*Justine Mitchell. Photograph: Martin Maguire
SHOOTING SMOTHER in Co Clare at times was “like a Star Wars movie,” leading actors for the hit RTÉ drama have said.
Clare’s glorious setting has been a shining light in the two series of the Sunday night drama airing on RTÉ One with the backdrops of Lahinch, Fanore and the Burren serving as a fine advertisement for the county’s rich beauty.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Justine Mitchell, James O’Donoghue and Elijah O’Sullivan who play Elaine, Calum and Jacob respectively were all in agreement as to the most impressive area in the county that they filmed in, that being the Giant’s Playground in Carron.
Justine outlined, “The Giant’s Playground in the Burren, that was incredible. It really did feel like we got there and moments before like two dinosaurs had just stopped fighting each other and went around the corner somewhere, it has this ancient feeling, it is really good for your soul because you realise you are so tiny. What’s so beautiful about that first drone shot that Cathal did for the opening when we’re scattering the ashes, the drone shot is so beautiful, it really captures that we’re tiny specs on this eternal landscape, it’s so good for your head”.
“We all felt like we were in a Star Wars movie, it felt unbelievable, it was like an alien planet, the way the landscape is carved out, it’s amazing. It was one of my favourite places to film,” James admitted.
Youngest cast member, Elijah added, “It was a very unique place to be, there’s very little soil, it is all rocks and the gaps and cracks between them, it was interesting terrain to travel on”.
With increasing pressure mounting on Justine’s character Elaine, she said the possibility of channelling the memorable ‘Aunt Filippity’ from ‘Your Bad Self’, a sketch show featuring Amy Huberman and Domhnall Gleeson could emerge. “I love that sketch, I love that you know that sketch, ‘I heard that Traolach’, I just remember saying that. Elaine deserves to get a bit angry sometimes soon and if it does, I will channel Fillipity for you,” she promised The Clare Echo.
Given the perception of her character in Smother, Justine admitted that she was one of the few cast members to get strange looks from the Clare locals. “When I’m in Dublin and Lahinch, I get a lot of this ‘stay away from her’, one woman in the chemist was very funny, she almost went under the counter when I came in,” she recounted of an exchange in Lahinch.
Should a third series get the green light, Justine is hopeful that the entire cast would get to enjoy a session in Lahinch. “We aspired to go down to Clahane or to Lahinch beach and have a few tinnies but it was always so cold or we never got around to it. For people’s birthdays and stuff, it was just bizarre, I was lucky because I had a wee cottage in Clahane and my husband came from London and we brought our dog, it didn’t feel too intense or lonely, I got to go back to him every night which was lovely. If there is a season 3 I imagine hopefully that the restrictions will be softened and we might be able to go for a pint together”.
