Character biographies

Set in Northern Ireland during World War Two, My Mother and Other Strangers follows the fortunes of the Coyne family and their neighbours as they struggle to maintain a normal life after a huge United States Army Air Force (USAAF) airfield, with 4,000 service men and women, lands in the middle of their rural parish.

Published: 2 November 2016

Rose Coyne
Rose is the parish school teacher, wife of Michael and mother to Emma, Francis and Kate. Respected by the local residents, by whom she’s often referred to as ‘the Mistress’, Rose grew up in England where she met her husband and subsequently followed him back to his native home in Moybeg. Yet despite outward appearances, Rose still feels an outsider in the village and when she meets the handsome Captain Dreyfuss, her emotional affinity with him rocks the foundations of her otherwise solid, moralistic world.

Michael Coyne
Michael Coyne and his family have been at the heart of Moybeg for generations, running the local pub, shop and holding various committee secretaryships. Adding the family farm on top, it’s a busy workload for Michael who prides himself on the position the Coynes hold in the community. However, it’s his very preoccupation with retaining this position that not only distracts him from noticing his wife’s growing friendship with Captain Dreyfus, but pushes them closer together.

Captain Ronald Dreyfuss
As liaison officer between the US Army Air Force base and the residents of Moybeg, Captain Dreyfuss has a hard task ahead. Land and homes held by families for years gone by have been forcibly removed from them to make way for the air base and, furthermore, a new generation from the progressive U.S is infiltrating the community, bringing very different cultural ways with them. Dreyfuss approaches the Coynes for help but, in meeting Rose, he finds a kindred spirit that threatens to cause more harm than the good he intended.

Emma Coyne
Sixteen year old Emma is the Coyne’s eldest child and at a crossroads in her own life. Taking a gap year before starting university, Emma is caught between wanting to demonstrate her maturity yet secretly relishes the security of family life and being with her younger siblings. Her head is turned, however, by the arrival of the glamourous US air men and subsequently even more so by the dashing older son of Dr Black.

The Hanlons
The Hanlon family, along with the Coynes, have been part of the Moybeg community for many a generation. However, unlike the Coynes, their rough reputation precedes them and the family are well known amongst the residents for being troublemakers. Ned, along with his sons Davey and Mickey Joe, have been particularly aggrieved by the arrival of the airbase and don’t hold back in letting their feelings be known about the loss of their land.

The Quinns
Sally Quinn and her younger brother, Barney, work for the Coynes as the housemaid and farmhand and live in Moybeg with their mother, Ellen. At only 19 years old, Barney’s eye is drawn to Emma Coyne in a discrete but painful display of unrequited love, whilst Sally’s suitor, Failey, struggles to walk the right side of the line through his friendship with the Hanlon brothers.

The children: Francis, Seamie and Kate
Ten year old Francis and nine year old Seamie Brady are inseparable friends. Despite their closeness in age, Seamie is by far the more worldly, experienced of the two and more often than not, leads a naïve Francis astray. Kate, meanwhile, is the baby of the Coyne family and closely guarded by her big sister, Emma.

Cast

  • Rose Coyne - Hattie Morahan
  • Michael Coyne - Owen McDonnell
  • Captain Ron Dreyfuss - Aaron Staton
  • Emma Coyne - Eileen O’Higgins
  • Francis Coyne - Michael Nevin
  • Voice of older Francis Coyne - Ciaran Hinds
  • Ned Hanlon - Des McAleer
  • Davey Hanlon - Seamus O’Hara
  • Mickey Joe Hanlon - Ryan McParland
  • Failey - Kerr Logan
  • Barney Quinn - Gavin Drea
  • Sally Quinn - Fiona O’Shaugnessy
  • Ellen Quinn - Maggie Cronin
  • Kettie Brady - Antonia Campbell-Hughes
  • Seamie Brady - Isaac Heslip
  • Doctor Black - Charles Lawson
  • Andrew Black - Ruairi O’Connor
  • Jemmy Fox - Frank McCafferty
  • Nellie Fox - Christina Nelson
  • Tillie Ziegler - Kate Phillips