Holding | Interview with Helen Behan (Abigail Ross)

What is Holding about?

It’s a story about a small community in the fictional village of Duneen. There is the mystery of a missing person to solve, and it’s left to the local Garda, who doesn’t have much going on in his life until this missing person case arises. It’s about how the community pulls together and how it becomes fractured in his quest to solve the riddle of missing Tommy Burke.

What attracted you to the project?

The main thing was that Kathy Burke was directing, I’ve admired her for many years and the script was fantastic. Dominic and Karen have done an amazing job adapting Graham’s book, they have elevated a book that’s already great.

What’s it been like taking on a role based on a character from a bestselling book?

There’s always a bit of panic to live up to the character because Kathy, Dominic and Karen, Graham, the audience, they all have their own ideas of how the character will be. When you’re reading a book you identify with these people in a certain way so there’s an onus and responsibility on you to deliver that.

I familiarised myself with working on a farm, then it was a case of going into the different parts of her character and finding out what it’s like to walk in her shoes by talking to people that are close to me, who have had similar experiences to her.

The research was extensive, but I knew from reading the script that I could give her something. The fundamentals were there but it was just honing the finer points, like the farming which is not second nature to me. My arms were covered in cow poo which was a new experience but one I thoroughly enjoyed and who knows if this doesn’t work out, it might be a good option for me to fall back on!

Can you tell us about Abigail

She’s a very complex character, There are parts of her and I that are quite similar and parts that are extremely different. She’s a very strong Irish woman, she’s experienced a lot of heartache and is undergoing a lot of hardship, but she’s very contained in herself. She’s been through an awful lot, but she doesn’t wear it on her sleeve which is completely different to me. I meet people in Tesco and tell them everything about myself in two minutes!

Abigail keeps everything in because she’s holding the family together. She’s the older sibling and takes that role very seriously, she doesn’t put any of her own woes on her other siblings, which again is very unlike me!

She’s experienced immense pain but carries herself very well, she’s strong and she imparts this onto her sisters, the notion of holding on and not folding. That’s what she does and what they do, they suffer because of it and it’s not necessarily the right thing to do but it’s all they’ve known and it’s quite an Irish thing. We don’t talk about things, and we hold onto things and say everything will be alright when we know that it won’t, but I think it’s that imperviousness that gets her through.

Tell us about the town of Duneen and Abigail’s relationship with it.

The Ross’s are a Protestant family and they’re comfortable, they’ve always made their own money and taken care of themselves. They are part of a community, but they do tend to keep to themselves. They mind each other and what’s going on in the town but don’t concern themselves too much with the likes of Mrs O’Driscoll who does run the town, let it be known!

Abigail in particular, her relationship with the town is perfunctory, she does what she has to do but she keeps herself to herself.

Can you tell us about Abigail’s key relationships within the story, particularly with her sisters Florence and Evelyn

I’m one of four sisters myself, so I know that those bonds are unbreakable. Families have all kinds of dynamics and the dynamics for the Ross’ is a strange one. They don’t have their parents anymore and they’ve had to rely on one another. Evelyn is a wayward soul and she’s not found her place in life and Abigail and Florence are aware of that, they take care of her in a mother/daughter way as opposed to a sibling way and it’s always been that way for them.

Abigail and Florence have a deeper-rooted connection and they understand each other a lot more. They’re both steely and rely on one another.

There is a lot that’s damaged about the sisters, and they don’t address it, but ultimately they need each other. For Abigail, she’s kept her sisters with her maybe beyond what she should have in a bid to keep the unit tight, but they are coming to a crossroads in their lives where she needs to let them go and be themselves, and that transition is happening throughout. They feel a sense of responsibility and loyalty to one another but they’re making each other stagnant in their lives. They are slowly trying to release one another.

Can you talk about Abigail’s journey over the course of the story

She has her relationship with Cormac, the local barman and she’s always kept him at arm’s length. They have a deep connection but there is a certain amount that she won’t give away, so he’s never been able to break the barrier with her. She can’t give all of herself as she’s always given everything for her sisters and the family unit, and for self preservation. We see her undergo something very personal to her.

Do you have your own theories on who the murderer is?

I think everybody in the town has their own ideas about who did what. I think on reflection, most people are capable of something so horrendous, but most people won’t act on impulse out of anger, remorse or regret.