*Dervla Kirwan.
Lahinch and surrounding areas of North West Clare are on course to be screened to an international audience.
RTÉ bosses are said to be very pleased with the ratings of new drama Smother which was handed the coveted Sunday night slot on RTÉ ONE.
“New drama, Smother, which has proven to be a big hit with viewers on Sunday nights,” an RTÉ spokesperson outlined. “The consolidated number for the first episode for Smother was 481,100,” the representative confirmed.
A spokesperson for BBC Studios has confirmed to The Clare Echo that plans to distribute the show in both the UK and further afield are continuing. An announcement on where in the world Smother will be broadcast is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Filming of a second series of Smother is to commence in Clare next month while the drama and suspense of the opening two episodes have left viewers guessing how Denis Ahern died.
Leading actress Dervla Kirwan described the setting of Moy House as “the most beautiful, breath-taking place, it really is astonishing”.
Clare’s coastline and scenery has been one of the big strengths of the show while online commentary has questioned why there is a lack of West Clare accents featuring in the series.
Ex Clare footballer, Lawrence Healy took to social media and posted arguably the tweet of the series to date. “Ennis is the Yabbie Creek of Smother,” he tweeted as the Ennistymon man equated the references to the county town with that of Yabbie Creek in Australian soap opera Home and Away.
Ennis is the Yabbie Creek of #Smother!
— Lawrence Healy (@LaLa_Healy) March 14, 2021
