Conor Flaherty
Fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders
title: "Conor Flaherty" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["eastenders-characters", "fictional-mechanics-in-soap-operas", "television-characters-introduced-in-1997", "fictional-parents-or-guardians", "irish-male-characters-in-soap-operas", "beale-family-(eastenders)"] description: "Fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders" topic_path: "arts/film" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conor_Flaherty" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox soap character"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| series | EastEnders |
| image | Conor flaherty.jpg |
| imagesize | 200px |
| name | Conor Flaherty |
| portrayer | Seán Gleeson |
| years | 1997–1999 |
| first | Episode 1507 |
| | last | Episode 1741 | | classification | Former; regular | | occupation | Car mechanic | | family | Beale | | father | Sean Flaherty | | mother | Maggie Flaherty | | brothers | {{plainlist| | | nephews | {{plainlist| | | nieces | Colette Flaherty Kylie Flaherty | | daughters | Mary Flaherty | | wife | Geraldine Flaherty (divorced) | | grandfathers | Albert Beale | | grandmothers | Lou Beale | | aunts | Pauline Fowler | | cousins | {{plainlist| | | uncles | Pete Beale | ::
| series = EastEnders |image=Conor flaherty.jpg |imagesize=200px |name=Conor Flaherty |portrayer=Seán Gleeson |years=1997–1999 |first=Episode 1507
|last=Episode 1741
|classification=Former; regular |occupation= Car mechanic |family=Beale |father=Sean Flaherty |mother=Maggie Flaherty |brothers={{plainlist|
- Eamonn Flaherty
- John Flaherty
- Tommy Flaherty}} |nephews={{plainlist|
- Eamonn Flaherty Jr.
- Declan Flaherty
- Carl Flaherty}} |nieces=Colette Flaherty Kylie Flaherty |daughters=Mary Flaherty |wife=Geraldine Flaherty (divorced) |grandfathers=Albert Beale |grandmothers=Lou Beale |aunts=Pauline Fowler |cousins={{plainlist|
- David Wicks
- Simon Wicks (step)
- Ian Beale
- Mark Fowler
- Michelle Fowler
- Martin Fowler}} |uncles=Pete Beale}} Conor Flaherty is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, portrayed by Seán Gleeson. The character debuted in a special week of episodes set in Ireland that were directed by Philip Casson and written by Tony McHale. These episodes aired from 22–25 September 1997 and were badly received by audiences and critics, due to their stereotypical depictions of Irish people and scenes featuring donkeys roaming the streets of Ireland. He last appeared on the soap on 22 February 1999.
Creation and development
In 1997, EastEnders producers announced that they were to extend the Beale/Fowler family in an "amazing" storyline that would see one of the soap's original characters, Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard), discover that her mother, Lou Beale (Anna Wing) gave birth to an illegitimate child, back in 1933. It was also said that she was to travel to Ireland with other members of her family to meet her secret sister, Maggie Flaherty (Olivia Shanley), in "sensational episodes". When there, the Beale/Fowler family are introduced to Maggie's son, Conor, and him and his daughter, Mary Flaherty (Melanie Clark Pullen), return home with them, though it was only originally announced that Mary would be permanent, and not Conor, as they wanted to keep details "tight-lipped". On his casting, Gleeson said that "the EastEnders cast are all really nice people."
Irish actor, Colm Ó Maonlaí, had auditioned for the part of Conor but lost out to Gleeson. Maonlaí was later cast as Tom Banks, in 2002, as the old school friend of Conor's cousin, Mark Fowler (Todd Carty). He said on that casting that the casting director remembered him from his previous audition.
Storylines
Conor first appears in 1997 when Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard) tracks down Connor's mother, Maggie Flaherty (Olivia Shanley), who was revealed to be her long-lost sister. Conor also has a daughter, Mary Flaherty (Melanie Clark Pullen), the two of them moving to Walford with Pauline. Conor soon starts working as a mechanic for Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) and as a loan shark for Annie Palmer (Nadia Sawalha).
In 1998, Conor begins a close friendship with Mark's wife, Ruth Fowler (Caroline Paterson), which causes strain in her marriage when they begin to fall for each other. They later begin an affair and Conor is worried when they have unprotected sex. Ruth finds out that she is pregnant, but tells Conor that she took the morning-after pill. When Mark discovers this, he beats Conor up. Conor and Mary later leave Walford for a new life in Scotland, hoping to find Ruth, who had also recently departed.
Reception
Just ahead of Conor and Mary's exit, Merle Brown from Scottish newspaper, the Daily Record, commented that Conor and Mary were "two of the most irritating characters" in the soap, and she was not happy that they were moving to Scotland. In 2001, Worcester News described Conor as the "lovable Irish rogue".
References
References
- (2011-05-16). "Soap does the dirty on Eire says envoy.(News) - The News Letter (Belfast, Northern Ireland) {{!}} HighBeam Research".
- Summerskill, Ben. (2001-10-07). "No soft soapbox". The Guardian.
- (2010-01-27). "Walford Web {{!}} Who's Who in EastEnders {{!}} Surname beginning with F".
- "Albert Square's touch of Blarney as the Fowlers find lost family; EASTENDER PAULINE COMES WEST. - Free Online Library".
- Kelly, John. (2 June 2002). "Fireman Tom is really hot stuff". [[Sunday Mirror]].
- (2002-03-19). "Colm fired up for Eastenders role". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk.
- Brown, Merle. (20 February 1999). "Soap watch". [[Trinity Mirror]].
- (2001-03-02). "Eastenders actor tackles Shakespeare role".
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