Carney joining red rock this week

Liam Carney, best known for playing Kevin in Glenroe and for his roles in major films like Braveheart, Gangs of New York and Angela’s Ashes is the latest face to join Ireland’s newest soap Red Rock.

Liam plays Tommy Tyrell, a “salt of the earth”, hard-working family man. He is married to Garda Sergeant Angela Tyrell (played by well-known actress Andrea Irvine). Viewers will be introduced to Liam Carney’s character on Thursday in Episode 8 of Red Rock.

Summing up his character Liam Carney said: “Tommy Tyrell is essentially a good man but one who can make questionable decisions. He finds Angela’s job a strain and harbours some resentment as her work can sometimes become a priority over family. Tommy is a bit of a house husband, who can feel slightly taken for granted by Angela.”

He also admitted the biggest challenge he faces is getting people to recognise him for his new roles.

“I last appeared in it [Glenroe] in 1996, with a full bloody mop of long curly hair. I’m now bald as an egg, a lot wrinklier and I still get called Kevin every day!”

Offaly native Darragh O’Toole, who plays Tommy’s son, Conor, is also looking forward to making his debut in next week’s episode.

“I think I’m looking forward to the reaction most. There’s such a buzz around it and so much enthusiasm that just seeing how it’s perceived is exciting. Hopefully people at home really take to it and embrace it, and also industry peers. It’s always good to get a nice reaction from people in the industry, people you respect and admire. Hopefully we’ve done our job.”

Conor Tyrell (Darragh O’Toole) is a good kid living in Dublin and studying law. He’s the first in his family to go to university making mum Angela and dad Tommy very proud but his new university lifestyle is introducing him to much darker things, which will all be played out in upcoming scenes in Red Rock.

‘Red Rock’ airs every Wednesday and Thursday at 8.30pm on TV3, funded by the BAI Sound and Vision Fund.