Jeremy Dr. Jeremy Fitzgerald, played by
Brendan Coyle, was a distinguished
gynaecologist, living in the
affluent Dublin suburb of
Blackrock, before being
convicted of
dangerous driving causing injury. He was
sentenced to a custodial sentence and sent to a Dublin prison. After his release, with his
license to practice medicine lost, Jeremy pursues the release of his
controversial book, 'Women inside Out'. However, he struggles to find a
publisher given his recent legal troubles, and this eventually leads to a
breakdown. During the series, Jeremy displays his love towards a
wealthy style of life, driving a new
Mercedes-Benz, playing
golf at his
local club 'The Fitzhatton', and repeatedly describing his admiration of
Michael Flatley. This is demonstrated at one point in the series when Jeremy is questioned by the camera crew as to what affect prison has had on him, and he responds that it caused him to lose his
'no-claims bonus' and raise his
golf handicap by six strokes. The
legal costs of defending himself in the
case brought by the
Ukrainian man that he
hit while
drink driving are large, and this causes the Fitzgeralds to sell their home in Blackrock to raise funds. Repeatedly,
Jeremy disputes the man's claim that he is paralysed, and at one point Jeremy
attacks the man in
attempt to prove he is lying. At this stage in the series, Jeremy is
seriously mentally ill, and he soon
takes up home in a
tent on the
7th green at the Fitzhatton. The series ends with Jeremy, now
separated from his wife Helen (
Deirdre O'Kane), in
full-time psychiatric care .
Rats Raymond "Rats" Doyle, played by
Michael McElhatton is a character that has been
in and out of trouble throughout his life. In the series, he also has just been released from prison, having been convicted of
burglary. Rats
struggles to find a job, with his problems compounded by the fact that his
wife Sharon, along with his two children Tarquin and Snoopies, has left him. Rats has several jobs in the course of the series including
security, working in a
fast-food restaurant and
busking. While busking, Rats performs the
poetry that he writes in his
spare time, and though it is
crude and
childish, he sees it as a serious expression of his feelings and beliefs. The
uncensored and brash nature of the poetry attracts the attention of the
Garda Síochána, and lands Rats in further trouble. Throughout the series, we see Rats concentrate on trying to bring his band, 'spermdotcom', into the mainstream. The band did experience some minor success some years beforehand,
reaching No. 27 in the charts in
Finland. The series ends with the band continuing to struggle, having been
conned out of
£400 they had paid to arrange a gig, and eventually having to play this gig in a small
gay bar in Dublin.
Helen Fitzgerald Helen Fitzgerald, played by
Deirdre O'Kane, is the
middle class,
middle-aged wife of Jeremy. Keen to maintain an
aura of nonchalance, stability and normality, she repeatedly expresses her
indignation at Jeremy's treatment by the
justice system, and questions the
validity of both the charges pressed against him and the credibility of the paralysed victim of Jeremy's hit-and-run. Helen lives a
lavish lifestyle, and at various points throughout the series she is seen dining in expensive
restaurants, attending
theatrical productions and
hosting garden parties. As the plot develops, we observe Helen's increasingly
superficial nature, most particularly in relation to her husband. As Jeremy's mental well-being declines, Helen becomes increasingly frustrated with his inability to communicate coherently and his violent
mood swings. Her
frustration is also of a sexual nature, and in episode 6
she invites both Rats and the series' camera crew to have sex with her in her family home, with Jeremy residing in a tent in the back garden. Further instances of Helen's marital
infidelity are also alluded to, and we learn that she engaged in sexual relations while on
holidays with her friend Gwen in
Paris, with a
French man who
'rogered her senseless' on a 'crate of
aubergines'. In later episodes, Helen is rarely seen without a glass of
white wine in hand.
Tomo Tomo, played by
Peter McDonald, is Rat's
best friend and fellow
musician in the band Sperm.com, in which he plays
guitar. His
long black hair and
style of dress identify him as a
heavy metal fan; he is seen to wear
t-shirts featuring the bands
No Sweat and
Ministry during the series. He is portrayed as being
quite unintelligent – a
classic comedy buffoon – and also as being
overwhelmed when it comes to contact with the opposite sex.
Barney Barney (affectionately referred to as "Barnser") is a character in the popular comedy series
Paths to Freedom on the Irish television network RTÉ Two. He is portrayed by Darragh Kelly. Barney is depicted as Jeremy's closest companion and golfing partner. He is blindly supportive of Jeremy and fails to see his friend's shortcomings, appearing somewhat of a
side-kick. Even as the series progresses, and he appears to grow increasingly embarrassed by Jeremy's behavior, he never overtly speaks out against him. ==External links==