaskully features Dan driving back home to Killinaskully. Setting Killinaskully, in keeping with the comic element of the show, has a fluctuating population; in the first episode it is said to consist of 167 inhabitants but in the second episode it is said to have a population of over 2,000 people. The village is located from the sea. The nearest town is neighbouring Bally, a mere from the coast. Bally is first alluded to in the fifth episode, entitled "The Pitch". The rural setting allows for greater comic effect in the introduction of such ideas as a community radio station to the show. The series is largely set around the buildings that Killinaskully is composed of, i.e. the church, school, garda station,