Fair City - Social Realism

Social Realism

The show has featured a number of gritty storylines reflecting major issues in Irish society, particularly from the mid 1990s onwards.

In 1996, three years after homosexuality was decriminalised in Ireland, male characters Eoghan and Liam moved in for a clinch - only to be interrupted. It would have been the first gay kiss on Irish television. Nowadays Fair City deals with LGBT themes more openly and more regularly. Yvonne, one of the soap's main characters, is bisexual, and used to date Connie from Australia. They were to have been married in Northern Ireland. Laura, a lesbian, formed a relationship with social worker Emily, only to have it broken up by the jealous, bitter and deranged Lucy. Troy, the son of Leo Dowling (another major character), is openly gay.

In 1998, the show tackled the subject of rape, with the rape of Lorriane Molloy by Dr Jack Shanahan, who later committed suicide. Abortion was portrayed in the early 2000s as Kay McCoy decided to abort her pregnancy despite her husband Malachy's wishes, for fear the child would be born severely disabled. Drug addiction has also been portrayed a number of times. One of Fair City's best-known storylines took place in 2001, with crime lord Billy Meehan abusing his wife Carol and mistress Tracey McGuigan before being murdered by Carol's son Lorcan. Prostitution was also shown in 2001 when Tracey turned to prostitution in order to pay for drugs.

Prostate cancer awareness was raised in June 2002 (Bela Doyle's battle with prostate cancer). Mental health issues were confronted in December 2002 when Yvonne Doyle developed schizophrenia (which led to her taking a drug overdose in a failed suicide attempt). In 2003, storylines included teenage pregnancy (Kira Cassidy giving birth to a baby girl, Juliet) and incest (Heather Lyons' relationship with her half-brother Floyd Phelan). Also, domestic abuse was highlighted with the Halpin family when Tess was murdered by her husband Marty following years of domestic abuse. More recently in 2010, there was a domestic abuse storyline involving Suzanne and Damien. Suzanne was the abusive person in the relationship and this ultimately led to them breaking up.

In 2004, Fair City continued to feature hard-hitting issues such as bulimia (Robin McKenna's eating disorder) and teacher Sorcha Byrne's illicit affair with 19-year-old student Ross O'Rourke (which culminated in Sorcha's boyfriend Barry O'Hanlon being overcome by clinical depression and having a mental breakdown). Also, accidental drug overdose was highlighted, with the death of Dolores Molloy's baby Jessica from an accidental Ecstasy overdose. Homelessness was shown in 2005 when Cleo Collins slept rough on the streets. Gangland killing was also featured in 2005 when Mick O'Shea killed Alex, a member of a criminal Ukrainian gang, under the orders of crime lord Sylvester Garrigan (which led to his niece Ali being held hostage by them in 2006). Breast cancer awareness was raised (Nicola Prendergast's battle with breast cancer).

In 2006, the gangland storyline was revisited, with a chain of bad fortune for Garrigan ultimately leading to his downfall. First, he was wounded in a drive-by shooting, which was an assassination attempt on his life by the Ukrainian gang in retaliation for killing Alex. Subsequently, a sting operation by undercover Gardai found drugs that Lorcan was piggybacking on one of Garrigan's booze runs. Tim Carney's domineering marriage with Olga was also featured. Racism was shown when the Udenze family were targeted by racists Pete Flanngan and Morgan Dalton.

In 2007, the show tackled the subject of bullying, with the bullying of Mark Halpin. Missing persons were also highlighted in 2007 with the disappearance of Lana Dowling. 2008 covered the issue of euthanasia (Floyd's death in a pact with Heather's husband Brendan) and the Criminal Assets Bureau (Carol losing her pub and nightclub which were purchased by Billy with his ill-gotten gains). In 2009 mental health issues were confronted such as Keith McGrath's desertion of the British Army and Bill Taylor's psychological torture over Annette Daly's alcoholism. 2009 also saw the show's first bi-sexual love triangle and lesbian storyline when Yvonne Doyle had an affair with her best friend Connie Boylan.

In 2010, Damien Halpin's unemployment reflects the 2008–2012 Irish financial crisis. In addition the many scenes of domestic abuse towards Damien by his wife Suzanne have brought into the open the taboo subject of spousal abuse towards males. The series has been praised for this edgy and at times controversial storyline. It proved to be so popular that British soap opera Coronation Street later did their own version. Organ donor awareness was raised in 2011 when Lucy Mallon received a cornea transplant. Wearing pyjamas during the day was covered with Sash Bishop. Aside from this, soap opera staples of youthful romance, jealousy, domestic rivalry, gossip and extramarital affairs are regularly featured. Late 2011/early 2012 saw Orla Kirwan and Caoimhe Dillon engage in numerous shoplifting sprees around Dublin. In April 2012, life in prison was covered, with prisoner Decco Bishop fearing for his life behind bars.