Caught in a Free State
script by Brian Lynch
1983
RTÉ/Channel 4 co-production. 1983. Jacobs Award for script. Banff International TV Festival, Canada, award for best drama production 1984. A four-part series about German spies in Ireland during World War II.
The main spy, Dr Hermann Goertz, is played by Peter Jankowsky, with whom I subsequently translated Paul Celan: 65 Poems and who took the photographs of Clare Island about which I wrote the poems that comprise Easter Snow – Peter also translated the poems into German.
The series was directed by Peter Ormerod who went on to direct Eat the Peach before quitting the film industry in disgust to become a Ryanair pilot.
Hi Brian,
Any idea if Caught in a Free State is still in the RTE archives?
Thanks,
Dave
Without the ‘e’
Peter,
Please get in touch,
Brian
Hi. I had a very small background part in CIAFS when I was a child – is it available to purchase on DVD anywhere? Regards. Lorna.
Like others l been looking for the Tv series on DVD
As so many items are re-released one would have hope that
Channel 4 or RTE would have put it out.
I watched them back in 80s on Channel 4.
Hi, Anyone know where I can watch Caught in a Free State online even? Gunther Shutz was my neighbour and at one time my parents rented a room from him. They described him as such a character and I would love to watch the episode about him.
Same. I’m reading Marc McMenamin’s Codebreaker which covers many of the same characters. I would like to watch CIAFS but I can’t find it anywhere.
I always felt the Caught in a Free State series was underrated by the archivists – on historical grounds alone.
You can view Caught in a Free State for free but only in person in London at the BFI Mediateque on the South Bank – nearest tube Waterloo. Unfortunately, only episode 1 is currently available. I’m trying to access the C4 written archives (formally taken into the UK’s National Film and TV Archive) at the BFI, and of course, I will want to get into RTE’s written archive for its production files. If you are reading this, Brian, please get in touch as I’d love to read the shooting scripts. Here is my Oxford contact address: oxce5454@ox.ac.uk. 13 July 2026