David Hennessy talks to actor Moe Dunford about his current crime drama Dublin Murders and the upcoming London Irish Film Festival that he is a patron of and his film Dark Lies the Island will be screening at
Since he was lauded for his IFTA-winning portrayal of a young man with schizophrenia in Patrick’s Day, Waterford actor Moe Dunford has gone on to a regular role in epic historical series, Vikings and starred in films such as the famine revenge drama Black ’47. Now he is about to be seen in the new BBC crime drama, Dublin Murders and Dark Lies The Island which will be shown at London Irish Film Festival which Moe was announced as a patron of just last week.
Moe brought Patrick’s Day to the London festival back in 2015 and tells The Irish World how glad he is to be a patron of the event started by Kelly O’Connor nine years ago now: “We were all taken aback by Kelly, the warmth and the way the festival was run, the cultural aspect and the social aspect. People go there to catch up with what’s happening at home, keep in touch with their own culture and there’s just a broad mix of people that go there. There’s an ease and a calm there. I think I’ve done that festival every year since.
“I’m so proud because there’s just such a history of Irish going over to London.”
Moe can be seen on our screens at the moment in the BBC drama Dublin Murders which also stars Killian Scott, Sarah Greene, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor and Conleth Hill.
“Each of the episodes were above anything I’d read or come across when it comes to crime drama. It was a joy, the scripts are really unique. I think audiences are going to be surprised, I think we have our hands on a hit. It’s a very dark journey that the characters go on but it’s something that hasn’t been seen on screen before, I think.”
Moe plays a detective in the murder squad headed up by Killian Scott and Sarah Greene: “Sam is a nice character to play because he is unflappable as a cop but he wants to move up and be doing more important police work. His real undercover job is he’s going out with Sarah’s character and no one in the police squad knows this.”
Next month, Moe will bring Dark Lies The Island to London Irish Film Festival. The film also stars Pat Shortt, Tommy Tiernan, Charlie Murphy and Peter Coonan. Written by Kevin Barry and directed by Ian Fitzgibbon, it promises a dark comedic look at rural Ireland: “There’s a ridiculousness to the character and humour across the board. It’s coming from Kevin Barry. I just jumped at the opportunity to be in a script of his. He’s one of the country’s best writers for God’s sake. I was a fan for years of his stories. The darkness is there, Kevin’s amalgamated characters from his short stories and put them as part of a family. I play the son. I have an older brother. The father owns the auctioneers, the funeral home, he owns half the town. They’re all lusting the same woman, Sarah played by Charlie Murphy. There’s an undercurrent of darkness but also what I Iike about it was it was a fresh take on family and a fresh take on those sort of characters in rural society, they brush everything under the table.”
For the full interview, pick up this week’s Irish World. In shops on Wednesday.
Dublin Murders begins on BBC1 tonight, Monday at 9pm. See the Irish World for your chance to win the seris on DVD.
London Irish Film Festival returns 20-24 November.