John Flaherty (EastEnders)
| EastEnders episodes in Ireland | |
|---|---|
| Episode no. | Episode 1507–1509 (3 episodes) |
| Original air date | 22–25 September 1997 |
| Running time | 90 minutes (3x30) |
| Maggie Flaherty | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| EastEnders character | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Olivia Shanley | ||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 22 September 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 25 September 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Housewife | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Home | Kilmoneen, Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Family | Beale |
|---|---|
| Father | Albert Beale |
| Mother | Lou Beale |
| Brothers |
Harry Beale Ronnie Beale Kenny Beale Pete Beale |
| Sisters | Dora Beale Pauline Fowler |
| Husband | Sean Flaherty |
| Sons |
Eamonn Flaherty Conor Flaherty John Flaherty Tommy Flaherty |
| Grandsons |
Eamonn Flaherty Jnr Declan Flaherty Carl Flaherty |
| Granddaughters |
Colette Flaherty Kylie Flaherty Mary Flaherty |
| Nephews |
Ian Beale Mark Fowler Martin Fowler |
| Sean Flaherty | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EastEnders character | |||||||||
| Portrayed by | Pat Laffin | ||||||||
| First appearance | 22 September 1997 | ||||||||
| Last appearance | 25 September 1997 | ||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||
| Home | Kilmoneen, Ireland | ||||||||
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| Wife | Maggie Flaherty |
|---|---|
| Sons |
Eamonn Flaherty Conor Flaherty John Flaherty Tommy Flaherty |
| Grandsons |
Eamonn Flaherty Jnr Declan Flaherty Carl Flaherty |
| Granddaughters |
Colette Flaherty Kylie Flaherty Mary Flaherty |
| Eamonn Flaherty | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| EastEnders character | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Maurice O'Donoghue | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 22 September 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 25 September 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home | Kilmoneen, Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
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| Family | Beale |
|---|---|
| Father | Sean Flaherty |
| Mother | Maggie Flaherty |
| Brothers |
Conor Flaherty John Flaherty Tommy Flaherty |
| Wife | Brenda Flaherty |
| Sons |
Eamonn Flaherty Jnr Declan Flaherty Carl Flaherty |
| Daughters |
Colette Flaherty Kylie Flaherty |
| Grandfathers | Albert Beale |
| Grandmothers | Lou Beale |
| Aunts | Pauline Fowler |
| Nieces | Mary Flaherty |
| First cousins |
Ian Beale Mark Fowler Martin Fowler |
| Brenda Flaherty | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EastEnders character | |||||||
| Portrayed by | Janet Behan | ||||||
| First appearance | 22 September 1997 | ||||||
| Last appearance | 25 September 1997 | ||||||
| Profile | |||||||
| Home | Kilmoneen | ||||||
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| Husband | Eamonn Flaherty |
|---|---|
| Sons |
Eamonn Flaherty Jnr Declan Flaherty Carl Flaherty |
| Daughters |
Colette Flaherty Kylie Flaherty |
| Colette Flaherty | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EastEnders character | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Shiona Redmond | ||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 22 September 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 25 September 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Home | Kilmoneen, Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||
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In 1997, the BBC soap opera EastEnders broadcast three singular transmissions that were filmed on location in Dublin, Ireland. The episodes involved the Fowler and Beale family travelling from London to Ireland to meet their long-lost relatives. They were badly received by viewers and heavily criticised in the media. The BBC was inundated with complaints from angry viewers from Ireland for negative stereotyping, portraying Irish people as "dirty, rude, and drunk". Complaints were made by the Irish Embassy and there were fears that the episodes would have a negative effect on the Irish tourist trade. The BBC was forced to issue an apology for causing offence.
In 1997, EastEnders aired a storyline in which the character Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard) discovers that she has a long-lost sister, Maggie Flaherty (Olivia Shanley). In the storyline, Pauline's deceased mother Lou had given Maggie up for adoption shortly after her birth, as she was born out of wedlock. Maggie is first said to be the result of an illicit affair Lou had with an Irishman 60 years prior, but although Maggie is initially thought to be Pauline's half sister, it later transpires that they share the same father too; Maggie was only the result of pre-marital sex between Lou and her husband-to-be, Albert Beale.
Pauline and various members of the Fowler and Beale family travel to Ireland to reunite with their long-lost relatives in a special week of episodes. The episodes were filmed on location in the countryside around County Dublin, away from the soap's typical filming location in Borehamwood, Elstree, England. They were filmed over a period of two weeks in July and August 1997, and were broadcast on 22, 23 and 25 September 1997. In the three episodes, Pauline is accompanied by her sons Mark and Martin (Todd Carty and James Alexandrou), Mark's wife Ruth (Caroline Paterson), nephew Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) and his daughter Lucy (Casey Anne Rothery). Speaking about their trip to Dublin, actress Wendy Richard who played Pauline said "It's nice to be in Dublin for a change. It's not like London at all, where they take you a little bit for granted", and Todd Carty, who played her screen son Mark, said "It's also really nice to get out of Albert Square for a while to do something different."
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