A New Ending for Ballykissangel

by Pat Ruell

I really loved the series, but I felt the ending of series 3 was inconsistent with the rest of the series. It is too tragic for a start,
Father Clifford loses everything, his faith, the woman he loves, and all his friends, quite soon after the death of his mother. It's all a bit much. Even in Romeo and Juliet, which is the world's most famous romantic tragedy, both protagonists die, so at least one can imagine they are together in heaven. The other objection with the ending in BallyK is that it is inconsistent with the slight feminist slant to the series. Assumpta after all is a single woman running a bar quite successfully, Siobhan is a female vet, and Niamh helps her father out of serious financial difficulties. Then in The Reckoning, Assumpta dies because she isn't competent at fixing fuses, and she was too proud to accept help from several men who offer to help, earlier Ambrose and on the night of her death Padraig. Sure, accidents happen, but I think Assumpta would have had enough sense to ring an electrician when the problem started occurring. I think The Reckoning is fine up until the moment when the lights go out. It is all very upbeat and romantic, and something has to happen to counter this, but it's not necessary for Assumpta to die. I think the story should have gone like this:
 

After the lights flicker in the pub just after Peter has won the cup, Assumpta lets Padraig go down to mend the fuse. After all,
she's pretty busy up there, and she calls an electrician to look at the fuse the next day. Later, Peter helps her clean up the bar.
They start making plans, and decide that Peter will wait until after Kieran's christening to tell Father Mac that he's leaving the
church.

He's just about to leave to go back to his house, and gives her a quick kiss when Leo walks into the kitchen and catches them
embracing. He is in the area on a story, and wants to talk to Assumpta again - he still loves her. Assumpta tells him that she wants a divorce, but Leo is very angry, and scarcely listens. He storms out, saying that he doesn't accept that she would want to marry a priest.

Next day, while Peter is driving towards Cilldargan to see an elderly parishioner, he notices Leo following him, and he stops his car at the shrine. Here the scene where they fight occurs, pretty much as happened in the last episode of series three. Unfortunately they aren't alone. The area around the shrine is a good place to collect wild mushrooms, and this is what the subeditor who works on the local paper is doing. Leo and Peter can't see him, but the newspaperman hears every word they say.

The next morning the story about the romance between Assumpta and Peter is all over the local paper, together with photographs of Assumpta and Peter taken when they were going to be in the play together. Father Mac is furious, especially so when the bishop rings him up, asking what is going on. Peter is summonsed to Father Mac's house, and told he has two choices, either to quit the ministry immediately, or if he still wants to remain a priest, he must leave BallyK immediately. Father Mac infers that if he chooses the latter option, his next posting will be somewhere like South America. Peter explains the situation, and says he wanted to christen Kieran before leaving the ministry. Father Mac says that won't be possible, he will perform the ceremony.

Peter goes back to his house and is having a cup of tea when Brian comes in telling him he will have to move straight away. Peter packs up his things and goes to live in one of the guest rooms at Fitzgeralds. Then Assumpta tells him more bad news - the whole pub needs rewiring and it is going to cost a fortune. They start having a look at the books together, and it starts becoming clear that it is going to be difficult for both of them to make living out of the pub.

Trade falls off sharply over the next few days. It becomes apparent that a lot of people in the village, led by Kathleen, disapprove strongly of what Peter and Assumpta are doing. Then Brian Quigley makes Assumpta an offer - he will buy her out. Peter and Assumpta decide to leave BallyK and start a new life elsewhere. They will go to Dublin for a year or so while Peter finds another job - he has qualifications in astronomy. Assumpta's friend still wants someone to help her in the wine bar in Dublin. Eventually they hope to settle again in a village the size of BallyK.

They hold a party that all their friends come to, Niamh, Ambrose, Siobhan, Brendan etc., the only difference being that Brian and Niamh are behind the bar this time.

Then Assumpta and Peter leave the way Peter arrived, in Assumpta's van.