She says she was “third choice” for the part of Biddy Byrne, the no-nonsense female farmer in RTÉ’s rural soap, which was a Sunday night staple for over a million viewers for much of the 1980s and 1990s.
Born on a farm in Co Westmeath, her experience of country life was pivotal to her being cast as Biddy, who upended the traditional image of a farmer’s wife on the series set on a Wicklow farm.
In an interview on RTÉ’s The Meaning of Life she laughed as she explained she landed the part, “because I could drive a tractor. That’s the only reason. I was third choice. I have no illusions.”
The fame that came with being in one of Ireland’s most-watched shows didn’t sit well with the actress or her co-star Mick Lally who played her husband Miley Byrne. Becoming…