The Glenroe parish priest dies aged 81
Actor Dónall best known for role as Fr Devereux
ACTOR Dónall Farmer – best known for his role in RTÉ soap Glenroe as priest Fr Tim Devereux – has died aged 81.
Throughout the long-running RTÉ drama, which aired from 1983 to 2001, he played the strait- l aced, popular priest, often battling underhand tactics from the bould Dinny, played by Joe Lynch.
Mirroring issues in the wider
Also featured in Remington Steele
Church, Fr Devereux struggled with rapid social change in Ireland the 1980s. When asked for marriage advice by one character who had married a much younger woman, he said: ‘You’d want one of the new breed of priests to answer you that one, Michael.
‘I have a list in my head of all the things a man shouldn’t do to his wife. When it comes to what he should be doin’, I’d be only guessin’.’
Mr Farmer grew up in Blackpool in Cork city and studied English and Irish in University College Cork. He joined RTÉ in 1964 and directed 50 episodes of Glenroe prequel The Riordans, taking over as head of drama for RTÉ in 1971.
When the role for the priest in Glenroe, came up, he easily fitted i nto the role of the popular cleric.
Mr Farmer featured in many TV shows down the years, including Ballykissangel and Pierce Brosnan’s US detective show Rem- ington Steele. He was a former actor with the Abbey Theatre and helped set up the Everyman Theatre in Cork. He is survived by wife Eileen and children Orla, Catherine and Dónall.