Glenroe legend Geraldine Plunkett on show's shock cancellation, death of co-star and ageing

The actress, who played Mary McDermott-Moran on Glenroe, opens up about the early days on the RTÉ drama and when it was cancelled - and how ageism is the last "ism" people face in life

Geraldine Plunkett is best known for playing Mary McDermott-Moran on Glenroe, but to others she will always be Fair City’s Rose O’Brien.

She never expected Glenroe to become a national phenomenon before it was cancelled by RTÉ in 2001.

Her newest role is the Dublin ambassador for Age Friendly Ireland as she dispels some of the misconceptions around getting older in this country.

Read more: Fair City's Liam Carney still has fans shouting 'Where's Miley' after iconic Glenroe role

Read more: Fair City's Tony Tormey on life with wife and adult kids - and he addresses his future on the show

Geraldine told RSVP Magazine: "We didn’t [expect Glenroe to be such a success]. The first contract was for two years, more or less, so it was a slow-ish start to the show.

"By the end of the second year it had become enormously popular and it went on and on until it ran its course."

When RTÉ ended the show in 2001, it came as a shock to Geraldine and the rest of the cast.

She said: "It was a shock because they didn’t tell us at the end of the previous year that the next series was going to be the final one.

"It was in the middle of the year when we found out, so it was a bit of a shock for us. But life moves on."

Sadly, she lost one of your Glenroe cast members Emmet Bergin. He passed away in March.

Geraldine said: "He was a terrific person and extremely versatile. He was no more like his character of Dick Moran than I’m like the man on the moon.

"He was a great actor, he was very cultured and he was a great reader.

"Away from the show, he was a great fisherman and a wonderful photographer. He did masses of acting work on stage and in movies as well."

Emmet was "lovely" work with on set.

Geraldine said: "I’d known him since our early 20s, before we both were cast on Glenroe. We worked very well together on the show. We were very lucky."

Dr. Richard Hogan said previously that ageism is the last “ism” that people will face in life.

Geraldine said: "Yes, absolutely. What’s the alternative to living longer, dying young? I’m one of the Dublin City Age Friendly ambassadors.

"The idea for everyone to get together and exchange the positives that go with ageing. There are a lot of positive things attached to ageing and one of them is that you often feel much younger on the inside than your outside looks [laugh].

"Also, everyone is going to get old. If we’re lucky we get the chance to get old.

"We need to make the younger generation aware of the things we need to make ageing more comfortable. For example, more seats at a bus stop."

For Geraldine, there are misconceptions about ageing.

She said: "Not all old people are the same, just like not all young people are the same.

"It’s presumed that old people love bingo, and while some of them do, it’s a stereotype. We can’t all be stereotyped as one humongous mass because we’re all different from each other."

Geraldine is the Dublin ambassador for Age Friendly Ireland, championing ‘Positive Ageing’.

Read the full interview with Geraldine Plunkett in this month’s issue of RSVP Magazine, on shelves nationwide now

Join RSVP Live's WhatsApp community to get celebrity news and our top stories