Season 4

1998 · 12 episodes

Episodes

1All Bar OneFitzgerald's is waiting for its new owner and there are plenty of prospective bidders: Brian wants Niamh to run it; but his main competition is Bella Mooney, who wants to turn the pub into an upmarket bar. Liam and Donal are put to work trying to sabotage the other bids, which they manage to quite successfully. . . with one exception. After a last minute change of heart the pub is sold to Brian. Sean Dillon returns to BallyK after twenty years, and his appearance reawakens some deep feelings in the locals. Meanwhile, a stranger awaits the arrival of her brother - the new priest, a former monk.
2He Healeth the SickFather Aidan's alleged healing hands land him in trouble when it transpires that the woman he helped is making a fraudulent compensation claim for her injuries. He appeals to her conscience to get her to withdraw the claim. Niamh is disgusted when Brian changes the pub's name in an effort to appeal more to the tourists. She walks out and leaves him surrounded by irate customers. He makes allowances for her family life, which eventually brings her back, but Ambrose is not happy. Sean's compassion for an injured fox puts him in Eamonn's bad books, and Padraig is influenced by past events - Sean owns Padraig's family's land.
3Bread and WaterWith the birth of Siobhan's baby approaching she starts to look at all her options for the big event, but Brendan is disturbed when she decides on a water birth. Sean's daughter, Emma, turns up unannounced. He had previously lied to her about where he was, and after an argument she takes Niamh's car. Later, she turns up at the pub and discovers she has something in common with Niamh. On the way back to Sean's farm they find that Siobhan has gone into labour. There isn't time to get her back to Sean, so they hijack Brian's hot tub and use it as a birthing pool. Aidan is proved to be wiser than Orla thought when it comes to money, and to Ambrose's amazement his boss approves of the family living over the pub. Meanwhile, Brian's dreams lead him to a golf course that he feels it is his destiny to buy.
4Par for the CourseBrian is still planning to buy the golf course, but he can't find the necessary funds without some help. Orla knows a man who might have the answer - Micky Keeler, a lotto winner who is blackballed every time he tries to join a club - thanks to his criminal record. Liam and Donal are employed to fix a round of golf between Micky and Brian. Brendan is hostile to the idea of Aisling's christening because he feels left out. Aidan's preparations for the event, his first ever christening, don't go as planned when he nearly drowns the doll he's practising on. Emma becomes increasingly annoyed by her new surroundings - no running water, no radio reception, and the shop doesn't stock smoky bacon crisps. A nephew of Eamonn's, Danny, turns up in need of shelter for an illegally stabled horse.
5The Odd CoupleDonal becomes very secretive about the new woman in his life, Suzie. He's taking time off work and it's affecting his relationship with Liam. He has to keep her well fed or she may become violent - Suzie is a former circus bear that Donal saved from being put down. Siobhan isn't allowing Brendan much access to Aisling, but that changes when she is called out and leaves Brendan literally holding the baby. Suzie escapes and goes on a rampage through the village. Donal is determined she should be free, but when she is cornered in Fitzgerald's there is a danger she will be shot. But Aidan steps in with a simple answer that saves the day - a few words of Latin! Meanwhile, Kevin gets into trouble with his father when he helps Sean renovate an old motorbike.
6TurfDr Ryan's winning streak in the local horse race is threatened by Razor, who belongs to Danny. He is betting on himself in order to raise the funds to stable Razor in Dublin. If he loses he'll sell Razor to pay back his loans. Brian is linking the race with a membership drive for the golf course, but his business partner has plenty of ideas about who should be eligible to join. He offers Dr Ryan life membership if he wins the race. Orla moves into the police house and immediately finds herself in the thick of the action when a drug dealer, whom Ambrose had previously arrested, starts to take revenge. Orla takes up Padraig's offer of a room, but it causes tensions between Padraig and Kevin. Danny is injured before the race, so Emma rides instead. She comes in second. Sean has been looking to buy Emma a horse for her birthday and Eamonn sells him Razor.
7It's a Family AffairBrian is preparing for the pre-opening tournament at his golf course. Micky Keeler doesn't approve of the tournament list but he eventually agrees - then tries to bribe Liam and Donal to fix the draw. But Brian is one step ahead of him: disgusted with Micky he gives free membership away without asking him. Danny sets off to Dublin with Razor and Sean is angry when he finds out. He and Ambrose go after him while Emma builds a few bridges with Eamonn. Danny takes a tumble, Sean drops the charges and gives Razor back to him. Niamh is worried that Orla might fancy her dad, but Orla reveals that Sean would be her man of choice. Another one of Liam's and Donal's jobs for Brian goes wrong and fills the marquee with smoke. They transfer to Fitzgerald's but Brian is annoyed to discover that Niamh and Orla have locked the pub up and gone for a night out.
8Rock BottomA statue is discovered on Sean's land. It's a 'sheelnagig' - a fertility symbol. Kathleen is disgusted by it and even more disgusted by Aidan's apathy towards it. The statue goes missing and Siobhan knows who the culprit is. Danny and Emma become good friends, although Emma thinks Eamonn's plans for the farm are a little over-ambitious. Orla is disappointed when a dinner with Sean comes to nothing. A satellite dish is installed in Fitzgerald's to watch football on, but it ends up tuned to an Argentinian soap opera, which the locals quickly get addicted to. Padraig is facing life without Kevin, who has gone to visit his mother in England, and he turns to drink. His friends are there to help him, but the problem still remains.
9As Stars Look DownHenry, an African Bishop who was once one of Father Mac's curates, pays a flying visit to the town. Aidan has organised a bingo night but there is a danger that the celebrity bingo caller won't make it, and father Mac suggests Aidan does the job. Kathleen starts coaching him. but becomes frustrated at his lacklustre style. He attempts the calling on his own, but it is a disaster and Orla steps in to save her brother from embarrassment. Sean is aware that Emma is spending more time with Danny and he's not too happy about it. During bad weather they are stranded on a hill by the lake. They take shelter in a cold, empty house where they spend the night, only to face Sean the next morning. Henry has been offered a job in the Vatican, but he feels that taking it will make him look like a coward. He faces hostility from the regime and would like to be there to see it through. Father Mac persuades him that the Vatican position might be of more use to the people he serves.
10Births, Deaths and MarriagesSiobhan and Brendan are secretly planning their wedding but Aidan is not convinced that their reasons are genuine. Having kept it quiet, Siobhan tells Niamh that they are marrying for practical and financial reasons. Niamh bullies Siobhan into buying a dress and then organises a surprise wedding reception, but the wedding is called off at the altar. Emma decides to find out about her great grandfather, but she meets resistance from Kathleen, and she turns to Brian. He reveals that Michael Dillon was married to Nora Byrne, Eamonn's aunt, and their son was illegitimate. At least some of the bad feeling between the two families originates from that relationship, but Emma discovers that the couple were planning to get married all along. Eamonn has a fall while trying to rescue one of his sheep, and Danny enlists Sean's help in rescuing him. Eamonn refuses Sean's help while he recuperates, but Danny doesn't have a clue so he helps anyway. Niamh persuades Ambrose to get a social life, but hi
11It's a Man's LifeNiamh's and Ambrose's relationship is disintegrating and he takes it out on everyone else by applying the letter of the law. He doesn't know where to start to repair his marriage, and things are made more difficult when Niamh confesses her problems to Sean. Kathleen receives a valuable package from a former boyfriend, and Aidan sets them up with as reunion. They had agreed that he would go to England, and then come back when he had enough money for them to get married. She lent him money but never heard from him again. That's the reason she never married. Donal is appointed as Liam's boss when he suggests a moneymaking scheme to Brian - retrieving golf balls out of the lake on the course, and reselling them. They manage to pull all kinds of things out of the lake, including a section of a Russian satellite, but have trouble finding what they are actually looking for. While Niamh is in Dublin, Kieran makes a nuisance of himself with whoever is looking after him. Siobhan can't cope with
12The Final FrontierA big storm threatens the town, all the animals on Eamonn's farm are acting strangely and Donal's Uncle Minto thinks the storm could be a signal of an imminent UFO landing. Not only that, but he thinks he's going to be abducted by the aliens. Emma receives an acceptance letter from an art college in London and has to decide whether to accept. She wants to know if Danny will be upset if she goes. Ambrose is finding it difficult to talk to Niamh and Brian suspects that there's something between her and Sean. He could be right. She fells that she is now 'established' and keeps wondering what might have happened if things had been different. After their talk, Sean drives her home and Ambrose sees them. He confronts her and she admits that she's bored with him never changing, always loving her, never moving on. Ambrose goes round to Sean's convinced that he and Niamh are having an affair. Sean's newly constructed farmhouse is wrecked by the storm and a tree falls through the roof, just miss