{"id":615127,"date":"2026-09-05T08:34:39","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T08:34:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/615127\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T08:34:39","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T08:34:39","slug":"mr-moonlight-rte-announces-new-drama-based-on-patrick-quirke-murder-trial-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/615127\/","title":{"rendered":"Mr Moonlight: RT\u00c9 announces new drama based on Patrick Quirke murder trial \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

RT\u00c9<\/a> has announced a new TV drama, The Murder of Mr Moonlight, based on the Patrick Quirke trial<\/a>, which will air in 2027. <\/p>\n

In one of the longest murder cases in the history of the state, Tipperary farmer Patrick Quirke was convicted of killing DJ Bobby \u201cMr Moonlight\u201d Ryan in 2011.<\/p>\n

It was not until April 2013 that Ryan\u2019s body was discovered and May 2019 that Quirke was convicted of the murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.<\/p>\n

Bobby Ryan will be portrayed by Brendan Coyle, of Mr Bates in Downton Abbey fame, while Owen McDonnell, known for his work in Killing Eve and Bad Sisters, will play Patrick Quirke.<\/p>\n

Fair City\u2019s Sin\u00e9ad Keenan will take on the role of Mary Lowry, who had an affair with her late husband\u2019s brother-in-law Patrick Quirke beginning in 2008. In 2010, she began a relationship with Bobby Ryan.<\/p>\n

It was reported in The Irish Times<\/a> on the conclusion of the trial in 2019 that, \u201cMary Lowry and her family often seemed to feature more highly in the trial than Quirke or Bobby Ryan\u201d.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0RT\u00c9100 \u2013 Points of View: Anniversary show gets so much right, but falls between stoolsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

The five-part series, to air on RT\u00c9 One, was written by Malcolm Campbell, Meadhbh McHugh and Paul Howard, and is based on Catherine Fegan\u2019s book The Murder of Mr Moonlight alongside research and interviews. <\/p>\n

The series will be directed by Smother director Datha\u00ed Keane and Rachel Carey of Obituary and The Hardacres. <\/p>\n

David Crean, head of drama at RT\u00c9 and executive producer on The Murder of Mr Moonlight said the series was \u201cdirected with real sensitivity by Datha\u00ed Keane and Rachel Carey\u201d.<\/p>\n

Also joining The Murder of Mr Moonlight line-up is Say Nothing\u2019s Hazel Doupe as Ryan\u2019s daughter, Michelle Ryan, and Carolyn Bracken as Quirke\u2019s wife Imelda.<\/p>\n

Speaking on the upcoming series, screenwriter Malcolm Campbell said: \u201cOur responsibility has been to approach the process with care, sensitivity and rigorous research, while exploring the relationships and circumstances that made this case so compelling.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Murder of Mr Moonlight is produced by Conker Pictures and Samson Films for RT\u00c9, in association with the BBC, F\u00eds \u00c9ireann\/Screen Ireland and Coimisi\u00fan na Me\u00e1n, with Banijay Rights handling international distribution. <\/p>\n

Kim Varvell and Tommy Bulfin of Conker Pictures, who are executive producers, said: \u201cThis drama intends to give a voice back to Bobby and his family. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt the heart of the story is Bobby Ryan, whose life was tragically cut short. However, even after his death his story was overshadowed by the media\u2019s fascination with Pat Quirke and his former lover Mary Lowry.\u201d<\/p>\n

The producers said they \u201chave sought to create a drama that is thoughtful, balanced and respectful to everyone portrayed\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope the series honours his [Bobby Ryan\u2019s] memory by ensuring he is remembered not simply as the victim of an extraordinary case, but as a father, grandfather, friend and much-loved member of his community.\u201d <\/p>\n

No broadcast date for The Murder of Mr Moonlight has been announced yet, although RT\u00c9 said transmission details will be announced in due course.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"RT\u00c9 has announced a new TV drama, The Murder of Mr Moonlight, based on the Patrick Quirke trial,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":615128,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1578,3584,93,61,60,6085,5237,9123],"class_list":["post-615127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-bbc","tag-coimisiun-na-mean","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-rte","tag-screen-ireland-fis-eireann","tag-tipperary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615127","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=615127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/615128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=615127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=615127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=615127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}