Eithne Verling's first television series, The Galway Bay Murders, premieres on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player on Sunday, 8 November at 9:30pm, RTE.ie reports. The Conamara-set crime drama was created by Verling, who grew up in An Cheathrú Rua, and has already been acquired by the British broadcaster ITV.
According to RTE.ie, Verling described the experience of seeing her ambition realised as "mad, extraordinary." The series marks her debut as a television writer, following years of writing prose and a long-standing interest in detective fiction.
Why it matters
The launch places a new Irish-authored thriller in RTÉ One's Sunday night schedule, a slot that has historically drawn large audiences for crime drama. For Verling, the series represents a move from years of unpublished or unproduced writing into a commissioned, internationally sold production. The programme also brings together an international lead, an established Irish screen actor, and a story rooted in the west of Ireland — a combination RTE.ie frames as a significant moment for the creator.
The series has additional weight because of its subject matter. Alongside its central mystery, it examines climate activism, Traveller culture and bereavement, themes Verling said she deliberately wove into the narrative.
A chance meeting that shaped the script
The drama follows two detectives thrown together after the body of a young woman is found on a Conamara bog. Lieutenant Nora Savage, a visiting detective from the New York Police Department, is played by Kate Mulgrew, known to many viewers for Star Trek: Voyager. She is paired with Detective Eddie McDonagh, a newcomer to Dublin played by John Connors, who appeared in Love/Hate.
RTE.ie reports that the part of Nora Savage was written with Mulgrew in mind after Verling met the American actor by chance in Galway. The two struck up a friendship, and Mulgrew encouraged Verling's writing. Verling told RTE.ie that they had discussed working on a play together before she raised the idea of a thriller.
The path to screen was not quick. Verling wrote an early version set in the United States, which she later judged to have been overly ambitious. During the Covid period she reworked the entire project and relocated it to Conamara, the place she lives. She told RTE.ie that she wrote about the area and the things she values, drawing in as much material as she could.
Research, influences and the message inside the mystery
In preparing the series, Verling spoke with serving and former members of An Garda Síochána. She told RTE.ie that what struck her most was the persistence that characterises their investigative work. That quality feeds into the arc of the two leads: Nora Savage is initially reluctant, according to Verling's account, before becoming unable to pull herself away from the case. Verling described the trajectory as one of salvation and redemption, with both detectives becoming consumed by the investigation.
Verling cited James Lee Burke and Henning Mankell among her literary influences, naming Mankell as a particular favourite and praising his warmth and intelligence as a writer.
Asked what she hopes audiences will take from the series, Verling pointed to several ideas. She told RTE.ie that judgment is the most important theme — a call not to condemn others and to recognise the complexity of people who appear badly damaged. She also said she wants viewers to see the humanity in everyone.
Beyond that, she highlighted the environment and what she described as a theme of accumulation and neoliberalism. In her view, young people carry the answer because they are less encumbered and approach the world more freshly. Verling, who has children of her own, said she looks to that generation for direction and hopes viewers will find that idea inspiring.
On the production itself, Verling was generous about those around her. She told RTE.ie that the crew were excellent and that there was not a weak performance among the cast, adding that she felt privileged to be part of it and praised the work of everyone involved behind the scenes.
The Galway Bay Murders begins on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player on Sunday, 8 November at 9:30pm.
