Killinaskully - Reception

Reception

Killinaskully has received poor reviews from critics but large viewership figures. Shane Hegarty, The Irish Times's television critic, said the programme emphasised the rural/urban divide and "because TV critics tend to stand very firmly on one side of that gap, they have seldom attempted to understand the popularity of something so old-fashioned, predictable and lazy." John Drennan of the Irish Independent commented if there was "a sweeter sound in Irish journalism than the wails of the effete South Dublin TV critic when RTE viewing figures show Killinaskully has trounced John Kelly's The View once again?" Drennan said division over the show was the modern equivalent of the 19th-century cultural wars over the language movement, with one side featuring "the sort of cultural snob who faints at the sight of a Centra breakfast roll and who also fondly imagines the drawing rooms and restaurants of South Dublin bear an uncanny resemblance to the set of Frasier" . John Boland in the Irish Independent has said how the characters lack depth: "I've never been much of a fan of Pat Shortt's broad brand of comedy, with its gallery of cartoon-culchie villager wearing silly wigs and speaking in exaggerated mock accents." Boland continued, "Killinaskully makes Shortt's earlier work with Jon Kenny in D'Unbelievables seem like Curb Your Enthusiasm by comparison". Adele King dislikes the "paddywhackery", describing it as "insular, embarrassing and lacking in sophistication".

Despite repeated negative publicity from critics the show pulls in an average viewership of 500,000 for each episode, which rose as high as 800,000 for the Christmas specials on 25 December. In 2004 and 2005 it was Ireland's top-rated programme during the festive season. On 25 December 2005, 825,000 viewers tuned in to watch "A Killinaskully Christmas Carol". The 25 December 2007 special episode attracted viewing figures of 770,000 for "Christmas Special IV: The Last Round". The 2008 festive double episode parodying The Emergency attracted 757,000 viewers, surprisingly losing its crown as Ireland's most popular Christmas Day show for the first time ever by 3,000 viewers to RTÉ News: Nine O'Clock. Despite this, the Christmas special was the fourth most watched television show in Ireland of 2008.