UK-based Irish group to picket Channel 4 over famine comedy

Protesters are to picket the London headquarters of Channel 4 on Saturday in a demonstration against plans to create a sitcom based on the Irish potato famine.

The demonstration has been championed by Austin Harney, chairman of the Campaign for the Rights and Actions of Irish Communities, a British-based group which operates under the acronym Craic.

Mr Harney believes that any such show would prove detrimental to Anglo-Irish relations, and would further marginalise the Irish community in Britain.

“It’s an idea which we find to be very offensive and tasteless,” he said.

“The fact of the matter is that you have to take into consideration the impacts on Irish people of the time – the deaths of one million people, mass emigration and the wiping-out of many Gaelic speakers,” he added.

Attempts by the group to contact management at the station have not been met with a response according to Mr Harney, who was dismissive of a press release from Channel 4 stating that no firm commitment has been given to broadcast the proposed series.

“There have already been other problems with tasteless programmes produced by Channel 4, such as the Benefits Street documentary where they misrepresented and took advantage of people in working-class communities and distorted the facts,” he said.

“Irish travellers in Britain were even attacked in the aftermath of the series My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. It’s not doing much for race relations,” he continued, before adding that Saturday’s rally is “just the start” to what could be a potentially prolonged campaign.

‘A black comedy’

The topic first sparked controversy at the start of the year when Dubliner Hugh Travers revealed plans to develop the sitcom Hungry, a "black comedy" that will focus on Ireland during the Great Famine of 1845 to 1852, in association with the broadcaster.

The idea had drawn scorn from commentators on social media, as well as politicians and historians, and a petition aimed at stopping the production of the series has attracted more than 33,000 signatures to date.

Mr Travers's plans have been defended by fellow comedic writers such as Limerick duo the Rubberbandits, and Fr Ted co-creator Graham Linehan, who described those calling for the show to be axed as "outrage junkies".

Despite generating plenty of publicity for their cause, organisers of the protest are expecting small numbers, with less than 60 confirmed attendees on the eve of the demonstration.

A second generation Irish man, Mr Harney has courted attention in the past for various campaigns related to ethnic and disability rights, as well as a campaign to legalise prostitution in the UK.