Conor Flaherty

Conor Flaherty is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, who was played by actor Seán Gleeson from 22nd September 1997 to 22nd February 1999. The character first appeared in a special week of episodes set in Ireland, the first broadcast in 1997.

Storylines
Flaherty first appeared in 1997 when Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard) tracked down his mother Maggie Flaherty (Olivia Shanley), who was her long-lost sister. Conor also had a daughter, Mary Flaherty (Melanie Clark Pullen), the three of them moving to Walford with Pauline. Flaherty soon started working as a mechanic for Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) and as a loan shark 'heavy' for Annie Palmer (Nadia Sawalha). Eventually, he falls for Ruth (Caroline Paterson), his cousin's wife, Mark Fowler (Todd Carty). After a brief affair, Ruth is impregnated by Flaherty, leading to Fowler beating up Flaherty. Flaherty and his daughter would both move to Scotland after this, leaving the show.

Casting
Colm O Maonlai had auditioned for the part of Conor Flaherty but lost out to Gleeson and was later cast as Tom Banks.

Reception
Merle Brown from the Scottish newspaper The Daily Record commented that Conor and Mary were "two of the most irritating characters" in the soap, and she was not happy that they were moving to Scotland.