November 10th marks the 80th birthday of the late Mick Lally – a leading light in Irish television and theatre circles. As we begin a new monthly feature celebrating the characters and actors of Glenroe, Seán Creedon introduces us to the series and pays homage to Mick and his character, Miley Byrne, who made “Well Holy God” the most famous catchphrase in Ireland.

 

Mick Lally, or Miley Byrne, as many Glenroe viewers would remember him, played one of the main characters in the long-running RTÉ soap. He was born in Tourmakeady, County Mayo, 80 years ago on November 10, 1945.

He was the eldest child of Tommy Lally and Mae (McGing). He had five sisters – Theresa, Marie, Sarah, Nuala and Rita and one brother Thomas. Tourmakeady, located between Lough Mask and the Partry Mountains, is a Gaeltacht area and everybody in Mick’s family home in the townland of Derryveeney, all spoke Irish. He attended St. Mary’s College in Galway city where he did his Leaving Cert.

After secondary school Mick studied Irish and History at UCG and performed regularly with the student drama society.
Having qualified as a secondary school teacher, Mick taught Irish and Drama for six years in the Vocational School in Tuam. However, the theatre was his first love and in 1975 Mick quit his teaching post and was a founding member the Druid Theatre in Galway with Garry Hynes and Marie Mullen.

So what was Mick like as a young boy in Mayo? I spoke to his younger sister Nuala, who still lives in Derryveeney.

‘‘My brother was known as Mick to most people, but at home he was always Michael. He was 14 years older than me, so Michael was really a big brother to me. He spent a lot of time at college and later at University, but I do remember him playing in goal for the local Gaelic football team here in Tourmakeady when he was home from college.

‘‘Every summer Michael would head for London to work on building sites and save enough money for his college fees. At University he got interested in boxing and captained the UCG boxing team and they twice won the British and Irish intervarsity championships.’’

Local businessman Kevin O’Toole reckons that Mick’s love of boxing might have come from local man Greg Herrity, who was a champion boxer.

Lally began his acting career with An Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe. He also became a member of the Field Day Theatre Company, and starred in the company’s 1980 premiere of Brian Friel’s play Translations. His first play at the Abbey Theatre in 1977 was in a production of Wild Oats and he went on to perform in many other Abbey productions.

Later in 1982, Lally starred in the television series Ballroom of Romance, alongside Brenda Fricker. The following year he got the role of Miley Byrne in Glenroe and struck up a great relationship with Joe Lynch. In 1979, Lally had won a Jacobs Award for his performance as Miley in Bracken, the precursor to Glenroe.

He was a natural and became a household name. Phrases like ‘‘Well Holy God’’ and ‘‘doing nothing at all at all’’ became everyday phrases in Ireland. Mick was the heart and soul of the show and became synonymous with the character.

In 1979 Mick married Peige Ní Chongahaile, a native of Inish Meáin. Peige trained as a nurse in Jervis Street Hospital and later worked in Hume Street Hospital, The Rotunda and also did a placement in Copenhagen. They had first met in Club Conradh na Gaeilge in Harcourt Street, Dublin.

Continue reading in this week’s Ireland’s Own