A TG4 drama about political corruption in Ireland is refreshingly gutsy and cliche-free, writes Róisín Ingle.

Any TV drama set in the murky world of Irish politics has massive cringe-making potential. For one thing, television bosses are usually too afraid to feature the actual names of political parties, so we end up watching a story about a minister from, say, "Fianna Glas" who gets exposed as a corrupt sleeveen by a hungry young TD from, say, "Fine Gorm".

The most valiant attempt at capturing political intrigue and contemporary hackery on Irish TV in recent times was Proof, and even that was panned by some critics for being unconvincing, overacted and cliche-ridden. So an advance copy of any new political television drama arrives accompanied by a severe health warning.

But what a very pleasant surprise the TG4 Irish-language effort The Running Mate turns out to be. Here, finally, is an Irish political drama that won't make you want to hide behind the sofa. The six-part series begins with a bang.

There's a rumoured passports-for-money scandal, and the government is unexpectedly brought down by corrupt Fianna Fáil TD Paudie Counihan (Eamon Hunt). When a general election is called, South Kerry councillor Vincent Flynn (Denis Conway) is once again overlooked by the party, as their priority candidate and the local TD, Counihan, is given preference. Initially, Flynn accepts his lowly position as running mate but, when Counihan's dodgy dealings with a local developer are uncovered, he decides to run as an Independent. "And to think I sat you on de Valera's lap," is the disgusted response of his father, a loyal servant of the soldiers of destiny.

There's a darkly comic undertone from the start. An early scene set in Leinster House shows scheming Counihan attempting to bribe the Fianna Fáil tánaiste using video footage of him in a brothel with two eastern European-sounding prostitutes. "Show them that and I guarantee they'll stop calling you a racist," says Counihan to an ashen-faced tánaiste.

Counihan, by the way, is the kind of charmer who doodles pictures of women's breasts on his briefing documents and breaks wind loudly in public, explaining it away by saying "the wife's cooking foreign these days". He's just one of a host of extremely watchable and convincing characters in The Running Mate, along with the tenacious hacks in macs outside the Dáil, and Don Wycherley's character, the unlucky-in-love teacher Willie Costello.

Another classic scene shows Costello swigging from a bottle of whiskey and using Tír na nÓg as a metaphor for his disastrous love life, to the bewilderment of his class of primary school children. The series is beautifully shot, with sweeping views of the Co Kerry countryside and convincing scenes around the Dáil and Buswells Hotel. And apart from the odd brown envelope scenario, The Running Mate really does appear to be a cliche-free zone.

This isn't surprising, given that it's directed by Declan Recks, the Co Offaly man responsible for the short film Soap in the 1990s, an original romance set against a backdrop of dirty hurling kits in a launderette. Originally an idea by playwright Conor McPherson, Recks says it was the script by Marcus Fleming that first attracted him to the project. "When I got the script I just thought I would love to sit down and see this on Irish television," he says.

It also helped that the real names of the political parties were being used. "That was one of the things I really liked about the script; it hasn't been done before. Everyone usually shies away from doing that, they are worried about being sued, so TG4 was very brave. It's crucial, because if you make up the names of the political parties it removes the story from reality, and the audience feels removed from the story - so fair play to them for not going down that road."

Recks says the writers were careful not to make any of the characters resemble real politicians too closely, while still making the action believable. There is one scene where one of the politicians is seen at a rally carrying a pitchfork topped by a blazing bit of turf. "This might seem over the top, but there is television footage of Jackie Healy-Rae surrounded by supporters carrying blazing pitchforks, so it's not that far removed from reality," he says. In terms of the planning corruption storyline, Recks thinks "it reflects reality pretty accurately, but there's probably a lot worse going on".

At the heart the series, which was partly funded by the Irish Film Board, is a family story. Vincent Flynn's children, wife (played beautifully by Carrie Crowley) and father also face the ramifications of his decision to run against the powerful Paudie Counihan.

Most of the action takes place in the fictional Co Kerry Gaeltacht town of Carrigeen, where the official opening of a new stocking factory is marked by the school choir singing Legs by ZZ Top. Recks has always veered towards dramas set outside of the capital. He wrote and directed the acclaimed Pure Mule, a drama located in an unnamed market town in the midlands, which showcased accents that don't normally get an airing in the national media.

"A lot of television drama tends to be set around Dublin, so I think it's good for viewers to see other scenes and hear other voices. The fact that it's in Irish also makes it distinctive from other dramas. We shot most of The Running Mate around Co Kerry, and it was interesting to have that different canvas to work with," he says of the featured locations, which include Dingle, Tralee, Ballyferriter, Smerwick and Coláiste Íde, the only Irish-language boarding school in the country.

The Gaeltacht setting meant the script was mostly in Irish, which must have posed a challenge to Recks, who is currently putting the final touches to his film adaptation of Eugene O'Brien's play Eden. "I've only school Irish, so yes, it was a challenge," he laughs. "At the beginning I was worried that having so much Irish in the script might put people off, but I think it actually makes the show stand out - and anyway, people are much more used to subtitles on television now."

And Recks made another happy discovery working through Irish: "Over the course of the shoot I realised I had a bit more Irish than I thought I did," he says.

The Running Mate begins on TG4 tonight at 9.30pm