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The Channel 4 drama Trespasses set in Belfast in the 1970s starts six months forward, with a young woman walking through the ruins of a bombed building. We know from the outset that heartbreak is ahead.
What happens in Trespasses?
Most of us know something of the bloody history of The Troubles. But do we really understand how living in a war zone affected those living their lives in Northern Ireland? This evocative 4-part-series pulls us into a world of armed soldiers, steel walls and checkpoints – as well as tenderness.
It tells the love story of Cushla, played by Lola Petticrew a 24-year-old Catholic teacher who gets involved with Michael a handsome 40-something Protestant barrister, (Tom Cullen). Her life is complicated by the fact her mother, Gina (Gillian Anderson) is a difficult woman, an alcoholic grieving for her late husband. The drama immerses the viewer in a world where sectarian violence is normal and been seen with a lover of the wrong religion could see a woman tarred and feathered. Mixed marriages – those between Catholics and Protestants – were decried.
Kind-hearted, Cushla also helps the family of her one of her pupils Davy McGeowan (Daithí Ó Haragáin). His father is a Catholic married to a Protestant woman; they live in a Protestant estate but are being brought up Catholic which makes them very vulnerable, with the little boy’s dad left beaten to a bloody pulp. Cushla tried to inspire Davy’s wayward older brother Tommy (Conlaoch Gough-Cunningham) with literature and education.
How do Cushla and Michael meet in Trespasses?
Cushla spends her spare time helping out in the bar owned by her brother Eamonn (Blue Light’s Martin McCann). It’s here she comes into contact with customer Michael Agnew, serving him tumblers of whiskey. Michael is a married protestant, but he is also committed to social justice, and much of his work is defending IRA suspects, some of whom are pulled in for question just by virtue of being Catholics. Michael argues that the prejudice of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) is radicalising young people. This makes him a divisive figure in both communities.
When Michael asks Cushla to teach some of his bohemian friends the Irish language, the spark of attraction ignites into a tender and passionate love affair. Given the backdrop to which this romance is conducted, the pair don’t only risk ostracism if discovered. Their lives could be in peril. The affair has to be conducted in secrecy. When Cushla’s fellow teacher Gerry (Oisín Thompson) makes a clumsy pass, she gently rejects it, instead offering friendship. However, others around them assume they’re a couple. She uses this as a cover story to protect her from prying questions from her mother to explain phone calls and time away.
Is Trespasses a true story?
It’s based on the book of the same name by Louise Kennedy, which was published in 2022. Although Trespasses is a fictional account, it draws heavily on the author’s real life experiences. Kennedy was born a Catholic in Belfast in 1967. Her grandmother ran a pub there, and she has used those memories to recreate the smoke-filled bar where Cushla and Michael met. Although people carried on living their lives, drinking and socialising, there was an edginess that prevailed.
Catholics were outnumbered eight to one in Kennedy’s area, and her childhood was scarred by the sectarian killings. Over 2,000 of the more than 3,500 people killed during the Troubles died in the 1970s, with 480 deaths (over 13 percent of the total) coming in 1972, just a few years before Trespasses is set. When she was 12, Kennedy’s family were forced to move to the south of Ireland after their pub faced two bomb threats, with the second bomb going off.
AmazonIs Michael Agnew in Trespasses based on a real person?
While Michael Agnew is a fictional character, many observers have noted the similarities between him and Pat Finucane, a lawyer who frequently acted for prominent members of the IRA, including Bobby Sands and Irish National Liberation Army. He was murdered by being shot 14 times in his home by the loyalist paramilitary group, the Ulster Defence Association in 1989. His wife and children were present. However, Finucane was Catholic, not Protestant. It’s possible Louise Kennedy drew inspiration for the Michael Agnew character from this real-life event.
Who is Lola Petticrew, Cushla in Trespasses?
Belfast-born Lola Petticrew was born in 1995 and grew up on the Falls Road, a working-class, majority-Catholic area of west Belfast. Lola identifies as queer and non-binary. You’ve also seen them in the Disney+ series Say Nothing as the Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteer Dolours Price. While Petticrew’s background is Catholic, they identify as atheist. You may have also seen Petticrew in the films Tuesday and She Said and the TV series Bloodlands, Anne Boleyn, Three Families, Dating Amber and My Left Nut.
Who is Tom Cullen who plays Michael in Trespasses?
Tom Cullen is a Welsh actor born in 1985 in Aberystwyth, Wales to an Irish father and an English mother. You’ve seen him in TV series Black Mirror, Insomnia, Downton Abbey, The Five, Knightfall, Becoming Elizabeth and The Gold. Cullen came into public consciousness in the film Weekend. You’ll seen him next in the third series of House of Dragons and a film called Black Church Bay, as well as upcoming ITV thriller The Party. He has spoken about his connection to the story of Trespasses and relationships across religious divides - his grandfather is Irish Catholic and grandmother's Irish Protestant. Cullen has two children with his partner, actress and musician Alison Sudol.
Is Gillian Anderson in Trespasses?
Gillian Anderson plays Gina, Cushla’s alcoholic mother in Trespasses, impressing audiences with her Belfast accent. The American-British actress, was born in 1968, in the US. She gained international fame for her role as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the iconic television series The X-Files (and has been seen in TV in Bleak House (2005) and as DSI Stella Gibson in the crime drama The Fall - another drama set in Northern Ireland. Anderson also played Margaret Thatcher in The Crown and also starred in The Salt Path. According to Louise Kennedy, the actress told the author she loved the book, especially the character of Gina. Kennedy joked “you’ll play her, won’t you?” but didn’t seriously believe it would happen. As well as being a bit sour and self-indulgent, Gina has a keen wit. Her performance has been lauded as ‘scene-stealing’ by critics.
All four episodes of Trespasses are available on Channel 4 streaming.
Lucy Hunter is a senior content creator across different titles, such as Bella, Take a Break, and of course, yours.co.uk. After three decades in journalism, she’s covered just about everything – from travel and true-life stories to health and emotional wellbeing – and still loves uncovering the human angle in every subject.