Give My Head Peace is a satirical television comedy series on BBC Northern Ireland that pokes fun at political parties, paramilitary groups and the sectarian divide in Northern Ireland. The programme is written by Tim McGarry, Damon Quinn and Michael McDowell, also known as "The Hole in the Wall Gang", who also perform as the characters. Episodes are recorded in front of a live studio audience at the BBC Blackstaff Studio A in Belfast.
The Show was cancelled by the BBC in October 2026.
Background The concept originated on BBC Radio Ulster music programme Across The Line in the late 1980s, as a five-minute slot. The radio version used many of the characters and plot ideas used in the later TV series.
Pilot: Two Ceasefires and a Wedding Its first TV appearance was in a made-for-TV film called Two Ceasefires and a Wedding, shown on BBC Northern Ireland (31 August 1995), poking fun at the clichéd "love across the barricades" plot that features in many dramas about Northern Ireland. In this case the lovers were Emer, the daughter of a "prominent" Sinn Féin activist, and Billy, an RUC constable. Their wedding is opposed by their respective families, and ends in farce, although Billy and Emer were happily married.
In the pilot episode, Ma & Da have a second son, Paul, who suffers anxiety from being wrongly imprisoned for one of Da's failed missions in England. He is best man at Billy & Emer's wedding. He only appears in one episode in the main series.
Main series A full series was then commissioned by BBC Northern Ireland. Some changes were made to the format prior to the series going ahead – with the character of Cal (Emer's brother) changing substantially, and the introduction of other recurring characters such as Big Mervyn and Red Hand Luke. A few years into the series, Nuala McKeever (Emer) left the series to pursue other interests, and a new love interest for Billy was introduced in the form of Emer's previously unseen sister, Dympna.
The series continued to run on BBC One NI until 2005, taking a hiatus as the Hole in the Wall Gang began work on a new series called Dry Your Eyes. Give My Head Peace usually screened in a prime-time Friday night slot, opting out from network BBC One. In mid-2004, a selection of episodes were shown across the UK on BBC Two in a late-night slot during weekends.
The 50th episode, entitled "Secondary Colours" aired on 27 December 2002.
Cancellation The final Give My Head Peace episode was transmitted on BBC One Northern Ireland on 28 December 2007. This was supposed to be the last ever episode but during the final few seconds, a graphic stating "That's All Folks?" appeared, suggesting that the show could return in the future. According to Tim McGarry, the reason for the show's cancellation was due to a mis-sent email, received by a BBC executive in charge of the show's production. Allegedly, McGarry had hit reply rather than forward to the intended recipient.
2016 special and soft reset Give My Head Peace returned for a one-off 40-minute long episode titled "The Farce Awakens" on 28 December 2016 – exactly nine years to the day since it last aired. It was filmed in Northern Ireland in October 2016. Television presenter Christine Lampard made a cameo appearance.
With this special, they overwrite the events of the original final episode. In that episode, Billy kills Uncle Andy and Big Mervyn after learning they had lost Billy's house and money in a scam. While Billy is in custody, Cal's Protestant girlfriend Siobhan is revealed as an undercover police officer trying to get close to Da. When Siobhan tries to kill Da, Ma suspects them of having an affair. This, combined by the knowledge that Da had prevented Liam Neeson from proposing to their daughter Dympna, drives Ma to kill him. Dympna confesses to the murder to spare Ma from prison. Billy is released after being granted a pardon by Ian Paisley and Martin McGuiness. He learns of what happened to his wife Dympna and devotes himself to trying to clear her name, despite now living with two other women. The special now makes these events non-canon.
2018 return
The series returned with an eleventh series which began broadcasting on 19 January 2018. This was followed by a Christmas Special called "Shallow Grave" which aired on Thursday 27 December 2018 on BBC One Northern Ireland. The show returned for a Christmas Special in December 2019, as part of the 12th series consisting of four episodes leading into 2020.
The show returned in December 2020 for a Christmas special, to be followed by three other specials in early 2021. Recording of the 2020 Christmas Special and 2021 episodes had to be conducted under strict health guidance due to the Covid-19 pandemic with production moved from their usual location at BBC Blackstaff Studio in the centre of Belfast to a new studio located elsewhere in Northern Ireland to ensure social distancing could be maintained. No studio audience was present for the filming of the episodes, but a virtual audience watched and reacted to the recordings online. The 2020 Christmas special aired on Sunday 27 December 2020 on BBC One Northern Ireland, and saw the cast give a proper send off to the character "Big Mervyn", as the actor who played him BJ Hogg died earlier in 2020. Three more episodes were aired from mid January 2021.
Three more series (of 4 episodes each) were televised in January 2022, January 2023 and January 2024. A Christmas special, "Merry Christmas Mr Begbie" was broadcast in December 2024.
Live In recent years, they have performed live shows at a selection of venues across Northern Ireland. The 2004 show was chiefly made up of scripts from the 2004–2005 series. In 2007 a new live show entitled Dry Your Eyes it's Give My Head Peace was held in Derry's Millennium Forum and the Grand Opera House to celebrate ten years of the show. This production showed material from GMHP and Dry Your Eyes and was very well received. The next live show in 2008 followed on from the final television episode, called Give My Head Peace: Back From The Grave, and also featured the Dry Your Eyes characters. In 2009, the gang went on their last tour called "Give My Head Peace: The Final Farewell Tour". However, the show returned on an annual basis with "Give My Head Peace: The Annual Review" touring Northern Ireland. The performance features the show's regulars, with the notable exceptions of Mervyn and Red Hand Luke, and also features a stand-up set from Tim McGarry who plays Da.
Since the show was renewed in 2018, the group have also revived their live shows, with events in the Grand Opera House Belfast, the Riverside Theatre, Coleraine and other venues throughout NI.
In 1999 a Give My Head Peace book was released. The only DVD released to date is of series 6, in November 2009.
Characters The principal characters are:
Da (Tim McGarry) – Da is an Irish Catholic who represents a stereotypical Irish nationalist. He is an ardent fan of Irish culture despite having little knowledge of Irish history and being unable to speak a word of Irish. Da is a Sinn Féin spokesman who later becomes an assemblyman, and recently a "retired assemblyman". He is very proud of his involvement and (exaggerated) friendship with Gerry Adams. He is fired repeatedly for embarrassing Gerry or the party publicly. He often gets reinstated after blackmailing Gerry with incriminating evidence, which inevitably gets destroyed through ineptitude. He has a beard and wears glasses to replicate Gerry's appearance, save for three episodes where they had fallen out. Da claims to have been involved with every unlawful activity that Gerry was allegedly involved with. In the original run, he claims he was directly involved with the IRA alongside Gerry, but has since admitted that he wasn't as involved as Gerry was. Da lives in Divis Tower on the Falls Road. He has six adult children with Ma, but only four have ever been seen. It was recently discovered that he was not legally married to Ma, but he is tricked into marrying her again by Cal. Cal (Damon Quinn) – Although he is a grown man, he still lives at home and often acts child-like. He supports his father in his self-proclaimed struggle against British imperialism, and usually does what Da tells him, no matter how daft. In the pilot "Two Ceasefires and a Wedding", he is portrayed as a more sinister IRA activist. In the main series, he is much more gentle and slightly dim-witted. He often proves to be naturally talented at most things he tries, but his attempts at being successful are usually scuppered quite quickly. He is jealous of his seldom seen brother Paul. It is stated by Ma on multiple occasions that Cal came "really close" to getting married until Da ruined, but the details keep changing. In later episodes, he becomes increasingly suspicious that Da is siding with the British, and stands up to him when he is mean to Ma. Uncle Andy (Martin Reid) – Uncle Andy is an old-fashioned traditional Protestant loyalist whose twin loves are British Ulster and Elvis Presley. He is very argumentative, and determined to take offense at even the slightest suggestion that someone is trying to oppress him. He blames all problems on Catholics and Sinn Fein, and is often abusive towards Dympna for simply being a Catholic and a woman. He often devises elaborate money-making schemes and scams with his best friend Big Mervyn. Their combined lack of intelligence and foresight often cause these plans to fail. In similar respect, he is repeatedly barred from the Loyalist Kneebreakers Social Club or the Orange Order due to his tricks or inappropriate conduct. He used to try to avoid eviction by claiming he was really Billy's father until he himself lost track over whether or not it was a scam. It was eventually confirmed that he isn't. He is "close friends" with Red Hand Luke and Pastor Begbie despite clearly living in fear of them. In most recent episodes, he becomes convinced that Grainne is his daughter from a one night stand with her mother, mainly because Billy said it was confirmed by a DNA test. The truth has yet to be verified. Billy (Michael McDowell) – Uncle Andy's nephew and a police officer with the PSNI (formerly RUC). He immediately married Emer after first meeting her in the pilot episode. By the beginning of the first series, it had become a loveless marriage. After Emer leaves with their son, Billy instantly falls in love with Dympna who moves in with him. They are married by the Pope after his divorce is finalised. Billy was raised by Uncle Andy after being abandoned by both parents. There are recurring hints that Uncle Andy is his father until it is eventually verified as untrue. He often assumes "politics" (i.e. he isn't a Catholic) is keeping him from promotions, when in fact he is quite lazy. He eventually gets his promotion for helping investigate the hit-and-run incident that injured Da, even though he committed it. While he openly objects to the criminal acts of Uncle Andy and his associates, Billy isn't above abusing his policing powers for his own advantage. Emer (Nuala McKeever) – Emer is Da and Ma's daughter, and marries Billy in the pilot episode. Like Ma, she is uninterested in politics and mean towards Da. However, she is quite intelligent and well informed. She is more interested in fashion and men. So much so that she shamelessly pursues other men despite Billy's protests. It is often said that she has a son with Billy who is never seen. By the beginning of series 2, she has left Billy for a Spaniard, and taken their son with them. They are seldom mentioned again until it is discovered that she remarried, thus making it easier for Billy to have his divorce. He shares a birthday with Cal.