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Brendan Coyle as Bobby Ryan in The Murder of Mr. Moonlight. RTÉ
true crime tipperary
New RTÉ drama series to tell the story of The Murder of Mr. Moonlight
Popular Tipperary DJ Bobby ‘Mr Moonlight’ Ryan was murdered by Patrick Quirke in 2011.
RTÉ AND THE BBC are both set to broadcast a five-part drama series next year based on the infamous murder of Tipperary DJ Bobby ‘Mr Moonlight’ Ryan.
Patrick Quirke is serving a life sentence for the murder of Mr Ryan after he was convicted in 2019 after a trial that was at the time the longest in Ireland’s history.
The ‘Mr Moonlight trial’ as it became known was also one of the highest-profile trials in recent Irish history, with the makers of the drama saying that the new series seeks to put the victim Bobby Ryan “at the heart of the story”.
RTÉ has said that Bobby’s daughter Michelle Ryan is among the Ryan family to have “been involved and contributed to the drama” and that “everyone else who has been impacted by this story” has also been invited to contribute.
Michelle Ryan is herself being portrayed in the series by Hazel Doupe, who gained international recognition when starring as Marian Price in Say Nothing
Filming for The Murder of Mr. Moonlight is understood to be largely complete, with the Meath Chronicle reporting last week that several locations in or around Navan were used by the producers Conker Pictures and Samson Films.
Bobby Ryan disappeared after he left his girlfriend Mary Lowry’s home at Fawnagowan outside Tipperary town early one morning in June 2011.
His badly decomposed body was discovered in a disused, underground tank almost two years later on farmland owned by Lowry and leased by Quirke.
Lowry had previously had an affair with Quirke and the prosecution’s case argued that Quirke murdered Bobby Ryan so he could rekindle their affair.
The love-triangle element to the tragedy meant that the trial was front-page news throughout 2019 and the new drama series will seek to tell the events leading up to the murder.
Brendan Coyle (Downton Abbey) will star as Bobby Ryan alongside Owen McDonnell (Bad Sisters) as Patrick Quirke and Sinéad Keenan (Unforgotten) as Mary Lowry.
Bobby Ryan was a popular figure in and around his locality and regularly performed in pubs and other venues under the name Mr. Moonlight.
A single still image released from the upcoming series shows the character of Bobby Ryan holding a microphone while performing.
The series is based on the book of the same name by Irish Independent journalist Catherine Fegan, with RTÉ promising it will look “beyond the headlines to explore the human story behind one of the most remarkable criminal investigations in modern Irish history”.
“Set within a close-knit rural community, The Murder of Mr. Moonlight explores the relationships, secrets and tensions that lay behind a case which captivated Ireland for more than a decade,” the blurb states.
“Through the perspectives of those closest to the events, the series examines the devastating impact of loss, the search for justice and the far-reaching consequences of a tragedy that changed lives forever.”
Adapting the book for television is screenwriter Malcolm Campbell, who has previously tackled real-life Irish crime in the form of 2012 film What Richard Did, which was itself loosely based on the violent death of Brian Murphy outside Annabel’s nightclub in Dublin in 2000.
Much like previous independently produced Irish productions commissioned by RTÉ and the BBC, such as 2020′s Normal People, RTÉ is to broadcast the series here first followed by BBC in the UK.
Announcing the collaboration, BBC executive Sue Deeks said the case “gripped Ireland for many years, but remains relatively unknown in the UK”.
“I cannot think of a better team to bring this extraordinary and heartbreaking story to a wider audience,” she said.
David Crean, Head of Drama, RTÉ said: “Malcolm Campbell has written a compelling story about the tragedy of Bobby Ryan. This moving human story is brought to life with the help of an amazing cast, and directed with real sensitivity by Daithaí Keane and Rachel Carey.”
The programme will be broadcast on RTÉ One and the RTÉ Player in 2027 but a more precise release date has not yet been confirmed.
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