Jessica Fletcher is visiting Ireland and doing some sleuthing for the second time during the show’s run (the first one being Season 9’s “The Wind Around the Tower”). This time, she is visiting Kilcleer and her long-time friend Fiona, whose wedding she and Frank had attended back on April 10th 1963 and whom she had last visited three years prior. Jessica is also taking the opportunity to do some research on her family, the McGills.
Fiona and her sons own Kilcleer Woollens, a company that is experiencing some problems following the death of Fiona’s husband Robert. Robert died two months prior, after falling from the church bell tower, and there are rumours that her death may have been a murder. Notably, that event happened on May Day night — which means that the events of this episode take place in July.
Just the facts:
Click on the text below to reveal spoilers.
Click to reveal the victim
In addition to the murder of Robert Griffith, which happened two months prior to the events of this episode, there is the murder of Ambrose Griffith, his American cousin!Click to reveal the killer
It was Dennis Moylan, the finance guy at Kilcleer Woollens!Click to reveal the weapon
The victim was strangled with a curtain cord!Click to reveal the location
It was in the bell tower at St. Broderick’s!Click to reveal the motive
It was to prevent the factory from moving to Sligo instead of Bandon, where the killer had invested money in the land!Click to reveal the major clue
It was Una’s memory of the gancanagh being there on May Day night and the fact that the gancanagh are always depicted with a dudeen pipe in their mouth!Cast of characters (in order of appearance):
- Wendy Benson as Shiobhan Kennedy, a woman who works for Jessica’s friend Fiona and who is driving with Jessica into town. This is Benson’s first of two appearances on MSW.
- Gordon Currie as Sean Griffith, Fiona’s son who runs Kilcleer Woollens.
- Dakin Matthews as Dennis Moylan, a finance guy at Kilcleer Woollens. This is Matthews’ second of three appearances on MSW; he previously appeared in “The Wind Around the Tower“.
- Andrew Robinson as Ambrose Griffith, Robert Griffith’s American cousin who arrived to take over Kilcleer Woollens and move the company to Sligo. This is Robinson’s first of two appearances on MSW. Robinson’s best known for portraying Garak the Cardassian on Star Trek: Deep Space 9.
- Bridgette Wilson as Emily Griffith, Ambrose’s wife.
- Michael Connors as Eric, Ambrose’s driver and Emily’s secret lover.
- Donnelly Rhodes as William Mahaffy, a local drunk. This is Rhodes’ third and final appearance on MSW; he previously appeared in “Who Threw the Barbitals in Mrs. Fletcher’s Chowder” and “The Prodigal Father“.
- Fionnula Flanagan as Fiona Delaney Griffith, the dear old friend that Jessica is visiting. This is Flanagan’s second of three appearances on MSW; she previously appeared in “Steal Me a Story“. She will also go on to appear in the MSW movie The Celtic Riddle.
- Paul Ivy as Duffy, a private investigator who is posing as a birdwatcher. This is Ivy’s first of three appearances on MSW.
- Lee Magnusson as the Barman at Carbery Arms pub.
- Gerald S. O’Loughlin as Father Timothy, the priest at St. Broderick’s church where Robert Griffith died. This is O’Loughlin’s fourth and final appearance on MSW; he previously appeared in “Badge of Honor” and “Class Act“.
- Udana Power as Una O’Reilly, a local woman who believes in fairies and leaves flowers at Robert Griffith’s grave.
- Cyril O’Reilly as Patrick Griffith, Fiona’s other son who has been away for a long time. This is O’Reilly’s second of three appearances on MSW; he previously appeared in “Snow White, Blood Red“. He will also go on to appear in the MSW movie The Celtic Riddle.
- Mark Rolston as Sgt. Terence Boyle, the local police detective. This is Rolston’s third of four total appearances on MSW; he previously appeared in “To the Last Will I Grapple With Thee” and “The Wind Around the Tower“. He will go on to reprise the role of Sgt. Boyle in the following season.
Final thoughts and other trivia:
Establishing shots of the Irish country side and the fictional town of Kilcleer were actually filmed in and around the village of Rosscarbery in County Cork. For instance, the footage of “St. Broderick’s church” is actually of St. Fachtna’s Cathedral. And the footage of William Mahaffy arriving at the Carbery Arms Hotel (as seen in the screenshot below), was filmed on the Square in the village centre.
And finally, as someone who had previously attempted to draw Jessica Fletcher’s family tree, I was interested to note that while visiting the graveyard at St. Broderick, Jessica takes photos of the grave stones for Bernard MacGill and Moira MacGill, who are presumably distant ancestors.
Murder, She Watched 