Michael Lally (10 November 1945 – 31 August 2010) was an Irish stage, film, and television actor. He departed from a teaching career for acting during the 1970s. Though best known in Ireland for his role as Miley Byrne in the television soap ''

Glenroe ''Glenroe'' is an Irish television soap opera broadcast on RTÉ One for 18 years between September 1983 and May 2001. ''Glenroe was'' centred on the lives of the people living in the fictional rural village of the same name in County Wicklow. ...

'', Lally's stage career spanned several decades,Abbey Theatre Website – People – Mick Lally
and he was involved in feature films such as ''

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

'' and the Academy Award-nominated ''

The Secret of Kells ''The Secret of Kells'' is a 2009 animated fantasy drama film directed by Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey, produced by Paul Young, Didier Brunner and Viviane Vanfleteren, written by Fabrice Ziolkowski. An Irish-French-Belgian co-production, led b ...

''. He died in August 2010 after a battle with

emphysema Emphysema is any air-filled enlargement in the body's tissues. Most commonly emphysema refers to the permanent enlargement of air spaces (alveoli) in the lungs, and is also known as pulmonary emphysema. Emphysema is a lower respiratory tract di ...

.''The Herald'' (Ireland) – Matchmaker Mick missed, but show must go on – 1 September 2010
/ref> Many reports cited him as one of Ireland's finest and most recognisable actors.

Early life

Born in November 1945 and reared in the

Gaeltacht A ( , , ) is a district of Ireland, either individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The districts were first officially recognised ...

village of Tourmakeady,

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

, Michael "Mick" Lally was the eldest child of May and Tommy Lally. He had five sisters and one brother. He went to the local national school in Tourmakeady and then to St Mary's College, Galway. After studying history and Irish at

University College Galway The University of Galway () is a public university, public research university located in the city of Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Ga ...

, where he won the British and Irish intervarsity boxing championship and performed in the student drama society, he taught for six years in Archbishop McHale College,

Tuam Tuam (; , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midland Region, Ireland, midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. The town is in a civil parishe ...

from 1969 to 1975, but quit teaching to pursue his career as a stage actor.

Career

Lally began his acting career with Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe (Ireland's national

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

theatre), and was a founding member of the Druid Theatre Company. Lally received an Irish Times/ESB Theatre Award Nomination for Best Actor for his role in Druid's production of '' The Dead School''. He also became a member of the

Field Day Theatre Company The Field Day Theatre Company is a theatre company founded in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1980 by playwright Brian Friel and actor Stephen Rea. History The company's first production in 1980 was Friel's recently completed play, ''Translations''. ...

, and starred in the company's 1980 premiere of

Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription requ ...

's play ''

Translations Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transl ...

''. He first played at the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre (), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland () is a theatre in Dublin, Ireland. First opening to the public on 27 December 1904, and moved from its original building after a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the p ...

in 1977 in a production of '' Wild Oats'' and went on to perform in many other Abbey productions. In 1982, Lally starred in the TV series '' The Ballroom of Romance'' alongside

Brenda Fricker Brenda Fricker (born 17 February 1945) is an Irish actress, whose career has spanned six decades on stage and screen. She has appeared in more than 30 films and television roles. In 1990, she became the first Irish actress to win an Academy Awar ...

. From 1983 he played the role of farmer Miley Byrne in the

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, ...

soap ''

'', reprising the character that he played earlier in the ''

Bracken Bracken (''Pteridium'') is a genus of large, coarse ferns in the family (biology), family Dennstaedtiaceae. Ferns (Pteridophyta) are vascular plants that undergo alternation of generations, having both large plants that produce spores and small ...

'' in 1978. In 1979, Lally won a

Jacob's Award The Jacob's Awards were instituted in December 1962 as the first Irish television awards. Later, they were expanded to include radio. The awards were named after their sponsor, W. & R. Jacob & Co. Ltd., a biscuit manufacturer, and recipients ...

for his performance as Miley in ''Bracken''. Lally also had some musical success when " The By-road to Glenroe" went to the top of the Irish charts in 1990. He was also involved in voice-over work – including a noted advertisement for Kilmeaden Cheese during the 1990s. Other TV appearances included roles in ''Tales of Kinvarna'', ''The Year of the French'' and ''

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 ...

''. In 1994, Lally played the character Hugh in '' The Secret of Roan Inish'', and in 1995 portrayed Dan Hogan in the film adaptation of

Maeve Binchy Anne Maeve Binchy Snell (28 May 1939Born 1939 as per biography, ''Maeve Binchy'' by Piers Dudgeon, Thomas Dunne Books 2013; (hardcover), pp. 4, 280, 302; (ebook) – 30 July 2012) was an Irish novelist, playwright, short story writer, column ...

's '' Circle of Friends''. Other film roles included: ''

Poitín Poitín (), anglicized as poteen () or potcheen, is a traditional Irish distilled beverage (40–90% ABV). Former common names for Poitín were "Irish moonshine" and "mountain dew". It was traditionally distilled in a small pot still, and the ...

'', ''Our Boys'', ''The Outcasts'', '' A Man of No Importance'' and others. In later years, Lally provided the voice of Brother Aidan in the Academy Award-nominated ''

'' – an animated film directed by

Tomm Moore Thomas "Tomm" Moore (born 7 January 1977) is an Irish filmmaker, animator, illustrator and comics artist. He co-founded Cartoon Saloon with Nora Twomey and Paul Young, an animation studio and production company based in Kilkenny, Ireland. Hi ...

. Lally appeared in several TV advertisements encouraging elderly people to "release the equity tied up in their homes" during the

Celtic Tiger The "Celtic Tiger" () is a term referring to the economy of the Republic of Ireland, economy of Ireland from the mid-1990s to the late 2000s, a period of rapid real economic growth fuelled by foreign direct investment. The boom was dampened by ...

Personal life

Lally was married to a nurse, Peige Ní Chonghaile, with whom he celebrated his 30th wedding anniversary the year before his death. They had three children: Saileog, Darach, and Maghnus. Lally was a fluent speaker of the

, and his children studied in Irish-speaking schools (

gaelscoil A Gaelscoil (; plural: ''Gaelscoileanna'') is an Irish language- medium school in Ireland: the term refers especially to Irish-medium schools outside the Irish-speaking regions or Gaeltacht. Over 50,000 students attend Gaelscoileanna at primary a ...

eanna). He appeared in several Irish language productions throughout his career, from ''

'' in 1978 to an appearance in the Irish language soap '' Ros na Rún'' in 2008. He was a supporter of socialist causes, and canvassed for

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

candidate Joe Higgins in the 1996 Dublin West by-election and the 1997 general election. Lally was an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

who did not believe in an afterlife, and regarded religion as nonsense and "codology".

Death

Lally died on the morning of 31 August 2010, after a short stay in hospital. The cause of death was reported as heart failure arising from an underlying emphysema condition. His death led to "widespread outpourings of sympathy". In addition to his wife and children, he was survived by his parents and six siblings.

Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

Brian Cowen Brian Bernard Cowen (born 10 January 1960) is an Irish former politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 2008 to 2011. Cowen served as a TD for the constituency of Laois–Offaly from 1984 to 2011 and served in several ...

said he was "shocked and saddened" by Lally's death, adding that he was "one of the most loved actors of his generation and will be dearly missed by the public and his colleagues in theatre and television". Minister for Culture Mary Hanafin and

Michael D. Higgins Michael Daniel Higgins (; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, broadcaster, and sociologist who has been serving as the president of Ireland since 2011. Entering national politics through the Labour Party, he served as a senator ...

TD, former Minister for Arts, Culture & Gaeltacht, also expressed condolences.

Arts Council of Ireland The Arts Council (sometimes called the Arts Council of Ireland; legally ) is the independent "Irish government agency for developing the arts". About It was established in 1951 by the government of Ireland, to encourage interest in Irish art ( ...

chair Pat Moylan called it "a sad and shocking loss". Lally's onscreen wife in ''Glenroe'', Mary McEvoy, said "Mick and I loved each other and we got on really well". Lally's funeral took place in Dublin on 2 September 2010. The ''

Irish Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Republic of Ireland, Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork (city), Cork, though it is ...

'' commented that the "nation has lost one of its favourite uncles". Personalities from TV, film, theatre, and politics attended, while

President of Ireland The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly figurehead, ceremonial institution, serving as ...

Mary McAleese Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer, academic, author, and former politician who served as the president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. McAleese was first elected as president in 1997, ...

sent a letter of condolence.

Selected filmography

*''

'' (2009) *'' Ros na Rún'' (2008) *''

'' (2004) *'' How to Cheat in the Leaving Certificate'' (1997) *'' Circle of Friends'' (1995) *'' The Secret of Roan Inish'' (1994) *'' A Man of No Importance'' (1994) *'' Fools of Fortune'' (1990) *'' The Fantasist'' (1986) *''

'' (1983) *'' The Outcasts'' (1982) *''

The Year of the French ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' (1982) *'' The Ballroom of Romance'' (1982) *''

Strumpet City ''Strumpet City'' is a 1969 historical novel by James Plunkett set in Dublin, Ireland, around the time of the 1913 Dublin Lock-out. In 1980, it was adapted into a TV drama by Hugh Leonard for RTÉ, Ireland's national broadcaster. The novel i ...

'' (1980) *''

'' (1978) *''

'' (1978)

Theatre roles

*''

'', as Manus (1980) *'' The Year of the Hiker'' (1990) *'' The Man from Clare'' (1992) *'' DruidSynge'' (2005) *''

The Matchmaker ''The Matchmaker'' is a 1954 Broadway play by Thornton Wilder, a rewritten version of his 1938 play '' The Merchant of Yonkers''. History The play has a long and colorful history. John Oxenford's 1835 one-act farce ''A Day Well Spent'' ha ...

'' (2010)

References

External links

*
Images of Mick Lally
RTÉ Stills Library.

''Irish Independent''.

''The Irish Times''.
Mick Lally – a man without measure
''Galway Advertiser''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lally, Mick 1945 births 2010 deaths 20th-century atheists 21st-century atheists 20th-century Irish people 21st-century Irish people Alumni of the University of Galway Critics of religions Deaths from emphysema Disease-related deaths in the Republic of Ireland Druid Theatre Company Irish atheists Irish socialists Irish male film actors Irish male television actors Irish male soap opera actors Irish male stage actors Irish male voice actors Jacob's Award winners Actors from County Mayo