When Pauline McLynn was attending university, studying drama wasn’t really a thing. So, she did an arts degree in Trinity College instead. There she joined Players, the student drama society.
The actress, author and knitting extraordinaire – more on that later – has no regrets that things happened for her this way. “I think that suited me fine, because I learned from the school of hard knocks, doing it all the wrong way.
“The only thing I think I missed in not being trained is that I wouldn’t mind being able to sword fight. That would be great, I think you can learn that if you’re at acting college. I quite fancy prancing around with a sword. So there’s my biggest regret,” laughs Pauline.
As a member of Players, Pauline got great experience. She also gained an understanding of all areas of the acting world, including backstage and production. This has left a lasting mark on her.
There were no proper jobs, nor indeed was I trained to do anything anyway. So you made your own work. As it happens, I hung around with a lot of people who wanted to go into acting and theatre
“I will always hang my costume up after I’ve used it. I see people stepping out of a costume and leaving it lying for someone else to pick up – no, no, oh no. I don’t hang up anything at home but I will at work.”
Pauline was born in Co Sligo and raised in Co Galway. On her upbringing she quips: “If you’re the west, you’re the west forever.” After leaving university in 1983, Pauline fell into acting. This was during the second-last recession and jobs were scarce, so she felt acting was as good a shout as any.
CEO of Focus Ireland Pat Dennigan and Pauline McLynn at the launch of Ireland's Great Get Together.
“There were no proper jobs, nor indeed was I trained to do anything anyway. So you made your own work. As it happens, I hung around with a lot of people who wanted to go into acting and theatre. Sure we might as well have been doing that as anything else.
“There weren’t even enough coffee houses for us all to be waitresses, even if you could serve someone without dropping a cup of coffee into their lap. It just kind of followed on, I fell into it by accident if you like.”
Tea, Father?
From Shameless to Eastenders and Trollied, Pauline has acted in a number of different television series. Of course, no account of this actress could be penned without mention of what is undoubtedly her most famous role to date, Mrs Doyle in Fr Ted.
She was 30 when she started playing the tea-obsessed housekeeper and says people refer to her as such to this day.
“People still come up and call me Mrs Doyle, or they would be shouting, ‘Ahh will you go on, go on’, or ‘Will you have a cup of tea?’ Which is fine if they have a cup of tea to give to me! It’s because people love it, which is great after all this time.”
Looking back, Pauline says it is brilliant to have been involved in the series and feels that 25 years later, Fr Ted is timeless, as each new generation adopts it as their own.
I’m just shocked at the extent of the homelessness problem. When something is huge like that you worry there’s nothing that can be done. That’s not true.
At present, Pauline is working with Focus Ireland on their new initiative, Ireland’s Great Get Together. This aims to raise funds to prevent family homelessness. It calls on people, as the name suggests, to get together with family and friends on the May bank holiday weekend (3-5 May) in whatever manner they wish to garner money.
“I’m just shocked at the extent of the homelessness problem. When something is huge like that you worry there’s nothing that can be done. That’s not true. I think this May bank holiday weekend, everyone, ordinary people like ourselves, have a real chance to make a difference just by meeting up.
“I’m going to do tea and coffee, I think I’m going to be working that weekend. You don’t get bank holiday weekends off in showbiz. I’m going to use the lunch break or the tea break to have a bit of a get together, a few rounds of bingo, because I love bingo.”
Go on, go on
In what can only be described as a streak of comedic and commercial genius, Pauline sells her own line of hand-knitted tea cosies. Capitalising on none other than Mrs Doyle’s famous catchphrase, “go on, go on”, they are called the Go Ons.
I liked knitting and then all through my college years I just never got around to it. Like a vocation I picked up the needles again afterwards
“They are called the Go Ons, because they go on your teapot – weh-hay,” cheers Pauline. “I love it, it keeps me out of mischief.
“I liked knitting and then all through my college years I just never got around to it. Like a vocation I picked up the needles again afterwards. I don’t know what it is, I just had a need to knit. Now I can’t sit in front of the television without having something on the needles.”
Clearly, Pauline has a great sense of humour, but what else would you expect from the woman who portrayed the iconic Mrs Doyle?
For more details on organising your own Ireland’s Great Get Together, click here.
Read more
'I basically looked like Romeo doing the walk of shame'
Cork via Derry
When Pauline McLynn was attending university, studying drama wasn’t really a thing. So, she did an arts degree in Trinity College instead. There she joined Players, the student drama society.
The actress, author and knitting extraordinaire – more on that later – has no regrets that things happened for her this way. “I think that suited me fine, because I learned from the school of hard knocks, doing it all the wrong way.
“The only thing I think I missed in not being trained is that I wouldn’t mind being able to sword fight. That would be great, I think you can learn that if you’re at acting college. I quite fancy prancing around with a sword. So there’s my biggest regret,” laughs Pauline.
As a member of Players, Pauline got great experience. She also gained an understanding of all areas of the acting world, including backstage and production. This has left a lasting mark on her.
There were no proper jobs, nor indeed was I trained to do anything anyway. So you made your own work. As it happens, I hung around with a lot of people who wanted to go into acting and theatre
“I will always hang my costume up after I’ve used it. I see people stepping out of a costume and leaving it lying for someone else to pick up – no, no, oh no. I don’t hang up anything at home but I will at work.”
Pauline was born in Co Sligo and raised in Co Galway. On her upbringing she quips: “If you’re the west, you’re the west forever.” After leaving university in 1983, Pauline fell into acting. This was during the second-last recession and jobs were scarce, so she felt acting was as good a shout as any.
CEO of Focus Ireland Pat Dennigan and Pauline McLynn at the launch of Ireland's Great Get Together.
“There were no proper jobs, nor indeed was I trained to do anything anyway. So you made your own work. As it happens, I hung around with a lot of people who wanted to go into acting and theatre. Sure we might as well have been doing that as anything else.
“There weren’t even enough coffee houses for us all to be waitresses, even if you could serve someone without dropping a cup of coffee into their lap. It just kind of followed on, I fell into it by accident if you like.”
Tea, Father?
From Shameless to Eastenders and Trollied, Pauline has acted in a number of different television series. Of course, no account of this actress could be penned without mention of what is undoubtedly her most famous role to date, Mrs Doyle in Fr Ted.
She was 30 when she started playing the tea-obsessed housekeeper and says people refer to her as such to this day.
“People still come up and call me Mrs Doyle, or they would be shouting, ‘Ahh will you go on, go on’, or ‘Will you have a cup of tea?’ Which is fine if they have a cup of tea to give to me! It’s because people love it, which is great after all this time.”
Looking back, Pauline says it is brilliant to have been involved in the series and feels that 25 years later, Fr Ted is timeless, as each new generation adopts it as their own.
I’m just shocked at the extent of the homelessness problem. When something is huge like that you worry there’s nothing that can be done. That’s not true.
At present, Pauline is working with Focus Ireland on their new initiative, Ireland’s Great Get Together. This aims to raise funds to prevent family homelessness. It calls on people, as the name suggests, to get together with family and friends on the May bank holiday weekend (3-5 May) in whatever manner they wish to garner money.
“I’m just shocked at the extent of the homelessness problem. When something is huge like that you worry there’s nothing that can be done. That’s not true. I think this May bank holiday weekend, everyone, ordinary people like ourselves, have a real chance to make a difference just by meeting up.
“I’m going to do tea and coffee, I think I’m going to be working that weekend. You don’t get bank holiday weekends off in showbiz. I’m going to use the lunch break or the tea break to have a bit of a get together, a few rounds of bingo, because I love bingo.”
Go on, go on
In what can only be described as a streak of comedic and commercial genius, Pauline sells her own line of hand-knitted tea cosies. Capitalising on none other than Mrs Doyle’s famous catchphrase, “go on, go on”, they are called the Go Ons.
I liked knitting and then all through my college years I just never got around to it. Like a vocation I picked up the needles again afterwards
“They are called the Go Ons, because they go on your teapot – weh-hay,” cheers Pauline. “I love it, it keeps me out of mischief.
“I liked knitting and then all through my college years I just never got around to it. Like a vocation I picked up the needles again afterwards. I don’t know what it is, I just had a need to knit. Now I can’t sit in front of the television without having something on the needles.”
Clearly, Pauline has a great sense of humour, but what else would you expect from the woman who portrayed the iconic Mrs Doyle?
For more details on organising your own Ireland’s Great Get Together, click here.
Read more
'I basically looked like Romeo doing the walk of shame'
Cork via Derry
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