Martin Reid

Give My Head Peace was a satirical television comedy series on BBC Northern Ireland that pokes fun at political parties, paramilitary groups and the sectarian divide in Northern Ireland. The programme is written by Tim McGarry, Damon Quinn and Michael McDowell, also known as "The Hole in the Wall Gang", who also perform as the characters.

During the 1940s, a group of young men go off to war, leaving behind Ethel Ann, who is in love with one of them, Teddy. In modern-day Belfast, a man named Jimmy endeavors to return a ring found in the wreckage of a crashed plane. He travels to Michigan, where the grown Ethel Ann, who married another man after Teddy was killed in battle, now lives. Ethel Ann must decide whether to go with Jimmy to meet the soldier who last saw Teddy alive.

Unimpressive, 24-year-old virgin, Eamonn (Kris Marshall) lives in Belfast with his mother, during the Troubles. Local girl, Mary Malloy (Tara O'Neil) decides that since she has probably slept with every man in town Eamonn should be next on her list. He proves to be quite a catch... and Mary gets pregnant even though she took precautions. A doctor discovers that Eamonn has a very high sperm count and, with the birth rate in Ireland decreasing, Millicent (Bronagh Gallagher) decides to hire out Eamonn to women whose husbands have been firing blanks; all with the blessing of the local Catholic church which sees it as morally better than artificial means.

Love across the barricades: RUC policeman Billy loves Emer, whose Da and brother Cal are IRA men. To Da and Cal's fury the IRA declare a ceasefire. Does this mean they will have to welcome Billy into the family? As the wedding descends into chaos, Ma brings about peace and reconciliation by the traditional Northern Irish method - with a baseball bat.

Give My Head Peace was a satirical television comedy series on BBC Northern Ireland that pokes fun at political parties, paramilitary groups and the sectarian divide in Northern Ireland. The programme is written by Tim McGarry, Damon Quinn and Michael McDowell, also known as "The Hole in the Wall Gang", who also perform as the characters.