HE HAS PLAYED an ambitious mayor and a brothel keeper – and now he’s set to play one of Ireland’s most notorious political figures in a drama to be shown on RTÉ.
Yes, Aidan Gillen has been named as the man portraying Haughey in the new political drama Charlie, which goes into production next week.
Aidan… or Charlie?
Joining him will be a man handy with a gun, Tom Vaughn-Lawlor, who will play PJ Mara.
The three-part feature length political drama is produced by Touchpaper and Element Pictures and supported by the BAI Sound and Vision Fund. It will be shown on RTÉ.
They say it will chart the emergence of modern Ireland through the “mesmeric figure of Charles J Haughey and his pursuit of power”.
It’s directed by Kenny Glenaan and Charlie McCarthy, and will give a glimpse into Haughey’s bid for power in 1979 and his attempts to maintain that power until he left politics in 1992.
Can we expect lots of grotesque, unbelievable, bizarre and unprecedented events? We sure can. The show is bound to look at the double-voting scandal involving Haughey’s election agent and his decision to take on the British over the Falkland Islands, as well as the many scandals that dogged his government.
Gillen and Vaughan-Lawlor will join 43 other members of cast, alongside Lucy Cohu (Terry Keane), Gavin O’ Connor, Risteard Cooper, Peter O’ Meara, Frankie McCafferty and Laurence Kinlan in other key roles.
The show was penned by Dublin-born writer Colin Teevan and filming will last for nine weeks. ‘Charlie’ a is working title, and broadcast details will be confirmed closer to transmission – but don’t worry, we’ll keep you up to date on when you can expect it on our screens.
Pics: Tammie Arroyo/AFF/EMPICS Entertainment (Gillen) and PA Archive/Press Association Images (Haughey)
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say