Produced by Ralph Christians (Niko and the way to the Stars) and Clodagh Freeman (Summer of the Flying Saucer), the script was adapted from Bruen’s novel by Anne McCabe, Tom Collins and Ralph Christians. Other crew involved includes Director of Photography John Conroy (The Bourne Ultimatum) and Production Designer Derek Wallace (Triage).

‘The Guards’ tells the tale of Jack Taylor, a disgraced ex-cop, cast out of the force after physically assaulting a member of parliament. Now operating as a private eye, Jack takes his drinking as seriously as his job. When asked to find a missing child, his investigation uncovers the seedy underbelly of Galway City. Then, when an old friend of Jack’s dies under mysterious circumstances, everything Jack believes in begins to unravel, making him question even those closest to him.

This 90 minute TV movie is the first episode in a series of Jack Taylor stories (of which Ken Bruen has published seven), co-financed by German broadcaster RTL, Richard Price TV Associates, UK, The Media Fund and Magma Films, Ireland.

Iain Glen (Tara Road) stars as Jack whilst Ralph Brown (The Boat that Rocked) stars as his sidekick Sutton. The female leads are played by Irish actresses Tara Breathnach (The Tudors) and Nora-Jane Noone (Savage).

Producer Clodagh Freeman tells IFTN: “Magma Films are delighted that the first day of principal photography is finally underway on the adaptation of Ken Bruen’s first novel in the Jack Taylor series ‘The Guards’. We are confident that this wonderful franchise will fill the gap in the market for Irish crime series internationally.”