A STAPLE OF Irish television programming, Fair City can be a point of contention among audiences.

There are plenty who view it with firm indifference, as an extension of a wider disinterest in soaps. Then there are those who follow it closely: I count myself and my friends among this cohort, which also features a large swathe of grandparents. The final group, and I’m breaking the fourth wall here for a second, will swiftly make their vitriol for the show known in the comments.

Despite the mixed feelings, Fair City is a longstanding comfort in Irish life. The show passively embedded itself in my consciousness, through its old theme song, during long boring evenings spent in my grandparents’ house as a child.

Little could come between my granda and his soaps.

Occasionally, he unplugged the landline so nobody could disturb his evening with Fair City, Eastenders, Emmerdale and Corrie, causing great concern for my family regarding their elderly father who didn’t answer the phone.

On those evenings, the faces of Paul, Niamh, Dolores, Hughie, Leo and the early 2000s cast seared into my mind. By the time my Junior Cert rolled around, I was using the weekly omnibus to fuel my pre-study procrastination. This inadvertently grew into a genuine fondness for the show.

It’s great craic and, honestly, quite self-aware. I look forward to catching up each week and seeing........

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