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THE AGENCY/CBS/2001-2003
**(Jason O'Mara) A.B. Stiles, field agent and advisor for the Central
Intelligence Agency. Stiles travels the globe investigating terrorist activities
inside and outside of the United States. Stiles is half Irish (on his mother's
side)
AIRWOLF/CBS/1984-86
**(Jean Bruce Scott) Caitlin O'Shaughnessy, a helicopter pilot of Irish descent
who worked for Santini Air and helped fly a super-secret helicopter known as
Airwolf.
THE AMAZING MR. MALONE/ABC/1951-52
*(Lee Tracy) John J. Malone, an Irish criminal defense attorney working in
Chicago. The series was based on the1948 radio program.
ANGEL/WB/1999-2004
*(Glenn Quinn/costar) Doyle, Irish male living in Los Angeles who assists the
series title character (Angelus,
a.k.a. Angel - also Irish) battle vampires and other demons. Doyle is sort
of Angel’s spiritual mentor, an Irish guardian angel who gets psychic
premonitions of people in danger. Both Doyle and Angel, however, are demonically
possessed but they fight their evil side while protecting the innocent. Doyle
died sacrificing his life to save others. He passed on his ability to see
"visions" to colleague, Cordelia Chase. The series is a spin-off of the cult hit
Buffy: the Vampire Slayer. Glenn Quinn moved to the States from his home town of
Dublin, Ireland at the age of nineteen. He swallowed his Irish accent to star as
Mark Healy, Becky’s boyfriend on the third through ninth season of the sitcom
ROSEANNE/ABC/1988-97.
BALLYKISSANGEL/BBC/1996-2001
*(Stephen Tompkinson) Father Peter Clifford, Catholic priest assigned to the
town of Ballykissangel in Ireland. Other cast included Dervla Kirwan as Assumpta
Fitzgerald; Tony Doyle as Brian Quigley; Niall Toibin as Father MacAnally; and
Tina Kellegher as Niamh Quigley. The series was filmed in Avoca in Co. Wicklow.
BATMAN/ABC/1966-68
**(Staford Repp) Chief O'Hara, Gotham City policeman with an Irish brogue who
interacted with the crime fighting duo of Batman and Robin. When Chief O'Hara
discovered some diabolical villain was on the loose he'd cry "Saint's Preserve
Us!"
BATTERY PARK/NBC/2000
*(Elizabeth Perkins) Captain Madeleine Dunleavy, ambitious precinct commander of
Irish heritage in charge of all the detectives in Battery Park Division in New
York City. Madeleine has her eyes on the Mayor’s office and will do what it
takes to climb to the top of the city’s political ladder. Perkins was born in
Queens, New York, raised in Vermont and attended Chicago’s prestigious Goodman
School of Drama. Justin Louis also appeared as Ben Nolin, an Irish-American
police detective working second-in command in the Battery Park. His father was a
cop, his brother was a cop. And so Ben carried on the family tradition. Louis
was born in Terceira, off the coast of Portugal, on the Azores Islands.
BEACON HILL/CBS/1975
*(Stephen Elliott) Benjamin Lassiter, wealthy Irish businessman living in
Boston's Beacon Hill section in the 1920s with his family and a group of Irish
immigrants who worked in his home. Other cast included Nancy Marchand as Mary
Lassiter, Benjamin’s wife; David Dukes as Robert Lassiter, who lost an arm in
the First World War; Kitty Wynn as Rosamond Lassiter; Kathryn Walker as Fawn
Lassiter; the family's non-conformist daughter.
THE BEAT/UPN/2000
*(Derek Cecil/costar) Mike Dorigan, beat cop of Irish descent working with
partner Zane Martinelli in New York’s 12 Precinct. Mike is engaged to be married
and appears as straight as he is narrow.
THE BRADY BUNCH/ABC/1969-74
*(Robert Reed) Mike Brady, widowed architect of Irish descent with three boys
who married a woman with three girls. Also featured was Ann B. Davis as Alice
Nelson, their live-in housekeeper.
BRIDGET LOVES BERNIE/CBS/1972-73
*(Meredith Baxter/costar) Bridget Theresa Mary Coleen Fitzgerald Steinberg, a
beautiful, blonde Irish-American Catholic girl who married (not without protest)
an aspiring Jewish-American writer, Bernie Steinberg. Living in a small New York
City apartment over a delicatessen owned by Bernie's parents, the newlyweds
struggled on the salaries from her elementary school teaching position and his
taxi-cab job. Audra Lindley and David Doyle appeared as Bridget's parents Amy
and Walt Fitzgerald, Bridget's wealthy parents. The series concept was based on
the 1920's hit Broadway play "Abie's Irish Rose."
BROOKLYN SOUTH/CBS/1997
*(Joe Tenney/costar) Patrol Sergeant Francis X. Donovan, Irish-American
uniformed police officer assigned to the 74th precinct in Brooklyn, New York.
Also on the beat were Dylan Walsh as Officer Jimmy Doyle and Patrick McGaw as
his brother, Terry Doyle, a police officer wanna-be.
CAGNEY & LACEY/CBS/1982-88
*(Sharon Gless/costar) Det. Christine Cagney, plainclothes policewoman of Irish
descent who worked with her partner Det. Mary Beth Lacey amidst the concrete
canyons of New York City (Manhattan). Christine's alcoholic father, Charlie
Cagney (Dick O'Neill) was a former N.Y.P.D. policeman who enjoyed telling her
stories about how it was when he was on the force. Christine later developed a
drinking problem of her own.
THE CALIFORNIANS/NBC/1957-59
*(Adam Kennedy) Dion Patrick, an Irish immigrant headed for the Gold Rush in the
1850s who decided to become a crusading newspaper reporter in San Francisco. His
friends included Herbert Rudley as newspaper editor Sam Brennan; Sean McClory as
storekeeper Jack McGivern; and Nan Leslie as Mrs. Martha McGivern.
CANNONBALL/SYN/1958
*(Paul Birch/costar) Mike "Cannonball" Malone, Irish long-distance truck driver
for the International Transport Trucking Company who road America's highways
with his partner, Jerry Austin.
CAR 54, WHERE ARE YOU?/NBC/1961-63
*(Fred Gwynne/costar) Francis Muldoon, a New York Police officer of Irish
descent who rode a patrol car with his partner Officer Gunther Toody (Joe E.
Ross). Also featured were Jim Gormley as Officer Nelson; and Albert Hendeson as
Officer O'Hara.
CAROLINE IN THE CITY/NBC/1995-99
*(Lea Thompson) Caroline Duffy, a Wisconsin born artist and greeting card
designer of Irish descent who produced the comic strip “Caroline In The City”
from her downtown TriBeCa apartment (2A). Also featured were Eric Lutes as Del
Cassidy, a greeting card company executive and Caroline's on/off love interest.
Amy Pietz appeared as Annie Spidara, Caroline's Italian-American actor friend.
THE CAVANAUGHS/CBS/1986-88
*(Christine Ebersole) Kit Cavanaugh, a thrice married redheaded Las Vegas
showgirl and actress who returned to South Boston to live with her
Irish-American family. Her family included Barnard Hughes as her crusty father
Francis Cavanaugh, aka "Pop"; Peter Michael Goetz as Chuck, her widower brother;
Mary Tanner as Chuck's daughter, Mary Margaret; Danny Cooksey and Parker Jacobs
as Chuck's twin boys, Kevin and John; and John Short as Father Chuck, Jr., the
eldest, a Jesuit priest and film critic. Art Carney guest starred as Pop's
infamous brother, James Cavanaugh, aka "The Weasel".
CHEERS/NBC/1982-93
*(Ted Danson) Sam Malone, a bartender and owner of Cheers, a local pub “where
everybody knows your name.” Sam is reformed alcoholic, a lothario, and was once
married and divorced. He earned the nickname “MayDay Malone” when he played for
the Red Sox baseball team as a relief pitcher. Sam dated numerous women from
stewardesses to models and had a steamy on and off relationship with Diane
Chambers, one of the waitresses at Cheers. He later tried to bed Rebecca Howe,
the new manager of Cheers when Sam sold his bar to a corporation. All the while,
Sam had a drinking problem and the carried the bottle cap was from the last
bottle of beer he ever had to drink. As Sam told Cheers waitress Diane Chambers
one night at closing time "That little bottle cap keeps me from drinking. When I
was tempted to drink I'd look at that bottle cap and it would stop me. I
remember holding onto that bottle cap during some pretty rough nights. I'd wake
up in the morning and it was flat, I was squeezing it so tight." Once Sam let
another baseball player [Rick Walker] borrow his lucky charm to help him out of
his losing slump. While the cap was out of Sam's care, he became clumsy and lost
his edge. When Sam discovered the cap was lost in Kansas City, he got angry and
grabbed a bottle of beer with a real urge to drink. But instead he took the cap
off the bottle, poured its contents into a heavy mug and faced down the foaming
golden brew. He then took the new bottle cap as a replacement for his lost
talisman. Sam's father originally came from County Cork, Ireland.
CHICKEN SOUP/ABC/1989
*(Lynn Redgrave/costar) Maddie Peerce, an Irish Catholic divorcee and social
worker who was the love interest of short Jewish man. Brandon Maggart played
Maddie's stubborn brother Michael Donovan, who was not pleased with his sister's
choice in boyfriends. Maddie's children were Katherine Erbe as Patricia; Johnny
Pinto as Donnie; and Alisan Porter as Molly.
CHINA BEACH/ABC/1988-91
*(Dana Delany) Colleen McMurphy, an Irish-Catholic war-weary nurse (born in
Lawrence, Kansas) stationed at 510th Evac Hospital, 63rd Division in China
Beach, the U.S. Armed Forces R&R facility in Da Nang, Republic of Vietnam during
the Vietnam War in the late 1960s. While in Nam she fell in love with the
married Dr. Dick, but their love was never to be. Colleen served in Nam for two
years from 1967 to 1969. She once commented "I couldn't save them all, but I
saved some. I mattered. We all did." In 1970 she returned home to work as a
nurse. Then in 1975 she hit the road in a car to escape her memories of the
past. Later she settles down as a hospital administrator in Portland, Oregon and
in 1985 married an architect and has a child named Maggie. Also featured were
Penny Fuller as Colleen's mother, Margaret Mary McMurphy; Donald Moffatt as
Colleen's father, Brian; John Laughlin as Colleen's brother, Brenden; and Harold
Russell as Colleen's uncle, Conal.
CHINA SMITH (THE AFFAIRS OF CHINA SMITH)/SYN/1952 & 1954-55
*(Dan Duryea) China Smith, an American con artist, soldier of fortune and
sometimes private detective based in Singapore who traveled the orient in search
of intrigue and enchanted the ladies with his lilting Irish brogue.
THE COP AND THE KID/NBC/1975-76
*(Charles Durning) Frank Murphy, an overweight Irish-American New York City cop
with an asthmatic condition who became the guardian of a streetwise black youth
whom he tried to reform. Patsy Kelly played Mrs. Brigid Murphy, Frank's mother.
COSTELLO/FOX/1998
*(Sue Costello) Sue Murphy, a big-mouth, blue-collar Irish-Catholic barmaid
living in South Boston with her friends and family. Also featured were Dan
Lauria as Spud Murphy; Chuck Walczak as Jimmy Murphy; Kerry O'Malley as Trish
Donnelly; and Jenny O'Hara as Lottie.
CROSSING JORDON/NBC/2001-2007
*(Jill Hennessy) Dr. Jordon Cavanaugh, a forensic pathologist. She is single,
Irish- Catholic, and passionate about her work as a medical examiner at the
Boston Coroner’s Office. She reports to Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Garrett
Macy, who often overlooks Jordon’s insubordination because she is so good at her
job. To solve a crime, Jordon first analyzed the forensic evidence (body,
trauma, wounds, etc) but then she begins a role-playing mind game that her
policeman father taught her. She puts her self in the place of the victim and
imagines the last minutes of their life with their attacker. By using the hard
evidence found at the crime and a reasoned examination of the facts, Jordon
discovers the truth behind assorted crimes. Jordon’s family included her father
Max, a retired cop who now runs a local tavern; and Jordon’s mother [who was
murdered mysteriously when Jordon was a young girl].
CUSTER/ABC/1967
**(Grant Woods) Captain Miles Keogh, a witty Irish soldier stationed with the
7th Calvary under the command of George Custer in years following the Civil War.
DA VINCI’S INQUEST/SYN/1998
**(Donnelly Rhodes) Leo Shannon, police detective of Irish descent who
interacted with former cop turned coroner Dominic Da Vinci in the city of
Vancouver. Other Irish characters included Robert Wisden as Chief Coroner James
Flynn; Ian Tracey as Detective Mick Leary; and Max Martini as Danny Leary.
THE DANNY THOMAS SHOW/ABC/CBS/1957-65/1970-71
*(Marjorie Lord) Kathy Williams, the fiery redheaded Irish second wife of
Lebanese-American nightclub singer, Danny Williams. Kathy's husband nicknamed
her "Clancey". Angela Cartwright appeared as Linda Williams, Kathy's daughter
from a former marriage. Kathy's maiden name was Kathleen Daly. Also featured
were William Demarest as Kathy's father, Mr. Daly.
DAVE ALLEN AT LARGE/BBC/1975
*(Dave Allen) Dave Allen, Irish comedian who hosted a comedy-variety program
where he and a group of regulars performed in short skits. The highlight of the
show was Dave Allen sitting comfortably on stage with cigarette and drink in
hand telling the kind of humorous tales (on politics, religion, sex etc.) that
one might hear in a neighborhood pub.
DETECTIVE SCHOOL/ABC/1979
*(James Gregory) Nick Hannigan, Irish owner and operator of the Los
Angeles-based Hannigan Detective School and Agency.
THE DONALD O'CONNOR SHOW/NBC/1954-55
*(Donald O'Connor) Donald O'Connor, Irish-American singer-dancer who hosted this
filmed half-hour musical variety program. O'Connor had also earlier hosted THE
COLGATE COMEDY HOUR?NBC/1950-55 and returned in the 1960s to host the syndicated
talk show THE DONALD O'CONNOR SHOW/SYN/1968.
THE DREW CAREY SHOW/ABC/1995-2004
**(Christa Miller) Kate O'Brien, bad-tempered Irish-American who lives in
Cleveland Ohio and works for Winfred-Louder Department Store in the cosmetics
department. When Kate planned on getting married to friend Oswald Harvey, she
received a wedding present from her uncle who lived in Dublin, Ireland.
DUSTY'S TRAIL/SYN/1973
*(Forrest Tucker) Mr. Callahan, bumbling Irish wagon master who gets separated
from the main wagon train and stumbles about the western frontier of the 1880s
with a small party of travelers trying to get to California.
ENSIGN O'TOOLE/NBC/ABC/1962-64
*(Dean Jones) Ensign O'Toole, junior officer of Irish descent stationed aboard
the U.S. Navy destroyer Appleby in the peacetime South Pacific. Jay C. Flippen
costarred as Chief Petty Officer Homer Nelson. The series was based on the books
All the Ships at Sea and Ensign O'Toole and Me written by Bill Lederer.
EZ STREETS/CBS/1996-97
*(Ken Olin) Det. Cameron Quinn, Irish-American cop who goes undercover to reveal
his partner’s killer. Also featured were R. D. Call as Michael “Fivers“ Dugan;
Debrah Farentino as Theresa Conners; John Finn as Captain Geary; Richard Portnow
as Mickey Kinnear; Sarah Trigger as Elli Rooney; Jason Gedrick as Danny Rooney,
an innocent ex-con who went to jail for three years for a crime committed by an
Italian mob boss.
F TROOP/ABC/1965-67
*(Forrest Tucker) Sergeant Morgan O'Rourke, a smooth talking, scheming
con-artist with a lilting Irish brogue stationed at Fort Courage, a remote
outpost in the Kansas/Missouri Territory in the days following the Civil War.
O'Rourke ran illegal trading post operations [O’Rourke Enterprises] with the
assistance of his dimwitted sidekick, Corporal Randolph Agarn. On episode "Did
Your Father Come from Ireland?" O'Rourke's visiting father turns the town into
Little Ireland while the Sergeant is on vacation.
THE FACULTY/ABC/1996
*(Meredith Baxter) Flynn Sullivan, a divorced, blond-haired, idealistic
Irish-American vice-principal working at Hamilton Middle School. Her day-to-day
duties are to interact with her fellow staff and teachers who hang in the
faculty lounge and to contend with Mr. Herbert Adams, the school's clueless
principal. Flynn's 18 year-old daughter Julie is away at college.
FARADAY AND COMPANY/NBC/1973-74
*(Dan Dailey/costar) Frank Faraday, falsely accused and imprisoned for 28 years
in a Caribbean prison, this former Irish detective escapes his confinement and
returns to Los Angles to resume his career as a private eye with his now grown
son, Steve (played by James Naughton).
FELICITY/WB/1998-2002
**(Scott Foley) Noel Crane, resident advisor of 17-year-old Felicity Porter
attending New York University. Noel’s Irish heritage is revealed when he says “I
know if there was a scholarship for white, Irish-Catholic kids with preppy
clothes and web pages, I’d grab it.”
FIBBER MCGEE & MOLLY/NBC/1959-60
*(Bob Sweeney) Fibber McGee, absent-minded Irishman with a penchant for amateur
inventions and over-exaggeration who lived with his levelheaded wife, Molly
(Cathy Lewis) at 79 Wistful Vista. The running gag on the show was McGee's
overstuffed hall closet. Every time he opened it, a shower of clutter rained
down on him prompting McGee to say "Once of these days, I got clean out that
closet." The series originated on radio from 1935-57 and starred Jim Jordan and
his wife, Marian Jordan as the original Fibber McGee and Molly.
THE FIGHTING FITZPATRICKS/NBC/2001
*(Brian Dennehy) Mr. "Pa" Fitzgerald, a loud but lovable retired Irish-American
firefighter and widower who now shares his home with his grown children who one
by one returned home. The Fitzgerald clan included Justin Louis as Jim
Fitzgerald, a gym teacher; Connie Britton as his wife, Sophie and Abigail Mavity
as their 6-year-old daughter, Marie; Jon Patrick Walker as Patrick Fitzgerald, a
burnt out Wall Street whiz who recently broken up with his live-in girlfriend of
three years and quit his job; and Chris Moynihan as Terry Fitzgerald, a layabout
bartender [who actually lives outside the Fitzgerald household]. The Fighting
Fitzgeralds was produced by Irish Twins Production / Mauretania Productions /
NBC Studios, in association with Artists television Group.
THE FITZPATRICKS/CBS/1977-78
*(Bert Kramer) Mike Fitzpatrick, a over-worked steelworker and patriarch of a
middle-class Irish-Catholic family living in town of Flint, Michigan. The family
included Mariclare Costello as his wife, Maggie who worked part-time as a
waitress to supplement the family income; Michele Tobin as daughter Maureen "Mo"
(14); and Clark Brandon, James Vincent McNichol, and Sean Marshall as his son's
Sean (16), Jack (15) and Max (10). The family dog was named Detroit. Helen
appeared as Kerry Gerardi, a cute Italian-American neighbor girl who was
interested in the two older Fitzpatrick boys.
FOLEY SQUARE/CBS/1985-86
*(Margaret Colin) Alex Harrigan, Irish-American Assistant District Attorney
working at Foley Square in downtown Manhattan.
GIBBSVILLE/NBC/1976
*(John Savage) Jim Malloy, cub reporter of Irish descent who worked for the
Gibbsville Courier in a small Pennsylvania town of Gibbsville. Also featured
were Biff McQuire as Jim's father, Dr. Malloy ; and Peggy McCay as his mother
Mrs. Malloy. The series was based on stories and characters taken from the
writings of John O'Hara.
GILLIGAN'S ISLAND/CBS/191964-67
*(Bob Denver) Willy Gilligan, First Mate of the charter boat Minnow who was
shipwrecked on a tropical island with six other castaways.
THE GEORGE CARLIN SHOW/FOX/1994-95
*(George Carlin) George O'Grady, a philosophizing Irish-American cab driver with
a ponytail and a sarcastic attitude who hung out at Moylan's Tavern in New York
City. Also featured was Jack O'Donahue as Jack, the slow-witted bartender; and
Michael G, Hagerty as Frank MacNamara, a beer-bellied regular at the bar.
GOING MY WAY/ABC/1962-63
*(Gene Kelly) Father Chuck O'Malley, young, progressive Irish priest assigned to
a lower-class New York City parish to assist its elderly, traditional
set-in-his-ways pastor, Father Fitzgibbon (played by Leo. G. Carroll). The
series was based on the 1944 movie Going My Way starring Bing Crosby and Barry
Fitzgerald; and its 1945 sequel The Bells of St. Mary.
GREETINGS FROM TUCSON/WB/2002-03
*(Pablo Santos/costar) David Tiant, a quick-witted 15-year-old who faces the
challenge of growing up in an ethnically-mixed family in Tucson, Arizona.
David's father Jacquin (Julio Oscar Mechosa) is a pragmatic Mexican-American who
recently got promoted and moved to a bigger house in a nicer upper-middle class
neighborhood. (The Tiants' last house had bars on the windows and was subject to
frequent police helicopter flyovers). David's red-haired mother, Elizabeth
(Rebecca Creskoff) is a fiercely proud Irish Catholic who is devoted to her
children. The rest of the family consists of Aimee Garcia as his older sister,
Maria, a bitchy cheerleader (she rejects her Mexican heritage and tells people
she is Spanish); Jacob Vargas as David's colorful, live-in Uncle Ernesto who
works as an animal control officer and has three ex-wives and a young son named
Daniel (Bobby Chavez) and Lupe Ontiveros as David's hip, free-spirited,
rule-breaking grandmother, Magdalena. Sara Paxton plays pretty blonde teenager,
Sara Tobin, the next-door neighbor on whom David has a crush. Produced by Big
Ticket Television, a division of Paramount Television Production, this
autobiographical comedy series is based on the life of the show's creator Peter
Murrieta.
GROWING PAINS/ABC/1985-92
*(Joanna Kerns) Margaret "Maggie" Malone, an Irish-American researcher for
Newsweek, journalist for Long Island Daily Herald turned TV reporter for Channel
19 News in New York City (and later "Maggie Malone, Consumer Watchdog" column
for the Long Island Sentinel. Maggie married Jason Seaver, a psychologist and
had four children Michael "Mike" Aaron Seaver (Kirk Cameron), Carol Ann Seaver
(Tracey Gold), Benjamin "Ben" Hubert Humphrey Seaver (Jeremy Miller); and Ashley
Johnson as Chrissy Seaver. Maggie won the 1989 "Working Mother of the Year"
award. Also featured were Gordon Jump as Maggie's father, Ed Malone; and Betty
McGuire as his wife Kate.
GUN SHY/CBS/1983
*(Barry Van Dyke) Russell Donovan, frontier gambler of Irish decent who wandered
into the small California town of Quake City and won two young children in a
card game. The series was based on the Walt Disney films The Apple Dumpling Gang
and The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again starring Bill Bixby as Donovan.
HALF NELSON/NBC/1985
**(Victoria Jackson/costar) Annie O'Hara, the office secretary at a Beverly
Hills Patrol, a security agency that hired a diminutive investigator named Rocky
Nelson.
HARRIGAN AND SON/ABC/1960-61
*(Pat O'Brien) James Harrigan, Sr., a veteran criminal attorney of Irish descent
who hired his recently Harvard educated son James, Jr. (Roger Perry) as a junior
partner in the firm.
HAWAII FIVE-O/CBS/1968-80
*(Jack Lord) Steve McGarrett, Irish-American policeman who headed Five-O, a
special division of Hawaiian State Police.
HAWAIIAN HEAT/ABC/1984
*(Robert Ginty/costar) Mac Riley, a Chicago police detective of Irish descent
who relocates to Hawaii with his polish partner Andy Senkowski and eventually
become undercover cops for Major Taro Oshira of the Oahu Police Department.
HEART OF THE CITY/ABC/1986-87
*(Robert Desiderio) Wes Kennedy, a Los Angeles Police Department detective of
Irish descent who struggled daily with his job responsibilities, his recent
death of his wife. Also featured were Christina Applegate and Jonathan Ward as
Wes's two teenage children Robin and Kevin; and Irene Ferris, as Wes's wife (as
seen in flashbacks).
HENNESEY/CBS/1959-62
*(Jackie Cooper) Lt. Charles J. "Chick" Hennesey, a medical officer of Irish
decent who was assigned to the San Diego Naval Base in California.
HEY MULLIGAN (THE MICKEY ROONEY SHOW)/NBC/1954-55
*(Mickey Rooney) Mickey Mulligan, a TV studio page (and aspiring actor) working
at International Broadcasting Company. Also featured were Regis Toomey as
Mickey's father, Joe Mulligan; and Claire Carleton as Nell Mulligan, Mickey's
mother, a former burlesque queen.
HOLLYWOOD BEAT/ABC/1985
*( Jack Scalia/costar) Det. Nick McCarren, an Irish-American Los Angeles Police
Department working undercover in Hollywood with Italian partner, Jack Rado.
HOW THE WEST WAS WON/ABC/1978-79
*(Fionnula Flanagan/costar) Aunt Molly Culhane, Kate Macahan's Irish widowed
sister living in Boston. After Kate is killed, Molly traveled West and adopted
their family who included Bruce Boxleitner as Luke Macahan; Kathryn Holcomb as
Laura Macahan; William Kirby Cullen as Josh Macahan; and Vicki Schreck as Jessie
Macahan. Also on hand was James Arness as Uncle Zeb Macahan, a towering mountain
man who led Molly and his relatives in search of a new life/homestead in the Old
West at the beginning of the 1860s. The series was based loosely on the movie
How The West Was Won (1963) directed by John Ford.
IRELAND: A TELEVISION HISTORY/SYN/1982
*Thirteen part documentary series on the history of Ireland. The program was
written and narrated by Robert Kee.
IRISH R.M./C-4/1983-85
*(Bryan Murray/costar) Flurry, an Irish landlord living in the westlands of
Ireland during the year 1900 who rents a country home to Major Sinclair Yeates,
a retired British Army officer who took up residence as the local resident
magistrate (Justice of the Peace/legal arbiter). Also featured were Lise-Ann
McLaughlin as Sally; and Beryl Reid as Mrs. Knox. The series was based on the
book Some Experiments of an Irish R. M. written in 1899 by Irish cousins Edith
Somerville and Martin Ross (a.k.a. Violet Florence Martin).
THE IRISH ROVERS/SYN/1975
*(Will Millar) Will Millar, Irish folk singer who appeared with the folk singing
group The Irish Rovers in this Canadian produced musical series.
THE ISLANDERS/ABC/1960-61
**(Gordon Jones) Jim "Shipwreck" Callahan, an Irishman living on the island of
Ambowina off the coast of Sumatra. He served aboard the destroyer USS Houston
during World War II but soon settled down to island life. Jim is the proud owner
of Shipwreck Callahan's American Bar. Also featured were William Reynolds as
Sandor Wade and James Philbrook as Zachary Malloy, two local seaplane pilots for
Lato Airlines who frequented the American Bar on the down time.
THE JACK BENNY SHOW/CBS/1950-65
**(Dennis Day) Dennis Day, a dim-witted and underpaid Irish Tenor whose singing
was highlighted on this comedy program. Later on THE RCA VICTOR SHOW/1951-54
Dennis Day reprised his role as a young singer who at the encouragement of his
boisterous mother (Verna Felton) tried to make a career of his own.
THE JACKIE GLEASON SHOW/CBS/1952-70
*(Jackie Gleason) Jackie Gleason, Irish-American comedian, actor, entertainer
who starred in this popular comedy variety program for nearly two decades. Other
cast included Art Carney; Sheila MacRae. During the sketch "Joe The Bartender" a
never seen or heard [but acknowledged] customer named Mr. Dunahee would push his
way through the bar's swinging doors where he always found Joe the bartender
singing the tune of "My Gal Sal."
JFK: RECKLESS YOUTH/1993 (Miniseries)
*(Patrick Dempsey) John F. Kennedy, the Irish-American son of businessman Joseph
P. Kennedy (played by Terry Kinney). The miniseries chronicles the early life
and indiscretions of John Fitzgerald Kennedy who would be one day be the
President of the United States of America. Cast includes Loren Dean as Joe
Kennedy, Jr., Robin Tunney as Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy, Malachy McCourt as
“Honey” Fitz Fitzgerald, Diana Scarwid as Rose Kennedy, and Natalie Radford as
Rosemary Kennedy.
JIMMY HUGHES, ROOKIE COP/DUM/1953
*(William Redfield & Conrad Janis) Jimmy Hughes, an Irish-American male who had
recently returned from the Korean War only to find his policeman father killed
in a gun battle. To honor his father's memory and to avenge the crime, he joined
the New York police force. Also featured were Wendy Drew as Betty Hughes,
Jimmy's sister; and Rusty Lane as Inspector Ferguson, Jimmy's mentor.
KATE LOVES A MYSTERY/NBC/1979
*(Kate Mulgrew) Kate Callahan, Irish-American reporter for the Valley Advocate
in the San Fernando Valley in California. Earlier in the series Kate was
actually Kate Columbo, the wife of Italian police detective Lt. Columbo on the
KATE COLUMBO. But due to bad ratings, the producers dropped her earlier
identity, renamed the character Kate Callahan, retitled the show Kate the
Detective then Kate Loves A Mystery but retained much of Kate's original
storyline especially her child Jenny (Lili Hayden) and her job at the paper.
KATE MCSHANE/CBS/1975
*(Anne Meara) Kate McShane, a tough redheaded Irish-American attorney with a
heart of gold. Also featured were Sean McClory as her retired father Pat, a
former cop; and Charles Haid, as her brother Ed, a priest and law professor.
KAY O'BRIEN, SURGEON/CBS/LIF/1986-87
*(Patricia Kalember) Kay "Kayo" O'Brien, a twenty-eight-year-old second year
surgical resident of Irish descent working at Manhattan General Hospital.
KENNEDYS OF MASSACHUSETTS, THE/1990 (Miniseries)
*(William L. Peterson) Joseph P. Kennedy, the patriarch of the Irish-American
Kennedy family who marriage to Rose Fitzgerald (played by Annette O‘Toole)
created the American dynasty known as The Kennedys. This sweeping epic
chronicles the 55 years in the lives of the Kennedy family. It begins with the
marriage of Joseph P. Kennedy in 1906 to Rose Fitzgerald, the daughter of
Boston’s mayor, John “Honey” Fitz Fitzgerald (played by Charles Durning) then
follows their lives through the tragedies of World War II with the death of
their son, Joseph “Joe” Kennedy, Jr. and finishes with the early political
successes of their son John Kennedy. Cast includes Jean De Baer as Josie
Fitzgerald, William Duff-Griffin as Henry Fitzgerald, Pat Hingle as P. J.
Kennedy, Eddie Jones as Jim Fitzgerald, Jane Loranger as Agnes Fitzgerald,
Deidre Lovejoy as Rosemary Kennedy, Randle Mell as Robert Kennedy, Leah Monagle
as Eunice Fitzgerald, Tracy Pollan as Kathleen Kennedy, Halina Radosz as Eunice
Kennedy, Campbell Scott as Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., and Steven Weber as John F.
Kennedy.
KEY WEST/FOX/1993
*(Fisher Stevens) Seamus O'Neill, an assembly-line worker of Irish descent who
moved to Key West to pursue his aspirations as a journalist (a la Hemingway)
after he won the New Jersey lottery.
KING OF DIAMONDS/SYN/1961-62
*(Ray Hamilton) Casey "Case" O'Brien, security agent of Irish descent teamed
with John King, the security chief for the New York-based Continental Diamond
Industries to oversee the transportation and security of gems and diamonds and
to investigate crimes associated with the diamond district.
KING'S ROW/ABC/1955-56
*(Nan Leslie/costar) Randy Monaghan, Irish-American who lived in the town of
King's Row at the turn of the century.
KLONDIKE/NBC/1960-61
*(Mari Blanchard/costar) Katherine "Kathy" O'Hara, the daughter of an Irish sea
captain who operated the Golden Nugget Hotel in the lawless gold rush days of
Skagway, Alaska in the year 1898. Also featured were Ralph Taeger as adventurer
Mike Halliday; and J. Pat O'Malley as Kathy's uncle, Jonah.
KOJAK/CBS/1973-78/ABC/1989-90
*(Dan Frazer/costar) Captain Frank McNeil, the world-weary Irish-American
supervisor of Lt. Theo Kojak a Greek-American police detective stationed at
Manhattan South.
A- K
/ L - Z
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