V exed of Kin
Ex-dublin Mayor brands rte a ‘disgrace’ for airing show
Kin writer Peter mckenna says he was keen to show the consequences of violence – as former Dublin mayor Christy Burke calls for the series to be axed.
The Independent councillor branded RTE “a disgrace” after airing new gangland drama Kin – which stars Clare Dunne, Emmett Scanlan and Aidan Gillen.
Around 500,600 tuned in to watch the first episode of the Dublin crime drama, which centres around the Kinsella family as they become embroiled in a drugs war with a rival gang.
And despite the glowing reviews from many, Mr Burke has demanded the broadcaster take the show off the air.
He said: “If all RTE can provide is a young guy, then a woman using cocaine, then a 17-year-old drinking alcohol in front of his mother and a guy with a very fake Dublin accent again using drugs, what kind of message is this sending out about Irish society?
“They need to understand families all over Ireland have lost loved ones through drug use along with young people being shot dead due to crime.
“The national broadcaster
needs to ask itself what this series stands for.
“This city is awash with cocaine and anti-social behaviour and deaths of so many involved in crime feuds, it doesn’t need any further glamorising which without a doubt impacts on young people’s behaviour.”
Cllr Burke added he has been “inundated” by texts from families not only affected directly by drugs but by others who are “sickened by the glamourising” of such crime and the “vulgar” use of violence.
He said: “Not only is this bad enough but there was also a smart remark about Alcoholics Anonymous. They should realise people attend this extremely important organisation to help them to recover.”
Mr Burke told RTE Radio One: “I think after the feud, it’s bringing back memories to families who have lost loved ones.”
He said he was “born and reared in the belly of it”, adding he’s carried more than 200 coffins
over the years in his constituency from the feud.
A spokesman for RTE said they were making no comment on Mr Burke’s views. But Kin writer and
showrunner Peter Mckenna said he wanted to make sure consequences were shown for the character’s actions.
He added: “The one thing I was really conscious of when writing a gangland show was to make sure we addressed the consequences of violence.
“Often, in this genre, characters are killed, disappear and are never mentioned again.
“I didn’t want that to be the case. We see the fallout of violence.
“The grief, the suffering, the pain. And the endless cycle of retribution. At times our characters’ lives seem like hell.”
Mr Mckenna also said filming during Covid wasn’t plain sailing but he feels honoured to be able to showcase Kin to the world as the series is funded internationally by American networks AMC. He
The cast we secured eclipsed anything I could have hoped for PETER MCKENNA YESTERDAY
added: “I was given an absolute gift – the opportunity to create and showrun a TV show set in Dublin that would be viewed globally.
“That was the ambition from the very beginning – to tell a recognisably Irish story that would have an international appeal.
“I’d be lying if I said it was always plain sailing, we filmed right through the worst of the Covid pandemic under an incredibly strict regime, aware that a single positive test had the potential to close us down.
“But adversity worked in our favour. At the height of the lockdown these were the people you were spending all your time with.
“As a writer, you always imagine a dream cast. The people you’d love to bring your characters to life. I can honestly say the cast we secured eclipsed anything I could have hoped for.”