Dervla Kirwan: ‘People gossip, we all thrive off it’
She burst on to screens in Ballykissangel. Since then, Dervla Kirwan’s starred in hit after hit and she’s now back in crime drama Smother. Here, she admits that, like most of us, she likes a good gossip…
In real life, Dervla Kirwan is married to the hunky TV star Rupert Penry-Jones and is a mum to Florence, 17, and Peter, 15, living in a small village in Hampshire. Onscreen, however, she is currently based in a small town on the beautiful and wild west coast of Ireland, the country of her birth.
Smother follows devoted matriarch Val Ahern (Dervla), whose husband is found dead at the bottom of a cliff, following a party. As Val explores who might have been responsible and examines her husband’s relationships with their extended family, she begins to realise the full extent of his controlling behaviour and threatens to uncover secrets, lies and hurt that may tear the family apart. The drama, by best-selling author Kate O’Riordan, was a hit in Dervla’s native Ireland and seems set to have the UK glued. Dervla, who also starred in Netflix smash TheStranger, tells us why she loved playing Val and why the dark drama will have visitors flocking to gorgeous County Clare.
Hi, Dervla. What attracted you to this role?
What I love about Smother is that it’s honest and truthful. I’m not playing some hyper vampish, neurotic female. I’m playing a highly calculating, compassionate woman. And to be playing the lead is amazing, and back in my home country. Smother has guts, bones and sinew and I just know that people will love it.
Why do you think Smother is so appropriate as a title?
Because of Val. She is so driven by the fear of being exposed. All those lies: the happy family barbecues and parties. I think a lot of people want to put on a show. Most people never stop acting 24/7 and there’s a lot of risk in that. People do gossip; the whole world thrives off it.
You were worried at the start of your 40s that there wasn’t going to be enough good material for you…
Absolutely… it’s been very slim pickings. My agent said recently that if this was 10 years ago, they’d be calling me to say my career was over because there was nothing being made for women of my age group. But now we see women in business, politics and running our police force. Television has to reflect that. There are great careers to be had in acting now well in to your 80s that just wouldn’t have happened 10, 20 years ago.
Would you want to slow down if you could?
I’m self-employed and
have two kids, I can’t give up. And I don’t want to. I’m turning 50 this year and I’m excited. My theory is I’m a very resilient woman so even if it had all gone away, I would have found another way to make a living. Because that’s just who I am; I’m very stubborn!
So you’re not overwhelmed about turning 50?
Oh no, I feel fecking fantastic! And this is a perimenopausal woman speaking to you. If you keep your curiosity and joy alive and your connection to your joy, it’s everything. And you have to keep your gratitude. Life is a miracle. 50 is just a number. I’m going to be saying this to you when I’m 80, if I still have all my marbles!
Do you especially enjoy working in Ireland?
I like working, full stop. I’ve got bills to pay. But the backdrop is so breathtaking. I think it will play a blinder for tourism. Lahinch in County Clare is such a beautiful place.
What response did you get when it aired in Ireland?
My family and friends in Ireland loved it. Mind you, I don’t think they would ring up to say they didn’t like it. But people were glued to it. I get an awful lot of women coming up to me really excited, wanting to know more.
It’s totally different from Ballykissangel!
Yes, but I also think the viewers it’ll attract will have an insatiable appetite for it. I absolutely love watching crime
‘I feel fantastic about turning 50… life is a miracle’
dramas and trying to find out who did what and why. When viewers keep with the story, it’ll be really deeply satisfying when the reveal happens.
There are so many good dramas being filmed in Ireland at the moment…
Yes. It’s not just Ireland, though; this pandemic has highlighted how much we need entertainment. We’ve been locked in our homes, we couldn’t go anywhere, we need not just distraction, but shows that reveal the human psyche.
Have you spent much time in County Clare before?
I hadn’t. But the people here are just incredible. I left London because my husband and I love the countryside and we didn’t know who our neighbours were. And for better or for worse, I love smaller communities because people do know when you’ve not collected your mail and want to make sure you’re OK. We need to get back to that.
Were you home for most of lockdown?
Very much so. We finished the first series in November so had the dark months of January, February and March at home. So coming back to County Clare for series two I feel very excited. I’m just so happy to be out and meeting people.
● Smother is available as a box set on Virgin, Sky and BT until 22 July.