‘We’ve lost an icon’
These were the words which greeted the passing of renowned actor Mick Lally, who has died aged 64.
The theatre and television performer, who was a gael- góir, was the subject of a flood of heartfelt tributes from the public, stage and political spheres yesterday as news of his untimely passing emerged.
Mary McEvoy, his on- screen wife Biddy in the long-running soap Glenroe, said: “It’s the end of an era because he was an icon to television people, an icon to theatre people. It’s just a devastating loss. He was a curmudgeon with a heart of gold.”
His Glenroe character Miley Byrne became a national institution.
Mick Lally had also worked with Oliver Stone and Gabriel Byrne.
Speaking from his New York home Mr Byrne said: “It sounds like a banality but Mick Lally was one of the most decent people I have ever met in my life.
“When you were watching him perform, you knew you were watching something special. It came out of the soul of Mick Lally.”
The actor — survived by his wife, Peggy, and their children, Saileog, Darach and Maghnus — died peacefully after a short stay in hospital. His final performance was on August 14 at the Everyman Palace in Cork city during a showing of John B Keane’s The Matchmaker.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen described Mr Lally as a “genius at capturing and portraying the essence of the characters he played”.
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