February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Andrew Bushe
DUBLIN — The off-screen drama in RTE’s long-running series "Glenroe" is beginning to rival the plot of the soap itself after another leading character bailed out — this time in a row about contract terms.
Veteran actor Joe Lynch, 74, said he was calling it a day after 20 years and was planning to retire full time to his home in Spain.
No reason for his departure was given in a statement from RTE, but Lynch said in radio interview that the station had made him an offer he "had to refuse."
"I felt I was being shamefully treated and I was," he said.
The departure of Lynch, who played Dinny Byrne, follows the killing off of his daughter-in-law in the rural soap, Biddy Byrne, played by Mary McEvoy.
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With his cloth cap, limp and trademark exclamation "Well, Holy God," Lynch has been associated with the series and its precursor, Bracken, for 20 years.
Another main character, Miley, played by Mick Lally, will now be coping with the loss of both his wife and father when the series resumes in September.
Lally is also going to act with the BBC series "Ballykissangel," which is also set in Wicklow. However, he will be returning to "Glenroe."
Asked about Lynch’s complaints, an RTE spokeswoman denied he was shabbily treated.
"We made him a perfectly acceptable offer and he chose not to accept it." She refused to say what the disagreement was about.
"RTE is very sorry he is not continuing. We would love to have seen him go on. He was a great character and will be sorely missed."
Sources close to the series said they were hoping that Lynch may change his mind or that they may be able to reach an agreement that would allow them to write him out of the series in an orderly way.
When McEvoy left "Glenroe" to pursue a stage career, she was killed off in a traffic accident and the new series had been expected to open with her funeral. Now there may be no father-in-law for the graveside.
Cork-born Lynch described it as a "wipe out" of his on-screen family in "Glenroe."
"Its very sad," he said. "I gave them no trouble. I was never a day late, never a minute late. I gave good example to young people. I worked very hard, I never wasted a second of their time because I’m greedy about time."