Don Wycherley is an Irish

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. He played Father Cyril McDuff in ''

Father Ted ''Father Ted'' is a sitcom created by Irish writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews (writer), Arthur Mathews and produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions for British television channel Channel 4. It aired over three seri ...

'', Father Aidan O'Connell in ''

Ballykissangel ''Ballykissangel'' is a BBC television drama created by Kieran Prendiville and set in Ireland, produced in-house by BBC Northern Ireland. The original story revolved around a young English Roman Catholic priest as he became part of a rural comm ...

'', and Raymond in '' Bachelors Walk''. Wycherley is a fluent Irish speaker. He is the brother-in-law of actress Tina Kellegher. His father was Florence Wycherley, an independent

Teachta Dála A Teachta Dála ( ; ; plural ), abbreviated as TD (plural ''TDanna'' in Irish language, Irish, TDs in English), is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The official Engli ...

(TD) for Cork West from

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

Career

A graduate of St Fachtna's in

Skibbereen Skibbereen (; ) is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is located in West Cork on the N71 national secondary road. The River Ilen runs through the town; it reaches the sea about 12 kilometres away, at the seaside village of Baltimore. Located ...

, Wycherley trained in the

Gaiety School of Acting The Gaiety School of Acting (GSA) is a drama school located on Essex Street West in Temple Bar, Dublin, Temple Bar, Dublin, Ireland. It was founded by theatre director Joe Dowling in 1986. Patrick Sutton, theatre director, was director of the ...

, Wycherley's acting career began in The Abbey in the 1990's. He played Father Cyril, the Rugged Island version of

Father Dougal McGuire Father Dougal McGuire is a character in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Father Ted''. Created by Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan, Dougal was portrayed by comedian Ardal O'Hanlon for the programme's three series. The character is a childlike, simple-m ...

. He played leading man Raymond in

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

's '' Bachelors Walk''. In 2001, he appeared in

Gerry Stembridge Gerard "Gerry" Stembridge (born 1958, County Limerick, Ireland) is an Irish writer, director and actor. He was educated at CBS Sexton Street in Limerick and later at Castleknock College. While attending University College Dublin, he was audit ...

's ''Black Day at Black Rock'', and in Eugene O'Brien's '' Eden''. In 2005, he starred in The Abbey's ''

The Shaughraun ''The Shaughraun'' is a melodramatic Play (theatre), play written by Irish people, Irish playwright Dion Boucicault. It was first performed at Wallack's Theatre, New York City, New York, on 14 November 1874. Dion Boucicault played Conn in the ...

''. In 2011, he portrayed

US Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded f ...

soldier

Thomas Francis Meagher Thomas Francis Meagher ( ; 3 August 18231 July 1867) was an Irish nationalism, Irish nationalist and leader of the Young Irelanders in the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848, Rebellion of 1848. After being convicted of sedition, he was first sent ...

in a

docuseries Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. * Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

"Fág an Bealach". On stage, he has played Paddy Armstrong of the

Guildford Four The Guildford Four and Maguire Seven were two groups of people, mostly Northern Irish, who were wrongly convicted in English courts in 1975 and 1976 of the Guildford pub bombings of 5 October 1974 and the Woolwich pub bombing of 7 November 1974 ...

. In 2014 he played a

Dingle Dingle ( or ''Daingean Uí Chúis'', meaning "fort of Ó Cúis") is a town in County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula (known in Irish as ''Corca Dhuibhne''), it sits on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coa ...

fisherman in ''After Sarah Miles'' by Michael Hilliard Mulcahy. He has performed in

Conor McPherson Conor McPherson (born 6 August 1971) is an Irish playwright, screenwriter and director of stage and film. In recognition of his contribution to world theatre, McPherson was awarded an honorary doctorate of literature in June 2013 by University C ...

's '' The Seafarer''. In 2021, he played

Minnie Driver Amelia Fiona Jessica "Minnie" Driver (born 31 January 1970) is a British and American actress and singer. She rose to prominence with her break-out role in the 1995 film ''Circle of Friends (1995 film), Circle of Friends''. She went on to star i ...

's husband in the second season of '' Modern Love''. In 2023, Wycherley was performing a scripted interaction with disabilities activist Rosaleen McDonagh, at an

Oireachtas The Oireachtas ( ; ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of the president of Ireland and the two houses of the Oireachtas (): a house ...

Joint Committee on Assisted Dying, when he was inadvertently interrupted by

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Mary Seery Kearney who misunderstood the nature of the performance. He is a qualified

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

teacher.

Personal life

Wycherly is married to Deirdre. They have three children.

Selected filmography

* ''

'' (TV series; 1995–1998) * ''

Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...

'' (1996) * ''

'' (TV series; 1998–2001) * '' The General'' (1998) * ''

One Man's Hero ''One Man's Hero'' is a 1999 historical war drama film directed by Lance Hool and starring Tom Berenger, Joaquim de Almeida and Daniela Romo. The film has the distinction of being the last film released by Orion Pictures' arthouse division Or ...

'' (1999) * '' Bachelors Walk'' (TV series; 2001–2003) * ''

Veronica Guerin Veronica Guerin Turley (5 July 1959 – 26 June 1996) was an Irish investigative journalist focusing on organised crime in Ireland, who was murdered in a contract killing believed to have been ordered by a South Dublin-based drug cartel. Bor ...

'' (2003) * '' Shrooms'' (2007) * ''

Garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicl ...

'' (2007) * ''

Perrier's Bounty ''Perrier's Bounty'' is a 2009 Irish black comedy crime film set in modern-day Dublin. Described as an "urban western" by its director Ian Fitzgibbon, it stars Brendan Gleeson as the villainous title character, as well as Cillian Murphy and Jim ...

'' (2009) * ''

Ondine Ondine is a variation of undine, the category of elemental beings associated with water Ondine may also refer to: Literature * ''Ondine'' (novel), a novel by Shannon Drake (1988) * ''Ondine'' (play), a play by Jean Giraudoux (1938) * ''Ondine ...

'' (2009) * ''

Zonad ''Zonad'' is an Irish comedy film by John and Kieran Carney that premiered in July 2009 at the ''Galway Film'' Fleadh. The film went to general release in Ireland March 19, 2010. Premise An escaped convict fools a whole Irish village into thi ...

'' (2009) * ''

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 49th day (50th day when inclusive counting is used) after Easter Day, Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spiri ...

'' (short film; 2011) * ''

Scúp ''Scúp'' (; "Scoop") is a Northern Irish drama television series which was broadcast on TG4 and BBC Northern Ireland in 2013–14. The series was nominated to the ''Special Irish Language Award'' at the 11th Irish Film & Television Awards in 2 ...

'' (TV series; 2013) * ''

Moone Boy ''Moone Boy'' is an Irish sitcom created, co-written by and co-starring Chris O'Dowd for British broadcaster Sky One. The series is co-written by Nick Murphy (writer), Nick Vincent Murphy and is produced by Baby Cow Productions, Sprout Pictures ...

'' (TV series; 2014) * ''

Sing Street ''Sing Street'' is a 2016 coming-of-age musical comedy-drama film written and directed by John Carney from a story by Carney and Simon Carmody. Starring Lucy Boynton, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Aidan Gillen, Jack Reynor, Kelly Thornton and Fe ...

'' (2016) * ''

Wild Mountain Thyme "Wild Mountain Thyme" (also known as "Purple Heather" and "Will Ye Go, Lassie, Go?") is a Scottish/Irish folk song. The lyrics and melody are a variant of the song "The Braes of Balquhither" by Scottish poet Robert Tannahill (1774–1810) and ...

'' (2020) * '' Flora and Son'' (2023) * ''Northern Lights'' (2023)

IFTA Awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wycherley, Don Irish male film actors Irish male television actors Living people People from Skibbereen Actors from County Cork Year of birth missing (living people)