Castlebar-based writer pens new RTÉ series Obituary

CASTLEBAR native Ray Lawlor has written a brand new crime drama for RTÉ that is to air later this month.

The six-part series was conceived and penned by Mr Lawlor, who has described it as ‘a fun, darkly twisted drama’.

Set in the fictional Mayo town of Kilraven, Obituary is a dark comedy crime drama in which the newspaper that 24-year-old Elvira Clancy works for falls into hard times, meaning she is now being paid per obituary.

When work dries up, Elvira soon discovers that by murdering the unpleasant residents in her small town, she will not only earn more money but discovers she has an untapped bloodlust. The only problem for her lies with the paper’s new hire, Emerson Stafford, a suspicious crime correspondent who she begins to develop feelings for. 

“I am absolutely delighted to bring our TV show, Obituary, to RTÉ,” Mr Lawlor said.

“This is a fun, darkly twisted drama that proudly allows me to transport some of the wit and characters I encounter every day in my hometown of Castlebar into the living rooms of the Irish people.

“Hailing from a small West of Ireland town, I realised that my TV show should be set within the confines of a modest local newspaper, with the central character being an obituary writer. However, I faced a crucial decision regarding the type of obituary writer my protagonist should be.

“Should they be a compassionate soul who writes obituaries while providing solace to the terminally ill on their journey to the afterlife? No way. My obituary writer would be a serial killer, someone who, when faced with a lack of work, resorts to taking lives in order to craft her victim’s obituaries, while always making these deaths look like accidents,” Mr Lawlor added.

Starring a line-up of renowned Irish actors – Siobhan Cullen (‘The Dry’) who takes the lead as Elvira Clancy, Michael Smiley (‘Bad Sisters’, ‘Bloodlands’) as Elvira’s protective and troubled father Ward Clancy; Ronan Raftery (‘The Rook’, ‘Mortal Engines’, ‘The Terror’) as ambitious new crime correspondent Emerson Stafford.  Directed by John Hayes (‘Dublin Murders’, ‘Bancroft’). 

Obituary is produced by Magamedia and airs on Tuesday, September 26 at 10.15pm. All episodes will be available on RTÉ Player from September 27.