Val Falvey

Val Falvey (Ardal O'Hanlon) is a recently elected member of Parliament who lives in a small town in middle Ireland. He has inherited the seat from his late father, who represented the constituency for 25 years.

Val is not wildly ambitious and generally desires an easy life. He is considered something of a lightweight by his ambitious and ruthless local rival; Councillor Dessie Clinch. He does not enjoy the daily grind of enduring his constituents' woes and grumbles as he listens to their never-ending complaints in his regular clinic. He does, however, enjoy the perks of the job, such as free trips abroad.

Through bumbling, the lack of sufficient political cunning, and sheer bad luck, Val stumbles from one crisis to another, and his unwanted knack for constantly getting into trouble sees him regularly hauled in front of the party chief whip, a tough Dubliner whom Val fears greatly.

The life of a rural politician is rarely glamorous and puts severe pressure on Val's fragile ego. It's a tough job - but somebody's got to do it.