Crá: New BBC Northern Ireland Irish-language crime drama bringing murder and mystery to our screens

One of the stars of a new BBC NI crime series says the show is 'something different' for those who enjoy a good murder mystery drama.

Crá, airing on BBC NI at 10.30pm on November 17, is a new series filmed in Donegal that asks what happens when the truth begins to unravel in a community bound by silence and its own moral codes.

A murder investigation begins when Garda Barry Roche finds a body buried in the bog. In the most personal of cases, Garda Conall Ó Súilleabháin discovers it is his mother who has been missing for 15 years.

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Conall is forbidden from working on the case but is drawn into the investigation by a determined young journalist Ciara-Kate who is using her true-crime podcast to expose the village's deepest secrets.

Young Offenders actor Alex Murphy stars alongside Dónall Ó Héalai and newcomer Hannah Brady in the Irish language series with English subtitles.

Alex chatted to Belfast Live about being a part of the series, filming in rural Donegal, the importance of seeing the Irish language on screen and swapping his Young Offender past with a Garda uniform.

He said: "The show is called Crá which is like the feeling of not being able to spit something out or you have a secret or something stuck in your 'Crá' - like many Irish words, it has about 15 meanings.

"It is a crime drama and I was very excited to do it because when I first read the script, I just really enjoyed the story and then to hear it was going to be fully as Gaeilge [in Irish] it was a big treat because it's something I've never done before.

"The fact that it's just a good story and it's in Irish. It's not like it's not about Irish, it's its own thing which is quite different to anything I've ever really seen before."

Alex plays Garda Barry Roche who is a bit of a "blow-in" on the force and is trying to prove himself while adapting to the quiet country life.

"There's a body found in the bog of someone that has been missing for a long time so Barry's in way, way over his head," he explained.

"Then there is Ciara-Kate who is the new girl on the scene and comes in trying to make a podcast about it all, but Connell is the through line who is kind of dragging us all through to make us find out who did this."

Used to playing young thug Conor on The Young Offenders, Alex said it was "very funny" to take on the other side of the law in this new role.

He laughed: "Doing scenes around Gweedore, people would do double or triple takes because they recognised me but then see the high-viz jacket and be like 'What are you doing wearing that' but that was definitely very enjoyable.

"There's actually an episode in the new season of The Young Offenders where I go back and do my Irish oral exam and I was less than bad at it so to be speaking fluent Irish was very fun."

Despite not being fluent in Irish, Alex said he enjoyed living and working in the Gaeltacht area of Donegal and being able to practice in shops and pubs

"I learnt it in school but there were a few years there where it was not a part of my life, so I had a good few months prep for this," Alex explained.

"When you're older and you want to learn it and you have an incentive to learn it, it goes in a lot easier - it's been a real treat to get back into it.

"Just living there for nine weeks, it's a great way to pick it back up."

He continued: "I feel like when I was in school, I just didn't really care because I was a stupid young fellow and it was the idea that you're forcing me to learn something.

"The whole it's a 'dead language' thing or whatever and then when you get a bit older and you realise that it's not and there are so many people who speak it daily - when you find it yourself, you want to learn it more.

"I feel like that's what's happening with people around my age anyway who find it again after school

"So just learn it through conversation was fun and to see how it's affected how we talk, like things we say in English that directly come from Irish."

On why people should tune in to watch Crá, Alex said that the story speaks for itself for those who love watching a gritty crime drama.

"Right off the bat, it's a really good story, which is why I liked it at the beginning - it's a crime drama and I think it's a really good one and it's also in Irish so it's just that bit different.

"If you're not used to reading subtitles or maybe you don't really watch foreign films, this is a good series to of dip your toe into and just see how you get on, because you might find when you're listening to it and reading along, it's quite enjoyable to see how much Irish you know."

Crá starts Sunday 17 November at 10.30pm on BBC iPlayer and BBC One Northern Ireland. The full series is available to watch on BBC iPlayer after episode one airs on Sunday 17 November

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