Jamie-Lee O'Donnell to star in TV adaptation of Leonard and Hungry Paul
The six-part series, which is an adaptation of Irish author Rónán Hession's acclaimed novel of the same name, is currently filming in Dublin.
The story follows "two unique board-gaming friends meandering through leafy suburban life, charting a story about Judo, ancient Rome, first loves, and the expansion of the Universe".
Andrew Chaplin, known for the TV series The Full Monty and Alma's Not Normal, will direct from scripts by Richie Conroy and Mark Hodkinson.
Chaplin said of the series: "At a time when most shows involve dragons, detectives, or existential dread, Leonard and Hungry Paul takes a slower route - through kindness, the quiet gravity of small things, and the occasional game of backgammon.
"Proof that not all heroes shout - some just know when to stay quiet."
Leading star O'Donnell said she was "delighted to be part of a wonderful story, with a gorgeous cast and crew."
Novelist Hession added: "I am delighted to see Leonard and Hungry Paul being adapted for the screen.
"It's a real privilege as a writer to see my work being brought to life in a different creative form."
Independent production company Subotica is producing for BBC Northern Ireland in association with BBC Comedy, Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland and RTÉ, with Avalon co-producing and distributing internationally.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
21 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
Love Island ‘winners' revealed ahead of least loved-up final EVER as survey tells all about why viewers keep tuning in
An average 2.7million tune in to watch each Love Island episode, and the current series has reached 145million streams on ITVX GONNA WIN? Love Island 'winners' revealed ahead of least loved-up final EVER as survey tells all about why viewers keep tuning in LOVE Island hosts its least loved-up final ever tonight – with no official couples up for the crown. Three of the four contenders are 'exclusively dating', but none has said, 'I love you' or officially become boyfriend and girlfriend. 10 Love Island's Yasmin and Jamie Credit: Eroteme 10 Sun readers have hailed Yasmin and Jamie their winners with 28 per cent of the vote Credit: Eroteme 10 Toni and Cach received 18.9 per cent of your votes Credit: Eroteme It would seem, though, that this is exactly how viewers like it. Our exclusive poll of readers found that just five per cent of you watch the show 'for love' — and the rest tune in for the 'drama'. Some 51 per cent said they are drawn by explosive scenes, while 44 per cent said they want a mix. And TV ratings suggest the show is enjoying a revival, with viewing figures surging back towards 2022 levels, when winners Ekin-Su Culculoglu and Davide Sanclimenti set our screens alight with drama. An average 2.7million tune in to watch each Love Island episode, and the current series has reached 145million streams on ITVX. So what drama has seen viewers fall back in love with the ITV2 dating show this series? Explosive love triangles have kept fans on the edge of their seats, with gold trader and semi-pro footballer Harry Cooksley flip-flopping between two girls, Shakira Khan and Helena Ford. Another footie star to play the field is Harrison Solomon, stringing along Toni Laites and Lauren Wood. Meanwhile, personal trainer Dejon Williams continually pushed the boundaries with Meg Moore to flirt with other bombshells. The girls were at it too, though, as Toni dabbled with Cach Mercer and Harrison, while Yasmin Pettet caught the attention of a number of the lads before she found Jamie Rhodes in Casa Amor. And there was savage bullying among the girls, notably from Meg. Some of the toxic behaviour prompted Women's Aid to raise concerns over the men 'lying, manipulating and covering for each other', branding it misogyny. Many viewers complained about the show to Ofcom, including eight per cent of readers in our poll. Some 29 per cent said they wanted to log a concern but didn't. You exposed Harry as the villain of the series, with 32 per cent of the vote, followed by Meg on 22 and Harrison on 15 per cent. An uptick in the amount of sex screened by producers also boosted the drama, with 22 per cent of readers saying the raunchy scenes made the show more interesting. 10 10 10 10 Tonight's finalists are Yasmin and Jamie; Toni and Cach; Angel Swift and Ty Isherwood, who are all 'exclusive'; and Harry and Shakira. Sun readers have hailed Yasmin and Jamie their winners with 28 per cent of the vote, followed by Toni and Cach on 18.9 per cent and Shakira and Harry a whisker behind with 18.7 per cent. 'Something real' Some 27 per cent think Yasmin and Jamie will last on the outside. Conor Phillips and Megan Clarke were axed during Friday's episode, then Meg and Dejon left last night. Our poll was done while all five couples were still in the villa. During their final dates of this series, Yasmin told Jamie: 'When I met you, the waters just seemed to calm', while Jamie confessed: 'I feel like this is something real.' 10 Shakira and Harry have 18.7 per cent of the votes Credit: ITV 10 Ty gushed to Angel: 'My feelings are growing for you every day', while she admitted: 'I've got feelings for you. I like it' Credit: ITV 10 Maya Jama hosts tonight's final live from the villa Toni told Cach she felt 'taken care of'. He gifted her a necklace and asked her to be exclusive. Ty gushed to Angel: 'My feelings are growing for you every day', while she admitted: 'I've got feelings for you. I like it.' And Harry gave Shakira a necklace and a turtle pendant, her favourite animal. Maya Jama hosts tonight's final live from the villa. Some 60 per cent backed her as host, but 16 per cent felt she had 'clocked out'. Love Island final tonight, 9pm, ITV2.
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Culture That Made Me: Cork DJ Shane Johnson picks his touchstones
Born in 1970, Shane Johnson grew up in Bishopstown, Co Cork. In 1988, he started DJing with Greg Dowling. As Fish Go Deep, the duo also began releasing music. Their residency sets at Sir Henry's nightclub in Cork in the 1990s have attained legendary status. The bi-weekly podcast of their long-running radio show has clocked more than 5 million listens. He will perform with Martin Roche (Get Down Edits) at Cork's Lee Rowing Club, Saturday, August 9, as part of a series of club nights that will also include Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip (Fri, Aug 8) See: Johnson also plays Eden in Ibiza on Sept 5. The Jesus and Mary Chain I loved Psychocandy by the Jesus and Mary Chain. I was drawn to the sheer antisocial aspects of it. You're a teenager, what are you gonna do? Play music that sounds like barbed wire. The album was tremendously exciting. Listening back with the ears I have now, underneath all the distortion, I can hear stuff like Phil Spector. There are actual pop songs in there, but they're buried beneath this obnoxious sound, which appealed to me. Dexys Midnight Runners Searching for the Young Soul Rebels by Dexys Midnight Runners was such a different record to what came out of UK pop music on its release in 1980. I started listening to it a few years later. The references were back to black music. The band had a look and an attitude that grabbed me. On the album's first song, Kevin Rowland runs through a list of Irish writers, including Oscar Wilde, Sean O'Casey, George Bernard Shaw. That sunk in subconsciously – you didn't hear too many Irish references in British pop music around that time. Def Jam Recordings My dad was into jazz. He had a great hi-fi system in the front room. I love jazz now, but as a teenager, it was an annoyance, not what I wanted to hear. The first genre music I picked up on was hip hop. I got into the Def Jam stuff, coming out of New York – Public Enemy, LL Cool J, Eric B. & Rakim. Public Enemy's first album, Yo! Bum Rush the Show, was a different sound. The lyrics are political and anti-establishment, which appeals to teenagers. It was eye-opening – Chuck D was giving you the news from the streets as opposed to the TV. Sir Henry's Sir Henrys, South Main Street, Cork. The first time I was in Sir Henry's was my brother's 21st birthday around 1984. It was a fancy dress party. I was massively underage, but I got in because I was in disguise. It was my first experience of the lights, the music, all these people smiling and dancing. I've held that memory as a DJ. When you're looking down on this heaving mass of people, everyone having the night of their lives, you feed into those experiences and memories yourself as a DJ. Sometimes you can get complacent as a DJ. You must catch yourself when it's great, keeping in mind it's not always as good as this. Since leaving Henry's, Greg and myself have had plenty of good nights elsewhere, but it's hard match nights we had there. Mike Pickering Mike Pickering, from the Haçienda in Manchester, was the first DJ Greg Dowling and myself brought over to Sir Henry's. He was massively influential. Greg and myself had been trying to figure out the mechanics of DJing. To see someone more experienced, on another level in terms of his selection and the way he put music together, up close was inspiring. Joe Claussell In the late 1990s, we brought Joe Claussell over to Sir Henry's. He was a big DJ in New York. He had a way to frame songs – he'd play a song you wouldn't think is a song for the dance floor, but the context he played it, with the song he played before and after it, turned it into a song that made sense on the dance floor. That was eye opening – the epitome of a great club DJ is taking a song, making it their own, using context all the time. Tokyo Olympics Around 1983, I got a ticket for my favourite band at the time – Human League at Cork's City Hall, but they cancelled the gig. There was a storm. Their gear hadn't arrived by ferry. I was inconsolable. My older sister, Gina, took pity on me. She brought me down to the Regional Tech, where a Dublin band, Tokyo Olympics, were playing. I've a memory of the wise arse on the door saying to my sister, 'Do you want a family ticket, love?' I bought a box of 10 Major [cigarettes] for the occasion. My older brother, Billy, was at the gig. He was bumming fags off me for the night. I remember the band being great. They made one album, Radio. I relistened to it recently. It holds up well. The Smiths The Smiths in 1985. (Photo by) In 1984, I went to see The Smiths at the Savoy. One of my siblings brought me along. That was amazing – to see the fervour of the crowd, Morrissey on stage in his pomp, flowers everywhere, sticking out his back pocket. Just being overwhelmed by the experience, the noise, the slight edge of danger, not sure what's gonna happen. That's what gives live music and clubbing the real edge. Art Farmer I've been to tons of memorable gigs at the Cork Jazz Festival. On a Sunday night, for after-hours, where you'd get musicians still hanging around playing little sessions in the Metropole Hotel, my dad always slipped me in with a friend or two to catch impromptu gigs there. One year stands out. I was with a good friend, Joe Corcoran, who's since died. We sat in one of the small rooms, to see Art Farmer. He played flugelhorn and trumpet. He would have been almost 70. He played the most sublime set. The Second Woman Eileen Walsh in The Second Woman at Cork Opera House. Picture: Jed Niezgoda. I saw The Second Woman in Cork Midsummer Festival with Eileen Walsh playing the same scene repeatedly – with different actors, a hundred actors – for 24 hours. It's a seven-minute scene. It changes depending on what the other actor brings, their attitude, and how she reacts. My wife and I went up to Maureen's for a pint after an hour and a half of it. Having discussed it, we got into it again for a couple of hours. Then left in the early hours of the morning and came back the next morning to see how things were going. It was a fabulous experience. It shows what you can do with theatre. Geoff Dyer Geoff Dyer is such a funny writer. His interests resonate – the way he talks about men and their obsessions. There's nobody like him. He's invented an entire category for himself – it's not memoir, biography nor travel. It's bits of all these things. He's an amazing eye. His recall is phenomenal. His latest book, Homework, a memoir of his early years, is painted so vividly. It's a beautiful book to immerse yourself in. I enjoy his writing so much. Scarecrow Scarecrow is a movie from the 1970s featuring Gene Hackman and Al Pacino. People in the know say it's a great unsung movie, directed by Jerry Schatzberg. Both actors are the best versions of themselves. Sometimes Pacino can be too big, but he was contained in it. Hackman is always brilliant. They play two interesting characters. It's great.
Agriland
5 hours ago
- Agriland
Building traditions as Rekindle Festival returns to Ennistymon
Ennistymon's Rekindle Festival will return for its fourth year with a celebration of tradition, community and creativity on Friday, August 15, and Saturday, August 16 as part of National Heritage Week. Organised by Common Knowledge - which shares skills through hands-on courses in areas such as building, growing, making, and mending - Clare's Rekindle Festival invites people to reconnect with craft, music, food, and one another. Local and global voices take part in a shared celebration of heritage and living tradition. Centred around traditional skills and community knowledge, the 2025 festival programme includes: live music; food; craft workshops; storytelling; and thoughtful conversations. Rekindle opens with Lasraí, an evening of live performance and shared experience under the Burren sky. This year's concert features master uilleann piper, Paddy Keenan; dancer and organiser, Edwina Guckian; Irish-Palestinian singer, Róisín El Cherif; and surprise guest artists from across the country. The aim is to create a space where stories, rhythms and roots ignite. The Rekindle festival day in Ennistymon town centre on Saturday comprises a full day of free public events spread across the town, bringing streets and shopfronts to life in the festival hub at Courthouse Gallery from 2:00p.m to 4:00p.m. The programme includes 'Meet the Makers' craft demos; traditional music sessions; a heritage market and an outdoor céilí with Louise O'Connor and the Rekindle band. There will also be talks on traditional farm methods including Irish scything for regenerative methods of managing the land. A Rekindle trail from 10:00a.m to 8:00p.m will incorporate a town-wide trail of pop-up events, skill-sharing and heritage installations that reflect the culture and creativity of north Co. Clare. A relaxed gathering of music, story, and reflection to end the festival day will take place in Cooley's pub at 6:00p.m. New this year is 'Spreag', which aims to inspire community action through traditional skills. Eco-builder, Harrison Gardner, and blacksmith, Reece Foster, will speak on how craft can support local resilience and climate action. People can explore how traditional arts can build stronger rural communities through shared movement and story in a workshop with Edwina Guckian. The 'Land and Lore' artisan food market will showcase local food rooted in place and practice, featuring producers, foragers, fermenters, and bakers from north Co. Clare. Festival producer, Aoife Hammond, said that Rekindle is about remembering and reigniting. Hammond said: "We honour the past by actively shaping the present through music, food, movement and making." "Rekindle Festival is where heritage meets hands‑on practice. "Watching regenerative farming demonstrations and heritage keepers speak about soil health, seed saving and biodiversity reminds me that traditional land‑wise farming isn't just about crop yield. "It's about preserving wisdom, nurturing community, and growing resilient systems for the future," she said. Tickets and further information are available through Common Knowledge's social platforms.
