Join or Sign In
Sign in to customize your TV listings
By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.
12 Episodes 1997 - 1998
Episode 1
73 mins
It's Christmas-time in Ballykissangel but it's not necessarily a happy time for everyone. Father Clifford is a bit lonely and more than a little surprised when Eamon delivers the turkey he won - alive and thriving. Father McAnally stops by with his nephew Timmy, a seminarian who will be taking his final vows in the spring. As is the custom, seminarians spend their last Christmas before taking vows in the parish and that means Timmy will be staying with Peter. Assumpta is hoping to have a group of university friends for Christmas dinner but it all falls apart. Ambrose's mother-in-law comes for a visit which means Brian Quigley plans on a week's skiing holiday in Switzerland. Trying on his skis at home gets the better of him however. For Padraig O'Kelly, he's wondering what happened to the fifty quid he had stashed away. His son Kevin finds some rather expensive gifts under Con O'Neill's bed and follows him to a cave where he has a stash of goods. An accident rallies everyone in the town around a rescue effort.
Episode 2
50 mins
Brian Quigley is scheming again when he gets the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a major investment. To make it work he needs to buy some of Eamon's land, which he wants to get on the cheap. Padraig O'Kelly gets a job with Quigley's newspaper and gets the story of a lifetime when parishioners discover that one of statues in the church is sweating. His friends at the pub don't take kindly to the fact that he's now working for Quigley. It's immediately hailed as a miracle but Father Clifford knows there has to be a hoaxer at work and just hopes it isn't Padraig. Liam and Donal also benefit when their new venture, a chip stand, benefits from all the extra church-goers showing up. Assumpta's poor choice of words goes to the very heart of Peter's beliefs. Niamh is about a week away from giving birth and Ambrose's mother comes for a visit which leads to an unhealthy rise in her blood pressure.
Episode 3
50 mins
Sparing Niamh the trouble of sleepless nights, Ambrose is looking after baby Kieran during the wee hours of the morning. The town is divided over Brian's decision to develop through the natural forest and Peter and Assumpta must both make big decisions.
Episode 4
50 mins
With Peter and Assumpta gone, everyone is rushed off their feet. Father MacAnally must serve both Cilldargan and BallyK, Niamh struggles to retain even the regulars at the pub while nurturing baby Kieran. And on top of it all, Brian Quigley is relying on everyone to welcome some Korean visitors who may be able to land him a solid business deal.
Episode 5
50 mins
With the Korean deal having fallen through, Brian Quigley has fallen on hard times. He refuses to sell the land he bought and his accountant points out to him that he he is on the fast track to bankruptcy. He has a mortgage on the house and owes on the car so he really has no money. His bankers are after him and he has no choice but to tell Donal and Liam that he can no longer use them. For Donal in particular it's a hard blow as his girlfriend Sue Ellen has just agreed to marry him. When Liam subsequently sees her with another man and tells Donal what he saw, it creates a rift between the two friends. Things aren't going that well with Niamh and Ambrose either. They're both tired and Niamh is still taking of baby Kieran and running Fitzgerald's for the absent Assumpta. When Niamh's father Brian hears that Ambrose's visiting mother mentions inherited a tidy sum of money from a late uncle, Brian suddenly takes a great interest in a woman he couldn't up to that point stand being in the same room with. Ambrose thinks he after her money and tells Niamh so, leading to another round of arguments.
Episode 6
50 mins
Both Peter and Assumpta return, Peter from his vacation and Assumpta from London where she tied the knot with her old college boyfriend Leo. In an effort to liven things up in the bar, Father Clifford organizes a bar tournament against Cilldargin.
Episode 7
50 mins
When Father McAnally finds Father Clifford in the church's sacristy, they have a very loud argument. Father McAnally also has a mild heart attack, something he doesn't want the parishioners to know about. While he is recuperating, Father Peter covers for him in Cilldargin in addition to his own duties in Ballykissangel. He thinks he's found a room with Ambrose and Niamh, but just as quickly graciously bows out of the picture when a bankrupt Brian Quigley shows up at his daughter's doorstep telling them the bank has foreclosed on the mortgage and taken the house away. Peter's reluctant to stay at the pub, for obvious reasons, so he's back to square one. Brian asks Niamh if she would let him have her mother's inheritance but she knows her father quite well and is prepared to do so only if he makes her a full partner in his business. Her first order of business is to sell the land he bought for the Korean venture. Assumpta isn't all that happy with married life and partly as a result establishes a women's self-help group. Not many are interested but someone in town is going around the village tearing down her posters.
Episode 8
50 mins
Heads are turned when an attractive young woman, Nainsi McGuire, come to the village looking for her elder sister Eileen. The older sibling had lived and worked in Ballykissangel but left the village unexpectedly some 20 years ago. Many in the village remember her well, including Father McAnally, Padraig O'Kelly and Kathleen Hendley. It's Dr. Ryan however that gives Nainsi something of a shock when he checks his files. Siobhan is at a loss as to what to do when she realizes she is pregnant. She's not sure she wants to have a child at her age and doesn't at all know how the father feels about it, since she hasn't told him. After consulting Assumpta and Dr. Ryan, she makes her decision. Assumpta and Leo realize that their marriage was a mistake. Leo accuses Father Peter Clifford of being the man in the middle and leaves the village. Father Peter is relieved when Brian Quigley tells him he can move back into his rented house only to get there and find that he has a roommate.
Episode 9
50 mins
The whole is atwitter when it's announced on the radio news that the £6 million lotto was won by a ticket sold in Kathleen Hendley's mini-mart. Dozens of people show up at her store hoping the lucky purchaser will show up. They all end up in pub which Niamh opens early - much to husband Gard Egan's disapproval - but as the day drags on, they soon realize that the lucky winner wishes to remain anonymous. They soon start spying on one another looking for any awkward responses or unconventional behavior that might give the lucky winner away. Father McAnally, who has even received calls from the Bishop on the matter, is disgusted by it all and has some interesting things to say in his Sunday sermon. Ambrose is asked by Supt. Foley to go undercover at a pub in Cilldargan where they believe drugs are being sold. In his first attempt, his dress and limited knowledge of music has him sticking out like a sore thumb. He quickly adjusts and performs well. He also learns something about baby Kieran's tastes in music.
Episode 10
50 mins
With Father Clifford away in England tending to his sick mother, Assumpta returns to Ballykissangel without her husband Joe and admitting that her marriage is over. Padraig is just a bit surprised when his wife Fionnuala returns to the village. She has a favor to ask of him and he's happy to oblige but the bitterness of their separation rises to the surface. It also turns out he wasn't entirely honest about her departure with their son Kevin which causes some difficulty for him. Siobhan has her first sonogram and Brendan starts to get used to the idea of fatherhood. Brian Quigley meanwhile has gone into partnership with someone and opened a paintball camp. The only problem is his new partner has sent his son as assistant manager. Even the locals in the pub take a dislike to him and decide to do something about it.
Episode 11
50 mins
Everyone in Ballykissangel is involved in the Far East cooking fair. Brian Quigley's latest venture is to open a Chinese restaurant and his new cook, Shamie Chung is in high demand by everyone who seem to be ready to go out of their way to impress everyone with "their" culinary skills. Father Clifford returns to the village, his mother having died. His feelings for Assumpta haven't changed and together they finally come to a conclusion on how to go forward with their relationship. Life for the pub regulars is going well and their biggest problem seems to be that the wonky fuse box in basement at Fitzgerald's plunges them regularly into darkness. Under general orders to to check that pubs are closing on time, Gard Ambrose Egan pays a visit to Fitzgerald's and finds them having a lock-in. Everyone there, including Assumpta, Father Clifford and rest of the regulars, soon find themselves in court with Padraig defending them. Tragedy strikes however and soon everyone is in despair at their loss.
Episode 12
50 mins
Still reeling from their loss, the villagers try to find a way to move forward. Father Clifford isn't sure he can continue as a priest after what has happened. He's scheduled to baptize Kieran Egan the next day and Father McAnnally is pushing for him to decide what he is going to do. For Niamh and Ambrose, there is no one else they want performing the ceremony. Joe McGuire shows up in the village intent on a confrontation. Brian Quigley goes ahead with the grand opening of his new Chinese restaurant but few have the appetite to go. In the end, all of the friends from Fitzgerald's gather on a hill overlooking the lake. They exchange stories, sing songs and recite poems as they collectively grieve over the loss of their friend.