Following the award-winning success of his previous historical TV shows “There’s Something about Patrick” and “The Only Viking in the Village”, Neil Delamere is back with more hilarious fadó fadó shenanigans.
In this brand new four part series Neil takes on Ireland’s Heroes. From the legendary warrior Cúchulainn to the pirate queen Gráinne Mhaol, Neil wants to get inside their skin and see if he has what it takes to be a modern day Irish Hero. Spoiler alert: He doesn’t.
Over the course of four rip-roaring hours, Neil fills us in on the true stories behind four of his favourite Irish heroes. He’ll learn to fight like the ferocious Cúchulainn, recreate Red Hugh O’Donnell’s daring escape by abseiling off the roof of Dublin Castle, taste some 16th Century “delicacies” enjoyed by Gráinne Mhaol and attempt to pass the ancient warrior tests endured by Fionn MacCumhaill and the Fianna, all in the name of refreshing our memory about some of Ireland’s most notable heroes.
Each episode will also see him take to the stage in Vicar St. for a stand-up history lesson with a difference.
Episode 4 – Gráinne Mhaol
In the final episode of the series, Neil takes to the sea in a replica 16th Century galley, to find out first-hand just how Gráinne Mhaol, the pirate queen of Connaught, nicknamed the ‘most notorious woman in all the coasts of Ireland’, got her name. He also taste a few 16th Century “delicacies” that Gráinne might have enjoyed while dining in her many castles and hears how Gráinne divorced her husband by shouting “I dismiss you” from the rooftop. It’s not long before Neil decides that Brehon law isn’t quite his thing after he’s cast out to sea in just a cow hide in a re-enactment of one of the more bizarre punishments of the time.
Through Neil’s unique brand of stand-up and sketches starring the immense comedy talent of Foil Arms and Hog and Tara Flynn, audiences get an insight into Gráinne’s life including the supposed meeting that took place between a fiery-tempered Irish chieftain and Queen Elizabeth I, two grand old Dames in their 60’s, both of whom broke the mould.
The final episode of Holding Out For A Hero airs on Monday, 22nd December at 9pm on RTÉ 2.