TV review: Touches of Gothic drama infuse Sheridan’s heartfelt examination of West Cork’s most famous murder

Storied Irish film director takes on role of grizzled gumshoe and retells the still-unfinished story of the death of Sophie Toscan du Plantier with uncommon empathy

Director Jim Sheridan interviews Ian Bailey, the former chief suspect in the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, in Murder at the Cottage. Picture: Barbara McCarthy/Hells Kitchen

Murder at the Cottage (Sky Crime, NowTV)

There are haunted landscapes in Ireland, or places that might easily give the impression of being haunted. Something about the light at certain times of the day may suggest a hidden menace in the countryside, or a forlorn presence that has failed to find rest.

Jim Sheridan sensed it at Three Castle Head, where the ruined towers of an O’Mahoney castle built in 1207 stand bleak and lonely ...