RTÉ to air documentary about nail-biting North Inner City election

North Inner City saw 19 candidates duke it out for 7 seats on Dublin City Council, and a documentary crew was on hand to capture one of the most dramatic elections in Dublin’s history.

Airing on Monday, July 15th on RTÉ One, The Locals will explore the race from the perspective of the people who fought in the election, the voters on the ground, and the story of a city going to the polls.

The North Inner City constituency sprawls from Sherrif Street to Stoneybatter and sees council flats in the same constituency as investment banks, making this a timely and insightful look into one of Dublin’s great melting pots.

Director Luke McManus, who directed the 2022 documentary North Circular, directed the documentary and told The Irish Times he was partially inspired by a Northside People article when he made the pitch to RTÉ.

Speaking on the Irish Times Inside Politics podcast (at the 35:50 mark) McManus said “when myself and my producer Nuala Carr were doing bits of research there was some guy in the Dublin People had written a line and it was like ‘forget Netflix, check out the local election candidates in the North Inner City’ and I said ‘wow, this guy has just nailed it there, that was the first slide in our pitch deck.”

McManus said the election race has “strong characters, a ticking clock, it’s got winners and losers and it’s got an interesting milieu. That’s all your boxes ticked.”

While the results of the election have been widely known for a month now, a good political documentary is sure to get the blood pumping on a Monday night.

McManus’ previous film, North Circular, was Oscar longlisted for the Best Documentary Feature in 2023.

The Locals airs on Monday, July 15th at 9:35 on RTÉ One.