Capital role as Laoishe becomes a City girl

AN Ennis actress has landed herself a role in Ireland’s favourite homegrown soap opera, Fair City.
Laoishe O’Callaghan from Corrovorrin Grove, the daughter of Mary and Eddie, has been living near London for over 10 years and says that she is delighted to have got acting work back in Ireland.
She made her debut in the show about two weeks ago, as Aoife, an old friend of Cleo’s. “I won’t say much about my character because most of who she is and why she is in Carrickstown has yet to emerge, so I don’t want to ruin the plot for anyone.
“But what I can say is that there is a lot more to Aoife than meets the eye and she has been given a really good storyline. She was unexpected on the street and isn’t altogether welcome yet,” she remarked.
Laoishe has been recording for Fair City since last month but the first scenes with her aired in the first week of July. Laoishe isn’t sure yet how long she’ll be in the show but is hoping that she’ll get “a good stint”.
“No-one is ever sure when they start in a soap how long they’ll be there for. I am loving it at the moment and my character and storyline are very interesting so I’ll be in Carrigstown at least for a little while anyway,” she added.
Laoishe said that she always loved acting and became very passionate about it when she was a student of Coláiste Muire and was involved in dramatic productions with Rose McNamara.
She was involved in the National Youth Theatre of Ireland for a number of years, which she explained gave her wonderful confidence and improved her acting ability.
She went on to study English and Philosophy in University College Cork, where she was also very involved with the drama society.
After graduating from college, she knew that she wanted to try to make a career in acting and she moved to England. She was in a number of stage productions in various theatres in the United Kingdom and finally landed her first television role in BBC drama series Doctors. She also acted in BBC crime drama series In Deep with Stephen Tompkinson.
This is her first TV role in Ireland and she is delighted to have the opportunity to work here again. “I did watch Fair City when I was living here and I loved it, and Glenroe of course. I had been in touch with RTE for some time after they had noticed me in some of my BBC work.
“I had a general meeting with them earlier this year and found out in May that they had a part for me. At the moment, I’m going over and back to England but who knows what way it will go in the future and I may end up living back in Ireland,” she added.
So far she has recorded scenes with Cleo Collins (Jenny Kavanagh), Wayne Molloy (Victor Burke) and Inspector John Deegan (Tommy O’Neill).
“The whole cast have been fantastic to work with so far. They have been really welcoming and are a lot of fun. Tommy O’Neill is a legend and a very funny person who is so easy to get on with. It is true that the cast are like a family and they have already included me, which is so nice.
“It is a lovely working environment and I think I’m noticing the Irish charisma and friendliness coming through a lot,” she remarked.
She is currently on a break from filming, but is due back to the set in August.
Laoishe was enjoying a well-earned holiday at home in Ennis this week but her new-found fame on Fair City seems to have escaped local attention so far.
“No, I didn’t get people looking at me twice going down the street. It takes time to get that kind of notoriety. My family are of course delighted to see me on Fair City and as always they are hugely supportive of my work,” she said.
She added that this Sunday night’s episode would give considerably more information about her new character. The soap airs four times a week on RTÉ 1, on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday at 8pm and on Wednesday at 7.30pm.