A DRAMA by local director and writer Daniel Butler will air on RTÉ2 tonight as part of the Storyland drama series.
Dúirt Bean Liom, filmed in the Gaeltacht region of Gort a Choirce, Fál Carrach and Ghaoth Dobhair, is the first-ever Irish-language production to feature on the long-running drama series.
The drama is set in a quiet Gaeltacht town and tells the story of a Kurdish family’s attempt to seek justice after an altercation with local teens, which sets off a chain reaction fueled by fear and misunderstanding.
A misread encounter becomes twisted through word of mouth into something more sinister, and as rumours spread like wildfire, the town is gripped by panic, culminating in a volatile showdown.
Director and co-writer Daniel Butler spoke with the Donegal News ahead of tonight’s premiere.
He explained how the idea for the script was sparked by a similar incident of misunderstanding in his girlfriend’s hometown.
“I could just see it from both perspectives… how, with a bit of tension, things can escalate very quickly.
“In the drama I tried to make sure there were no ‘bad’ characters. Obviously, bad things happen and there are bad people, but I wanted to show how normal people can get caught up in things through fear and misunderstanding.”
“That was the original idea – trying to look at how you can understand the characters from both points of view.”
Director Daniel Butler chatting to the cast on set in Fál Carrach.
Daniel, a native Irish speaker from the Gaeltacht, also wanted to find a way to fuse the Irish language with another language, without using English as a bridge.
He said the use of Irish and Kurdish enhances the whole theme of miscommunication.
The riveting drama features a mix of first-time and experienced actors.
Local actors include Danny McCafferty, who played Niall on Ros na Rún for several seasons and has starred in short films and Megan Armitage from Creeslough, who also brings a wealth of stage and screen experience.
In contrast, most of the young actors are first-timers. During the development of the project, Daniel worked closely with the Amharclann Ghaoth Dobhair to run various script workshops and engage with local teenagers. As a result, first-time actors from the three Gaeltacht parishes were cast, including Rheddyn Ní Ghairbheá, Odhrán O’Donnell, Fionnuala Nic Aodha Bhuí, Fachtna O’Briain, Huidí Mac Ghairbheá, and Zirar Ameer.
One of the Kurdish actors, Zak Moradi, is best known for his impressive career as an Irish hurler and his documentary HOME: The Story of Zak Moradi, which follows his journey from a refugee camp in war-torn Iraq to building a life in Ireland.
“He had experience with cameras around him but had never done any acting,” Daniel explained.
Daniel has won several awards for his short films, including Bean Feasa, inspired by Donegal folktales. However, this marks his first time directing for television. It is also the first time producing for television for Lia Campbell.
“So for a lot of us, this is our first crack at doing something for the telly,” Daniel said.
This is all part of Storyland’s mission to support and amplify Ireland’s next generation of writers, directors, producers and actors.
Daniel is also excited to showcase the wealth of talent here in Donegal.
“We’ve got great locations, actors coming out of the walls and plenty of stories that work for drama. It’s just about bringing it all together and showing what we can do.”
It’s been a fast-paced journey to get the drama to our television screens.
“We literally only finished it last Monday,” Daniel laughed.
Daniel and his co-writer, Matthew Roche, submitted their idea at the end of May and then they were asked to write a script in the two months that followed.
With over 400 entries, Daniel thought it would be a “long shot” but the drama was commissioned at the end of August. Filming had to be wrapped up by the end of October to be ready for November.
As the drama came to life, Daniel was also navigating an exciting personal milestone as he and his girlfriend were expecting a baby around the same time they had to shoot the drama.
Their beautiful daughter was born just three weeks before they began shooting.
“Films take it out of you, so I never would have thought of doing it at the same time as having a baby.
“But it was kind of like waiting for a train, and both arrived at once.”
Dúirt Bean Liom, will air tonight, Thursday, December 11 at 9.35pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
The cast and crew pictured together as filming wrapped up.
