Making friends through murder: John Connors on Kate Mulgrew
John Connors reveals how he formed an instant bond with acting legend Kate Mulgrew while filming The Galway Bay Murders – and why he'd move to Galway “in a heartbeat”.
John Connors has a simple requirement for a job, even when his co-star is someone he considers an acting legend – it has to be fun. “Look, I’m a blackguard,” he said. “I don’t go and do this to just be serious all the time.”
Working with Kate Mulgrew on the Galway Bay Murders, he found someone who could match his humour. He admired her professionalism and work ethic, but her openness helped them settle into an unusually close working relationship.
“I think in a way we were kind of meant to be as actors working together,” he said.
Speaking at the drama’s recent advance screening at Pálás in Galway, Connors struggled to recall another experience quite like it.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever had that connection with somebody on set, that close of a connection, where we kind of knew each other straight away, and we were really comfortable with each other straight away.”
Within a week, their conversations had gone well beyond getting acquainted.
“We knew a lot about each other,” he said. “She knew a lot more about me than I knew about her.”
Mulgrew, he explained, is exceptionally inquisitive. “She’s like a journalist,” he said.
Even a leaf on the ground could set her wondering. Connors imitated the kind of question she might ask: “Oh, look at that leaf over there. When did that fall from the tree?’
“That’s why she’s such a great actor, because she has that curiosity,” he said.
In the six-part crime drama, Mulgrew plays Nora Savage, a New York detective who returns to her family home in Galway after a traumatic event and finds herself investigating the murder of a climate activist. Connors plays Traveller detective Eddie McDonagh.
The series grew from Galway writer Eithne Verling’s friendship with Mulgrew. They met at a dinner in Oughterard when the actress was visiting Galway to work on her memoir. Verling went on to develop the drama for her.
Connors was particularly impressed by the care Verling brought to the Traveller characters. Asked about her wish to include those lives without making the drama solely a Traveller story, he replied: “It’s just a human story.”
He was equally enthusiastic about seeing the work reach the screen. Acting jobs do not always turn out as hoped, he said, but this one had.
“I loved it, absolutely loved it,” he said. “Episode one is rocking.”
Galway had clearly won Connors over, too. “The city of Galway, for the craic, pound for pound, is the best city in Ireland,” he said. He described Connemara’s beauty as ‘really unrivalled’, adding: “I’d live here in a heartbeat.”
For Mulgrew, watching Verling adapt to the demands of television had been a particular source of pride.
“I was astounded by her understanding of the craft, her ability and willingness to adapt herself to the format of procedural television, which, trust me, is very, very hard to do.”
Verling had brought depth to the drama through its characters, she said: “She elevated it with the character dimensions.”
Mulgrew’s affection for the production extended to those who helped bring it to life.
“I just felt like I was surrounded by love,” she said. “The cast was terrific, the crew was exemplary.”
Asked what she wanted audiences to take from the series, her answer was personal.
“This is a story of friendship and love brought to a dramatic level,” she said. “And if I don’t do anything else in my life but this, I will have achieved a dream.”
The Galway Bay Murders begins this Sunday at 9.30pm on RTÉ1.