In a column for RTÉ, Galway writer Eithne Verling describes it as "mad, extraordinary." Her

A Galway Writer’s Thriller Becomes a TV Reality, With a Little Help From Star Trek

In a column for RTÉ, Galway writer Eithne Verling describes it as “mad, extraordinary.” Her television debut, The Galway Bay Murders, is set to premiere on RTÉ One this Sunday, a journey from a chance meeting in her hometown to a prime-time slot on Ireland’s national broadcaster. RTÉ.ie reported that the series, which has already secured a deal with ITV, represents a remarkable personal and professional milestone for the former director of the Galway Museum, who has crafted a mystery that intertwines a complex investigation with explorations of climate activism, Traveller culture, and profound grief.

The story begins not with a pitch meeting, but with a serendipitous encounter. Verling met the American actor Kate Mulgrew—best known for her iconic role as Captain Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager—in Galway. “We met and we just kind of bonded,” Verling told RTÉ Entertainment. “Sometimes you have an unexpected friendship that you just think, ‘Oh my God…’ It’s like you knew each other all along.” This connection would prove to be the catalyst for the project. Verling explained that Mulgrew “really encouraged my writing.” She added that it was after this encouragement that she “kind of had an idea for a thriller.”

From Ambitious American Dreams to a Connemara Homecoming

The path to the screen was not a straight line. Verling’s initial concept for the thriller was set in America, a project she now describes as “ridiculously ambitious.” It was during the pandemic that the story found its true home. “During Covid I redid the whole thing and set it where I live, in Conamara,” she said. “[I] just wrote about the area and all the things I love, so I pulled in everything I could think of.” This shift grounded the narrative, allowing Verling to weave the specific textures of her environment into the fabric of the mystery. The result is a twist-filled tale centered on the discovery of a young woman’s body on a Connemara bog, which brings together visiting NYPD Detective Lieutenant Nora Savage, a role written specifically for Mulgrew, and local Detective Eddie McDonagh, played by Love/Hate‘s John Connors.

For Verling, a lifelong devotee of the thriller genre, the process was about honoring the procedural’s core while infusing it with a deep-seated humanity. Her influences are clear: “I love James Lee Burke, who’s an American writer, and Henning Mankell is probably my favourite. He’s just wonderful. He writes with a lot of heart as well and cleverness.” Her research involved extensive conversations with serving and former members of the Gardaí. “The thing that struck me most was the ‘doggedness’ of their investigative work,” she noted. “And that’s, I suppose, in the story. The arc of it is that she’s not that interested to begin with, and then she just can’t stop herself. It’s salvation—and redemption. The two of them just become obsessed.”

Layers of Meaning: Beyond the Whodunit

Beneath its surface as a gripping mystery, The Galway Bay Murders carries a deliberate weight. Verling has packed the narrative with layered messages, touching on themes of judgment, climate change, and a critique of “neoliberalism.” When asked what she hopes viewers take from the series, her answer reveals the depth of her creative vision. “I have so many messages hidden in it. I suppose the most important thing is about judgment. It’s an obvious thing, but not to judge other people and maybe show the layers between people who seem very damaged. For people to understand each other a bit more, I suppose. The humanity in everyone, that’s a big thing.”

The environmental theme is equally central to her message. “But I think the climate is very important and also that piece about accumulation and neoliberalism,” she continued. “I hope that becomes clear that the young people are the saviours, really, because they have fewer filters. They’re not as twisted. They have a much fresher approach. I’m looking to the young people… for this kind of direction of the world. They understand the world that we have become very bogged down in. I hope people will take the message that that is really the inspiration.”

The Galway Bay Murders begins on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player on Sunday, 8 November at 9:30pm.

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