Mayo script writer wins award for script in RTÉ television series

A MAYO writer was among the winners of a Zebbie Award at the 17th Writers’ Guild of Ireland (WGI) for his script in the RTÉ television series, Obituary.

Ray Lawlor, from Castlebar won a Zebbie Award for Best TV Drama Script for his RTÉ television series, Obituary. Lawlor received the award for the opening episode of the first series of Obituary.

The six-part series was conceived and penned by 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.

The awards ceremony was hosted by writer and actor Tara Flynn at The Sugar Club in Dublin on Tuesday night with writers from all over Ireland in attendance to celebrate the best of Irish writing for stage, screen and radio.

Actor Patrick Bergin presented Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor with the Best Feature Film Script Zebbie for Baltimore, their film of the true story of English Heiress Rose Dugdale who became an IRA member and carried out an art heist and a failed bomb attack on an RUC barracks, and Janet Moran won a Zebbie for Best Theatre Script for Quake.

Nell Hensey and Brigid Leahy won Best Short Film Script for Good Chips; Hugh O’Conor won Best Animation Script for Worry World; Best Radio/Audio Drama Script went to Dorothy Cotter and Cillian O'Donnachadha for Carthanacht Chlíodhna [Eagrán 2]; and Caitriona Daly won Best Continuing Drama Script for Doctors.

Former Senator David Norris, who hosted the Zebbie Awards for many years, was presented with the WGI’s Special Services to Writers Award last night in honour of his support for the WGI and Irish writers.

The awards are named in honour of OZ ‘Zebby’ Whitehead, a Broadway and Hollywood actor who was a great supporter of theatre and writing in Ireland after he moved to Dublin in 1963.

Only WGI members could vote for the winners from the nominated scripts.

The WGI, which campaigns for rights, remuneration, more control of work and better recognition for its members, represents over 400 Irish writers for film, television, theatre, radio, animation and games. The Guild is celebrating its Emerald Anniversary this year – 55 years since it was originally established as the Society of Playwrights in Ireland.

In October, the WGI will be hosting the World Conference of Screenwriters 2024 in Galway with over two hundred screenwriters from across the world expected to attend to discuss their craft and their industry.

The WGI gratefully acknowledges the support of Zebbie Awards sponsors Comisiún na Meán and the Irish Copyright Licensing Agency (ICLA).

Jennifer Davidson, Chair of the Writers’ Guild of Ireland, said: “As always it is a privilege to get to celebrate the phenomenal talents of Irish writers, and our WGI members, through our Zebbie Awards. In a year when there’s so much talk of cutbacks and global contraction, it’s a really important reminder of how bright the future actually is, and how irreplaceable the craft of human writers remains, despite all the posited advancements of Generative AI. My warmest congratulations, not just to the winners of the 2024 Zebbie Awards, but to all the nominees who can be rightly proud of the work that they have achieved.

“As we celebrate our Emerald Anniversary and 55 years since the Society of Irish Playwrights was founded, it’s a very special year for us in the Writers’ Guild. Those 55 years are 55 years of Irish writers being truly excellent at their craft, and of standing together in power and in solidarity. The landscape in which we all write may be changing, but the talent, and passion of Irish writers remains unchanged.”