{"id":369946,"date":"2026-03-28T14:54:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T14:54:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/369946\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T14:54:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T14:54:15","slug":"i-spent-a-day-with-the-young-offenders-filming-a-very-cork-wedding-heres-what-i-learned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/369946\/","title":{"rendered":"I spent a day with The Young Offenders filming a very Cork wedding \u2014 here’s what I learned"},"content":{"rendered":"

On a bright but blustery morning on Cork\u2019s northside, the corridors of Terence MacSwiney Community College hum with energy, a sort of controlled chaos, as it transforms to become the set of The Young Offenders.\n <\/p>\n

Between clusters of crew, snaking cables, big lights, stacked school chairs, and the scuff of runners on the skirting boards, the cast move through the space like they\u2019ve never really left. In a way, they haven\u2019t.<\/p>\n

For nearly a decade, this school has been more than the St Finans set \u2014 it\u2019s been the beating heart of one of Ireland\u2019s most beloved, critically acclaimed comedies. So it feels fitting that the team have chosen it as the venue for their highly anticipated Linda and Gavin\u2019s wedding day episode.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s an extra fizz in the air. The latest six-part season sees Conor reunited with Jock in Cork after they both spent the previous run in different prisons. It is episode three that they are filming today, and it feels like a milestone, an inevitable but slightly surreal one for fans who\u2019ve grown up alongside Leesides\u2019s most endearing tearaways.<\/p>\n

\"JockJock O’Keeffe (Chris Walley), and Conor MacSweeney (Alex Murphy) in ‘The Young Offenders’ Picture: BBC\/Vico Films<\/p>\n

I walk past the bride outside, Mallow actress Demi Isaac, beaming \u2014 and shivering \u2014 in a meringue-silhouette sweetheart cut dress, a black cardigan thrown over her shoulders to keep her warm between takes. Around her, extras are dolled up in bright colours, spray tans, big earrings \u2014 and that\u2019s just the fellas.<\/p>\n

Hilary Rose stands out in a vivid orange dress and towering fascinator in the shape of a starburst, battling against the wind, while Chris Walley sports a tight black suit, with a red floral print so loud, you could hear it in Kinsale. His dress shoes are gleaming, but not as much as the white sports socks he has on with them. Pure Jock.<\/p>\n

Shane Casey is strutting around sporting an ill-fitting mustard shirt that looks like it came directly out of Dwight Schrute\u2019s wardrobe. A huge white Hummer sits unapologetically in the staff car park, and inside, the school cafeteria is transformed into a wedding venue, with hurricane candle jars, fake cherry tree blossoms, twinkling lights, and ivory chair covers.<\/p>\n

At the centre of it all today is Paul Howard, whose sharp ear for dialogue has shaped some of Ireland\u2019s most recognisable comic voices. His presence adds a quiet sense of occasion and a timely reminder that even in a show built on chaos, craft matters.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s the first one I grab for a chat.<\/p>\n

If the cast brings the crazy, Howard is the man scribbling it. Best known for skewering a very different corner of Irish life through South Dublin posho, Ross O\u2019Carroll-Kelly, he\u2019s an unlikely \u2014 but oddly perfect \u2014 fit to write this episode for The Young Offenders, a show he was already a fan of before being asked to step in.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t even have to think about it,\u201d he says, laughing. \u201cYou might think I paused for five seconds, but that\u2019s only because I dropped the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u2019re tucked away from the noise of the set, though it still seeps in: The voices in the corridor, the low thrum of the crew, the occasional call for quiet. Howard, who has spent the past few years moving from newspapers to best-selling author and into top-tier television, seems entirely at ease. He\u2019s recently worked on Bad Sisters and has just returned from Canada, where he was writing the hit co-production between RT\u00c9 and a Canadian broadcaster, Sisters, in conditions far removed from a Cork classroom with a slight smell of old milk.<\/p>\n

\"JockJock O’Keeffe (Chris Walley), and Conor MacSweeney (Alex Murphy) in ‘The Young Offenders’ Picture: BBC\/Vico Films<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was minus 20 there,\u201d he says. \u201cFreezing. So in the evenings and at the weekends, I just didn\u2019t leave the hotel room. I ended up doing a lot of the work on this episode there, which was kind of handy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Writing a Cork wedding episode from a snowed-in hotel room in Hamilton feels oddly fitting for a show that has always punched above its weight. Howard slipped easily into the rhythm of it, helped by the fact that he already knew the characters so well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been watching it from the start, so their voices were already in my head,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd I love regional accents, especially Cork and Kerry. I tend to write dialogue almost phonetically, the way people actually speak.\u201d<\/p>\n

One question nags me, though: How does a Dublin writer land a Cork voice without it sounding off, djaknowwaddImeeeeanlike?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always loved the Cork accent,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen I worked in newspapers, about half the sports department were from Cork. When they got together, it was Cork to the nth degree. We\u2019d end up in Toners afterwards, and I\u2019d just sit and listen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not necessarily understanding, he admits: \u201cIt\u2019s just such a beautifully lyrical accent. Like music. Half the time I didn\u2019t have a clue what anyone was talking about, but I loved the sound of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"StarsStars from The Young Offenders pictured at the IFTA Awards 2026 at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre. Picture: Brian McEvoy<\/p>\n

Back on set, you can hear exactly what he means. Outside, a scene between Mair\u00e9ad and Sergeant Healy plays out in gusts of wind that do their best to upstage that giant orange fascinator. Around 20 crew members hover, adjusting, resetting, chasing something just a little bit better with each take.<\/p>\n

Hilary Rose\u2019s calm warmth radiates as she slips in and out of character with the ease of someone who has lived inside Mair\u00e9ad for nearly a decade.<\/p>\n

One of the show\u2019s emotional anchors has always been Mair\u00e9ad, the longsuffering, fiercely loving, frequently exasperated Irish mammy who\u2019s spent the better part of a decade trying to keep two eejits alive. But as Hilary points out, Mair\u00e9ad hasn\u2019t stayed static. She\u2019s grown, changed, and worn down in ways that feel recognisable to Irish mothers everywhere.<\/p>\n

When I ask Hilary whether she feels Mair\u00e9ad has evolved in terms of motherhood, she doesn\u2019t hesitate.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven when I look back at the levels of aggression Mair\u00e9ad had in season one, I think it\u2019s now levelled off into exhaustion,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t that the most Irish mammy arc imaginable?<\/p>\n

\"Mair\u00e9adMair\u00e9ad MacSweeney (Hilary Rose), Conor MacSweeney (Alex Murphy), Picture: :BBC\/Vico Films<\/p>\n

At first, you meet chaos with ferocity, roaring, marching, rescuing, keeping the whole show on the road. But years of trying to keep teenagers alive will soften that into something else entirely: Bone-deep tiredness, the kind that comes from caring so much for so long.<\/p>\n

Hilary talks about how Mair\u00e9ad spent the early seasons \u201ctrying to keep them alive and keep them out of trouble, and doing a lot of rescuing\u201d. Now, there\u2019s a shift, not a letting go, as such, but recognising the limits of what she can control, especially as the lads get older and the stakes change.<\/p>\n

And, of course, in true Young Offenders style, just as she thinks she might get a breather, there\u2019s a new baby in the house.<\/p>\n

Hilary laughs about that, how Mair\u00e9ad is essentially starting all over again, trying to \u201cget it right\u201d while juggling a blended, ever expanding family that now includes the boys\u2019 once-upon-a-time nemesis, Sgt Healy. It brings fresh dynamics into play.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt ties in the dynamic with Healy and the family,\u201d she says, \u201cwe have to wonder where do these guys fit in?\u201d<\/p>\n

She reveals that viewers will be seeing Mair\u00e9ad\u2019s own story expand, not just as the mammy who absorbs everyone else\u2019s drama, but as someone with her own internal shifts, her own personal journey. Hilary tells me that this season gives her a bigger arc and even a hint of backstory, something we\u2019ve rarely seen for her character.<\/p>\n

If Howard brings the ear for dialogue, the cast brings something harder to manufacture: History.<\/p>\n

Alex Murphy and Chris Walley, the inseparable pair whose chemistry powered the show from cult favourite to cultural touchstone, come to have a chat. They spark off each other with the same sly, conspiratorial energy that first won audiences over.<\/p>\n

\"EstherEsther McCarthy with the cast of The Young Offenders ahead of Season 5, Picture: Miki Barlok<\/p>\n

Murphy is the first to put his finger on it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were so young when we started,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve kind of grown up on the show. I\u2019m 27 now, it\u2019s been nearly 10 years, which is mad.\u201d<\/p>\n

What is actually mad \u2014 and really disconcerting \u2014 is hearing the gentle, middle-class tones of Alex coming out of messer Conor\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

Beside him, Chris Walley, aka Jock, nods. At the time of our interview, he\u2019s on the cusp of turning 30, the passage of time written more in experience than appearance. I want to ask him what moisturiser he uses, but it seems unprofessional.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a running joke about how easily they can always slip back into their younger characters.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the haircut,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd shaving the beard. It takes years off. We have to keep cutting the hair all the time to keep the look \u2014 every day, actually!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Young Offenders stars Alex Murphy, Chris Walley and Shane Casey attending the IFTA Awards 2026 Picture: Brian McEvoy\/Iftas\/PA Wire<\/p>\n

Murphy laughs, but there\u2019s something more reflective underneath it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the gift that keeps on giving,\u201d he says. \u201cYou go off and do other jobs \u2014 which are great \u2014 but you realise how nice this one is. So many people have been here since day one. That\u2019s hard to replicate.\u201d<\/p>\n

That familiarity shows in the work. The rhythm between them is quick, instinctive, maybe less like acting, more like muscle memory.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can nearly finish each other\u2019s sentences,\u201d Walley says. \u201cFor comedy, that\u2019s everything. The timing only works because of those relationships.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd because we\u2019re let loose. You put on the tracksuit, and you\u2019re set free like a child. I definitely am.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI put elastic bands in my pockets!\u201d chips in Shane Casey, back in all his glory to play neighbourhood nutjob, Billy Murphy.<\/p>\n

\"JockJock O’Keeffe (Chris Walley), and Conor MacSweeney (Alex Murphy) in ‘The Young Offenders’ Picture: BBC\/Vico Films<\/p>\n

But they\u2019re not just let loose in the school. The whole of Cork is fair game. Their sense of ownership extends beyond the set. Chris Walley recalls filming on Oliver Plunkett St, a moment that felt, even to them, a little surreal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt kind of iconic, walking down the street shooting a scene,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were trying to think if anything like that had been done before. It felt special.\u201d<\/p>\n

The scene itself was deceptively simple, just a couple of minutes on screen, but technically demanding.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was all done in one take,\u201d he says. \u201cSo there was a bit of pressure. You\u2019re thinking, right\u2026 Better get this right.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the logistics were intense, the public reaction was something else entirely.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody calls us Alex and Chris,\u201d he laughs. \u201cIt\u2019s always, \u2018Hi Conor! Howya Jock!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HandsomeHandsome Dan Fogarty (Se\u00e1n \u00d3g Cairns) finds himself atop the shoulders of the ever unpredictable Billy Murphy (Shane Casey). Picture: BBC\/Vico Films<\/p>\n

At first, the novelty draws a crowd.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re very excited on day one,\u201d he says. \u201cBut by the end of the week, it\u2019s no big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sense of visibility matters too, particularly for younger audiences watching it all unfold in real time. Casey is very much aware of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important for kids to see this stuff happening,\u201d he says. \u201cTo see a television show being made in Cork, in Munster, to know it\u2019s possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a sense, he suggests, that something is building: \u201cWith everything that\u2019s going on, other productions, films like Christy [that Chris Walley also stars in] coming through, it feels like a really exciting time for Cork. So hopefully that continues.\u201d<\/p>\n

The actor\u2019s tell me people come from all over the world to get their picture taken on THAT bench in Bell\u2019s Field.<\/p>\n

\"JockJock O’Keeffe (Chris Walley), and Conor MacSweeney (Alex Murphy) sitting on the now iconic bench in Bell’s Field. Picture: BBC\/Vico Films<\/p>\n

For Isaac, the filming around Cork is all part of the fun.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe response is always lovely. There\u2019s a real sense of community around the show. People don\u2019t disturb the set, they\u2019re just curious.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a long way from where her character started.<\/p>\n

\u201cI go from schoolgirl to bride in a very short time,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m 24 and getting married.\u201d<\/p>\n

They all pause to reflect on how far the show has come.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve different generations watching now,\u201d Casey says. \u201cYou\u2019ve got kids coming to it fresh, and then the ones who\u2019ve stuck with it, maybe slightly more mature than when they started.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JockJock O’Keeffe (Chris Walley), Conor MacSweeney (Alex Murphy), and Billy Murphy (Shane Casey) in ‘The Young Offenders’ Picture: BBC\/Vico Films<\/p>\n

PJ Gallagher, who, between you and me, wins the person you\u2019d most want to go for a pint with competition, chimes in. He has such a warm, welcoming, enthusiastic energy about him, and is resplendent in full wedding garb as the father of the bride, the uptight Principal Walsh.<\/p>\n

\u201cI worked out I\u2019ve been going to this school more years in a row than I have my own school,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\n There\u2019s a weird thing, the show is called The Young Offenders, but everyone\u2019s grown up, it\u2019s more like The Repeat Offenders.\n <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a bit of a coming of age going on in this episode and this series. People are doing more adult things like getting married.\u201d<\/p>\n

This episode seems to really resonate with the cast. A wedding, after all, is a different kind of marker, one that everyone I speak to today seems to be aware of.<\/p>\n

Peter Foott\u2019s creation has won multiple awards, including a Bafta and Iftas, and has been the springboard for launching the careers of our two anti-heroes, both of whom have worked on multiple projects \u2014 with Walley winning an IFTA award for Supporting Actor in a Drama for his role as Jock at the 2026 awards and the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in The Lieutenant of Inishmore in 2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alex Murphy is also in demand on stage, TV, and film. You might have recognised him in Conversations with Friends, and he played Eddy Power in Saipan last year. But The Young Offenders is the project that started it all, and the one I think that still feels like home.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s nearing the end of my day on set, and it\u2019s been a privilege to see it all happen in real time.<\/p>\n

I get to see a portrait of a cast and creative team who know exactly what Conor and Jock\u2019s world means to Cork, to Irish comedy, and to the huge community of viewers who see something of their own youth in its mayhem and heart.<\/p>\n

As I step out into the afternoon, the spell lingers, but by the time I get to my car, the school is once again just a school. But inside its walls, it\u2019s exciting to think of season five taking shape, the team stitching together The Young Offenders universe with the same raucous humour and unmistakable Rebel County spirit that has carried the show far beyond the city limits.<\/p>\n

If the mood on set is anything to go by, this next chapter won\u2019t just delight long-time fans; it will remind them why they fell for it in the first place. The Young Offenders isn\u2019t just returning, it\u2019s growing up… just not too much.<\/p>\n

Stream all six episodes of season five of \u2018The Young Offenders\u2019 from April 3 on the RT\u00c9 Player<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On a bright but blustery morning on Cork\u2019s northside, the corridors of Terence MacSwiney Community College hum with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":369947,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[5658,93,61,1693,60],"class_list":{"0":"post-369946","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-irish-examiner-instagram","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-insight","12":"tag-ireland"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=369946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369946\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/369947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=369946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=369946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=369946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}