Give My Head Peace

Give My Head Peace is a satirical television comedy series on BBC Northern Ireland that pokes fun at political parties, paramilitary groups and the sectarian divide in Northern Ireland. The programme is written and performed by a Northern Ireland comedy troupe known as The Hole in the Wall Gang.

It began life as a one-off television film called "Two Ceasefires and a Wedding", shown on BBC One Northern Ireland in 1997, poking fun at the cliché'd "love across the barricades" plot that features in so many dramas about Northern Ireland. In this case the lovers were Emer, the daughter of a "prominent" Sinn Féin activist, and Billy, an RUC constable. Their wedding is opposed by their respective families, and ends in farce (but with Emer and Billy happy anyway).

A full series was then commissioned by BBC Northern Ireland. Some changes were made to the format prior to the series going ahead - with the character of Cal (Emer's brother) changing substantially, and the introduction of other recurring characters such as Big Mervyn and Red Hand Luke. A few years into the series, Nuala McKeever (Emer) left the series to pursue other interests, and a new love interest for Billy was introduced in the form of Emer's previously unseen sister, Dympna.

The theme song of the series is "She Says" performed by the Saw Doctors. It was released as a single in Ireland in the late 1990s.

As of 2005, the series continues to run on BBC One Northern Ireland. It is usually screened in a prime-time Friday night slot, opting out from network BBC One. In mid-2004, a selection of episodes were shown across the UK on BBC Two in a late-night slot on Saturdays.

In recent years, they have performed live shows at a selection of venues across Northern Ireland. The 2004 show was chiefly made up of scripts from the 2004-2005 series.

The principal characters are:

• Da (Tim McGarry) - A "prominent" Sinn Féin spokesperson who is eventually elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly
• Cal (Damon Quinn) - Da's son. In the pilot ("Two Ceasefires and a Wedding") he is portrayed as a sinister IRA activist. In the series, his character is much dumbed down and he is the "thick one" of the family.
• Uncle Andy (Martin Reid) - An old-fashioned traditional loyalist whose twin loves are British Ulster - and Elvis Presley. he was once hypnotised into thinking he was the Pope, but hilariously the hypnotist dropped dead before he could be brought out of the trance...
• Billy (Michael McDowell) - Andy's nephew and an RUC (later PSNI) officer. He falls in love with Emer (and later Dympna. Throughout the series' life, there have been occasional hints that Andy may be more than just his uncle... In the 2003-2004 series, however, the writers knowing that they couldn't keep up that pretence for too much longer, the story was finally wrapped up, well sort of... Viewers were sill left feeling fairly confused.
• Emer (Nuala McKeever) - Da's daughter, she falls in love with Billy, but later runs off with a Spaniard (and leaves the series).
• Ma (Olivia Nash) - Da's wife, the sensible one of the household (despite her obsession with local DJ and country singer Hugo Duncan, and mild crush on Uncle Andy), though she hates her husband so much that it's almost unbelievable. Almost... She is the one first coins the term "Give My Head Peace".
• Dympna (Alexandra Ford) - replaced Emer when she ran off with a Spaniard (despite having never been mentioned before). She married Billy in a chaotic ceremony in Rome at the end of the 2002 series.
• Big Mervyn (B.J. Hogg) - Uncle Andy's best mate. Not the brightest.

Other occasional characters are:

• Red Hand Luke (Dan Gordon) - born-again Christian and violent loyalist psychopath. Also a "Shugo" Duncan fan. He acts like a big child, and when he doesn't get his way, savagely beats everyone up, usually Andy and Mervyn, who often live in fear of the next time he (literally) bursts through Andy's front door.
• Sammy (Gordon Fulton) The landlord of the "Loyalist Kneebreakers", Andy and Mervyn's favourite haunt, a rowdy loyalist drinking den.

In contrast, there is a more relaxed atmosphere in the nationalist pub, the 'traditional Irish pub', "The Armelite and Ballot Box", where Da frequents. Towards the end of the last series, Andy and Mervyn burnt the Kneebreakers down, to claim the insurance money, but their plan seriously backfired when Sammy told them he hadn't insured it (because he couldn't afford insurance)...

See also

• Give My Head Peace (http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/gmhp) Official website