PURE FECKING MULE
Charlene McKenna and Garrett Lombard AKA Jennifer and Scoobie"The phrase ‘Pure Mule’ can be positive or negative – ‘went out, long queue, shite beer, no craic, walked home in the rain on me own, it was pure mule’
or
‘went out, straight in, no messing, loadsa drink and I got the shift, it was pure mule’.
It all depends on the intonation."
That's exactly how the first press release for "Pure Mule" read.
If this is your first time hearing of Pure Mule, then I have only sympathy for you. One of the most pioneering Irish TV dramas of the noughties is now available to watch in full on the RTÉ Player.
‘Pure Mule’ aired for the first time in 2005 and was set in the boom times. It portrays a contemporary, rural Ireland and is set in a Midlands market town.
Each of the first six episodes was a self-contained story focusing on the weekend of one particular character from a Friday until a Monday morning:
Pure Mule's six main characters were Shamie (Tom Murphy RIP), Scobie (Garrett Lombard), Jennifer (Charlene McKenna), Therese (Eileen Walsh), Kevin (Luke Griffin) and Deirdre (Dawn Bradfield) and the series was shot over 12 weeks in Banagher, Birr and surrounding areas of Co. Offaly.
Pure Mule - The Last Weekend
Pure Mule returned in 2009 for two-part special called "The Last Weekend". That special reunited many of the much-loved characters of the original series set in an Ireland that was now in economic freefall.
The Last Weekend saw Scobie (Garrett Lombard) with his bags packed for Australia and Jennifer (Charlene McKenna) back in town for a family funeral with a new boyfriend in tow (JJ Feild)
You can stream all 8 episodes of Pure Mule on the RTÉ Player and keep an eye out for Derry Girl's Granda Joe in Episode 2:
