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Homepage ► Single-Handed

Photograph of Owen McDonnell in character as Sergeant Driscoll from ITV's Single-Handed

Series 2 (2011) of Single-Handed ►

Filmed entirely on location in the majestic region of Connemara in the West of Ireland, ITV’s three-part drama reflected one policeman’s quest to serve a rural community…Single-Handed.

Sergeant Driscoll

Jack Driscoll played by Owen McDonnell, a Sergeant with the Irish police, is completely at home in his new patch; he ought to be as he was born and brought up there. He knows the people, he knows the West of Ireland and, more importantly, he knows how the two fit together. But this is no cushy posting; Jack’s ‘patch’ stretches from the Atlantic coast in the West to the glacial lakes in the East, from Galway City in the South to Killary harbour in the North - he’s on call 24-hours a day and, more often than not, he’s single-handed.

Rural policing

From the team that brought you ITV’s award winning drama The Vice, SINGLE-HANDED explores how policing a rural community differs from city policing. Your precinct is vast, the terrain extreme and the community lives on the edge. You are always on duty. There’s nowhere to hide.

Procedures bypassed

Stationed more than 40 miles from his superior officers and with specialist backup hours away, Jack is used to thinking on his feet. In circumstances like these, normal procedures are always under pressure and often bypassed altogether, but Jack has the shadow of his predecessor hanging over him. His father Gerry played by Ian McElhinney (Little Dorrit, Closing the Ring, Rough Diamond) has only recently vacated the position and Jack’s methods are not necessarily the same…

The job has taught Jack one invaluable lesson - when the going gets tough, the only person you can rely on is yourself. Fortunately, the life suits him.

Guest starring

Guest starring in Singe-Handed are Caroline Catz (Doc Martin), Charlene Mckenna (Raw), Stuart Graham (Hunger) and Ruth McCabe (The Street).

Writer - Barry Simner

Writer Barry Simner explains: "I live in the mountains of Wales and although culturally quite different from Ireland I knew it was a perfect fit for someone working on their own, like Jack Driscoll. The area we filmed in feels quite Frontier like in its remoteness.

"What is strange for me is having grown up with a head full of Irish literature, I came all this way to find the place that frees up my voice. And the marvellous thing about writing this drama is the language; the Irish have a wonderful sense of the music in the language. There is a real oral tradition of story telling and a gift for an imaginative turn of phrase.

“Jack’s patch is a stunning piece of countryside, but the landscape he polices conceals very dark secrets. Jack’s investigations often bring to the surface mysteries that everyone would prefer to have kept hidden. It’s such a secret place on so many levels. There are many wrongs that have never been put right. This area of Ireland is where the famine hit hardest and these people have an acute awareness of their history, the pain it has caused and the problems that have ensued yet they continue to say very little about any of it.

Production

Single-Handed is made by Touchpaper Television, part of the RDF Media Group. It is written by Barry Simner (The Vice, Midsomer Murders, Holby City), directed by Colm McCarthy (Spooks, Murphy’s Law) and Anthony Byrne (Wild Decembers) and produced by Clare Alan (A Harlot’s Progress, Wild Decembers, A Most Mysterious Murder). Rob Pursey (Being Human, Murderland, City of Vice) is the executive producer.

ITV’s Single-Handed starring Owen McDonnell

Rural policing in West Ireland

Starring Owen McDonnell and Ian McElhinney

Photograph of Owen McDonnell who plays Jack Driscoll