Mick Lally - Mick or Miley, he was great

THOUGH he would want most of his work to be remembered Mick Lally will live on in the nation’s imagination as Miley Byrne, a pivotal character in the loved classic of Irish television, Glenroe.

Even before he became Miley, a wonderful representation of a befuddled but well-intentioned Irish type, Lally had established himself as a respected stage actor.

Thirty years ago he took part in one of the seminal theatre productions of modern Irish theatre when he won a part in the premiere of Brian Friel’s Translations in Derry in 1980.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen spoke for us all when he said that Mick Lally 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”.

Lally was one of a rare breed in that he could be as impressive in Irish as he was in English, a facility that helped him in over 20 Abbey roles.