30 Acres: 01 - 30 Acres Says No

December 15, 2025 · 39 min

About this episode

The first episode of a four-part mockumentary about the lives of three inhabitants in a ghost estate called 30 Acres.

Four-part mockumentary: Episode 1. December 2009. Colm is an investigative reporter for RTÉ, assigned to the story of an enormous ghost estate called 30 Acres. Only three inhabitants remain on this barren wasteland; Holly, Glenn and Iseult. Holly is an entrepreneur intent on re-launching her salon as an alternative tourist venture - the world’s first ghost estate tour. Glenn loves the freedom of life on the vacant estate, hunting otters in the moonlight. Iseult has finally found the seclusion she craves. But the developer of this unfinished housing project, Sean Granite, is bankrupt. A government-appointed liquidator, Alistair Crowe, is on the scene, with dastardly plans to evict Holly, Glenn and Iseult. It seems like their days on the 30 Acres estate are numbered. Or are they? Cast Barbara Bergin, (Iseult) Shane Casey (Glenn) John Colleary (Sean) Philippa Dunne (Pat) Barry Murphy (Alistair) Stefanie Preissner (Holly) Colm Tobin (Colm) Aidan O'Donovan (TV Presenter/Priest) Produced by Kevin Brew for Drama On One with Kevin Reynolds and Gorretti Slavin. Produced by Liam O'Brien for Documentary On One with Tim Desmond, Ronan Kelly, Nicoline Greer and Shauna McGreevy. Sound Design…

People in this episode

Hosts: Tim Desmond, Ronan Kelly, Shauna McGreevy

Guests: Barbara Bergin, Shane Casey, John Colleary, Philippa Dunne, Barry Murphy, Stefanie Preissner, Colm Tobin, Aidan O'Donovan

Topics covered

mockumentary
ghost estate
investigative reporting

Keywords

30 Acres
Holly
Glenn
Iseult
Sean Granite
Alistair Crowe

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Drama On One, Documentary On One