A significant rise in television adaptations of works by leading Irish writers is transforming how modern audiences consume culture, driven by the global growth of major streaming platforms and on-demand broadcasting, per rte.ie.
High-profile adaptations, such as the BBC’s six-part comedy drama Leonard and Hungry Paul and RTÉ’s commission of The Walsh Sisters, highlight a structural shift towards serialised, small-screen storytelling that accommodates fast-paced digital lifestyles.
The transition from page to screen has increasingly become a collaborative, multi-disciplinary process. Recent television productions demonstrate how screenwriters are compressing thousands of pages of text or combining multiple novels into singular series. For RTÉ’s late 2024 commission of The Walsh Sisters, screenwriters Stefanie Preissner and Kefi Chadwick integrated two of Marian Keyes’s books, Rachel’s Holiday and Anybody Out There, into a single television narrative directed by Ian FitzGibbon.
Similarly, crime drama series Dublin Murders, broadcast on the BBC and RTÉ, compressed Tana French’s first two novels, In the Woods (2007) and The Likeness (2008), into an eight-episode series. Other major literary works have successfully transitioned to international networks, including Louise Kennedy’s 2022 novel Trespasses. Adapted by Ailbhe Keogan for Channel 4, the 1970s Belfast-set drama starred Lola Petticrew, Tom Cullen, and Gillian Anderson.
This adaptation trend aligns closely with shifting digital viewing habits. As global cinema attendance declines, on-demand streaming and rolling, short-form serialised episodes allow audiences to engage with narratives on flexible schedules. While Irish literature continues to achieve traditional feature film success, short-form television adaptation is expanding market reach by introducing celebrated writers to entirely new global audiences.
The current boom follows the critical and commercial success of earlier page-to-screen adaptations, notably Sally Rooney’s Normal People, which sparked international fandom. Furthermore, Irish authors have recently achieved significant Hollywood acclaim through feature-length adaptations, including Claire Keegan’s Foster (adapted as An Cailín Ciúin), Small Things Like These, Colm Tóibín’s Brooklyn, and Emma Donoghue’s Room.
•Featured image: The Walsh Sisters, based on books by Marion Keyes, was commissioned by RTÉ in late 2024 (Image: RTÉ)
