S1 • E1
Ageing widow Agnes Brown has three sons - Dermot,Mark and Rory and a daughter Cathy,whilst her father-in-law also lives with her. When he is taken ill Agnes misreads his rectal thermometer which leads to his ending up in hospital. However a more pressing problem is the rift between Dermot and his soon-to-be bride,middle class nurse Maria Nicholson. Ever the meddler Agnes offers them advice,which only aggravates the situation,so Cathy, a psychology student,counsels them instead,which puts her mother's nose well and truly out of joint -though she does reveal how she gets rid of unwanted suitors.
S1 • E2
Agnes is annoyed that the family are being secretive: Cathy will not let her meet her new man friend; Mark's wife Betty has thrown him out; and Dermot, who dresses up in outsize costumes to advertise products, has told Maria's wealthy parents that he actually has a high-powered position. Agnes confronts Betty and they come to blows--observed by Maria's mother, who declares the Browns unfit to attend the wedding, which will now take place in Italy instead of Dublin. When Agnes spots Betty with another man, she instantly thinks the worst and has a go at her...and learns that Mark is the partner with the secret.
S1 • E3
Dermot is keen for his childhood friend, wheeler-dealer Buster Brady, to be his best man but Agnes feels he is unsuitable (especially as Cathy is dating a policeman) and prefers Mark. Agnes ultimately persuades Maria that Dermot should be allowed to choose. When next-door neighbor Winnie's husband Jacko is rushed to hospital and she needs money for his operation, Buster's lottery scam seems to be the best way to get Winnie her 5000 euros, as well as money for the wedding.
S1 • E4
Annoyed that Kathy thinks she's too old to come to her hen night, Agnes tries to discover its location from Dermot, but she is misinformed and crashes in on a giant dildo....and discovers that she's at a solemn wake. To make amends and prove that she's a perfect middle-class hostess, she invites Maria's mother to a meal served by Rory and his friend Dino, but she's so nervous that she gets disastrously drunk; meanwhile, determined to impress, she has had a second toilet fitted into a downstairs cupboard.
S1 • E5
Suffering from pre-nuptial nerves, Dermot shuts himself into the cupboard under the stairs, so he's still there when Father Quinn arrives to give the happy couple their premarital talk. What finally draws Dermot out is Buster's moving best-man speech (initially he could find nothing good to say about the groom) and he promptly asks Agnes if he and Maria can live with her. Agnes also discovers that her son Rory is gay after Cathy gives her a book on homosexuality, but she accepts the news with her usual tactless tolerance: "I know all about your illness."
S1 • E6
While newlyweds Maria and Dermot feel stressed not having their own place, Father Quinn fears that he is losing his parishioners to another church, and Grandad decides he wants a dummy-run of his funeral so he can hear the mourners pay him tributes. Agnes makes funeral arrangements but initially mistakes the visiting Mormons who are responsible for Father Quinn's problem for undertakers. However, she eventually engages them in a religious argument about the absurdity of Noah's ark that sends them running. At the funeral, none of the mourners have anything nice to say about Grandad, so the corpse suddenly comes to life--which Agnes declares to be a blessed miracle.
S1 • E7
Mrs. Brown and her family get ready for Christmas--always a hectic time at the Browns'. Buster is his usual self, selling Mrs. Brown a tin of outdated biscuits and a "fresh" turkey. This year Mrs. Brown wants the Virgin Mary role in the church Nativity play. This Christmas what she really wants more than anything else is to have her whole family around her, including her son Trevor who is away doing missionary work.
Agnes Brown
Cathy Brown
Winnie McGoogan
Dermot Brown
Grandad Brown
Buster Brady
Mark Brown
Betty Brown
Maria Brown
Sharon McGoogan