Ballykissangel

Ballykissangel is a fictional village nestling in the lush green mountains of County Wicklow, in the heart of the Irish countryside. It’s the kind of place where everyone knows everyone else, where everyone knows everyone else’s business, where gossip is rife and where disputes are settled by taking bets on the outcome. Here life revolves around the local Catholic church and its rival, the local bar.

When Father Peter Clifford arrives from Manchester, he knows he will be facing some opposition. After all, what is a young, inexperienced English priest doing in Ireland, of all places? He soon finds out that the town of Ballykissangel poses many more challenges.

Rural village life is very different from the big cities. For a start, he needs to be able to drive if he is to get around. And then there are the local gossipmongers – here everyone knows everyone else’s business and a secret doesn’t stay secret for long.

Unlike Father Mac, the Parish Priest who is not quite as holy as he appears to be, Peter believes in letting people make up their own minds and think for themselves – not quite what the local residents are used to and not all of them like it, especially Father Mac.

His flock consist of a delightfully mischievous cast of characters,including Brian Quigley, the local wheeler-dealer entrepreneur, and his feisty daughter Niamh (who is engaged to the local policeman Ambrose), and Donal and Liam, Quigley’s dim but faithful sidekicks. As for Assumpta Fitzgerald, the beautiful owner of the local bar, she despises Englishmen and priests. She and Father Clifford clash like water and oil, and yet the two develop a tangible chemistry that both must suppress.