A YOUNG woman is brutally assaulted but her attacker, a serial offender, is walking the streets freely after being given bail by a corrupt judge, in spite of Garda appeals to remand him in custody.
A dogged TV crime correspondent, Cathal MacIarnáin, senses that corruption lies at the heart of this miscarriage of justice and he becomes determined to expose it. However his investigative efforts lead him to become implicated in the young woman’s death. Desperate to clear his name, Cathal is forced to endanger those closest to him as he is sucked in to a deadly game of cat and mouse with a dangerous sociopath.
This is the opening episode of Corp + Anam, the County Galway based crime drama which returns to TG4 this week for its second series. Starring Galway actor Diarmuid de Faoite as Cathal MacIarnáin and Maria Doyle Kennedy (The Tudors, The Commitments ) as his wife, it is directed by Darach Mac Con Iomaire and produced by Furbo based production company Magamedia.
">Corp + Anam Sraith 2 ag teacht go luath from Magamedia on Vimeo.Corp + Anam 2 will be shown on TG4 at 9.30pm on Thursdays November 27, and December 4, 11, and 18 and will explore corruption within the Irish legal system, as investigative reporter Cathal MacIarnáin launches a crusade against transgressive members of the judiciary. “The best way to tell people the truth is to put it in a story,” says writer/director Mac Con Iomaire. “Hopefully people will recognise the truth in these stories. Court can be a terrifying place - especially if your own lawyer is out to get you.”
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As well as the socio-political, Corp + Anam will also explore the personal, as the marriage between MacIarnáin and his solicitor wife Mairead flounders. "Mairead is such a strong woman and such a great role for an actress," says Maria Doyle Kennedy - pictured above. "Being able to spend time in Galway speaking Irish with cast and crew was a real joy”.
Diarmuid de Faoite deswcribed the making of series two as “an intense shoot”. “We have endeavoured to tell great stories,” he says. "Though exposing the dark underbelly of Irish society is never easy, Darach Mac Con Iomaire has shown great tenacity and courage in doing so over the last two series.”
Indeed de Faoite’s character is put through the wringer in series two. After his encounter with a psychopath in episode one, episode two finds Cathal MacIarnáin uncovering a high-ranking solicitor double-charging redress board victims for legal services. Then, as he is about to go public with the story, MacIarnáin’s sources go very quiet.
In episodes three and four, MacIarnáin champions the case of John McGuire, a besieged farmer being hounded off his land by solicitors only to end up in gaol for his trouble. Silenced, and with no other option, Cathal presents Mairead with an uncomfortable dilemma - should she risk her career as a solicitor by taking on the judiciary in his support?
Corp + Anam was shot in Galway city, Oranmore, Loughrea, and Ballinasloe over eight weeks. The promotional artwork was designed by Annie Atkins, best known her work on Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel. The music was composed by Colm Mac Con Iomaire of The Frames and the Swell Season. This second series was recently nominated for the highly prestigious Prix Europa TV Awards, which will be held later this month in Berlin. Magamedia is currently developing a third series.
