Combined they've spent about 45 years on Fair City and they're two of the RTÉ soap's most familiar faces: John Byrne talks to Tony Tormey and Aisling O'Neill about a show the latter describes as "so Irish . . . so Dublin".
And while O'Neill has been playing Carol for many years, Tormey's got the kind of soap opera stripes that are unbeatable as he's been in Fair City since the soap started on RTÉ One in 1988.
As serial womaniser Paul Brennan he's been involved – and that's the word – in many of Fair City's great affairs, as well as being party to various tussles, not least the current Brennan v Bishop spat.
To mark its 4000th episode, viewers can expect nail-biting drama throughout the week in Carrigstown when the Bishops and Brennan clans go head-to-head. Things will take a turn for the worst as the two long-standing and notorious families go to war and the ultimate betrayal is exposed.
Other storylines will include the departure of one of Carrigstown’s much loved regulars, the return of local thug Cathal Spillane and a shocking revelation concerning Katy's disappearance as viewers find out that Katy is alive.
"There have been other great stories," says Tormey, who was a mere 24-year-old when he first appeared on the long-running soap. "I've been lucky to have good stories but when you do something like this [a photo shoot for the 4000th episode] and you look back over the years you think of all the people who are gone.
"You know, the likes of Joan O'Hara [who played Eunace Dunstan] and Charlie Roberts [Paddy Clarke] - all these big characters. And they all had great stories. That's the great thing about Fair City: everybody gets their moment in the sun. And it makes me watch it, because sometimes I can't watch myself.
"And the reason I watch is because the stories are so good these days. What with Katy's going – that's coming to a head now, and that's a really big story as well. And then there's the stuff with Martina. She's going to be replaced. Then Dolores is going through her cancer stuff, and that was always heart-rendering."
One of Tormey's fellow cast members who knows all about strong storylines is Aisling O'Neill, who plays Carol Foley. She's been nominated for an IFTA award at this year's ceremony, following a traumatic time for the already long-suffering Carol.
"I've been in Fair City since October 1999," she recalls. "There's been a lot of twists and turns. She's really developed as a character, and we've watched her mature during the last 17 years. So it's been a pleasure, you know?
"She's become a woman. We've watched her mature over the arc of her life."
And viewers have been able to watch Carol develop because, in a rare case of long-term continuity on Irish television, Fair City has lasted nearly 30 years. And it shows no sign of stopping or losing its popularity.
"I think it's a testament to how popular the show is, and how good it is," insists O'Neill. "And it's watched by so many people. I think the wedding [when Carol married Robbie and she got attacked by her father Trigger] recently had 10% of the nation watching it."
Off the top of her head, she recalls a few of her own favourite Carrigstown moments. "Lorcan's death. Billy Meehan and Carol - that was a great one. And, I think, the wedding, Robbie and Carol, that was a big one as well. And the child abuse storyline. That was huge."
There's no doubt that Carol's recent admission that she was abused as a child by a friend of her father was a major Fair City storyline. Indeed, it must have played a pivotal part in Aisling O'Neill's IFTA nomination for her work in Fair City.
For Aisling O'Neill, it was a huge challenge for her as an actor, as well as showing that Fair City doesn't shy away from controversial issues, especially ones that are pertinent to the Irish experience.
"No it really hasn't, and especially recently when Robbie found out that Carol was abused as a child," she notes. "And I found that so interesting as an actress and I felt very blessed to have been given that storyline, even though it was dark.
"It explained so much of why she was the way she was. She's such a volatile character. She's so complex, and now you realise why. She's got this whole thing inside her, of what happened to her. And it's unresolved."
Rather than shoving matters like this under a mental carpet, modern Ireland is more about dealing with such matters. And O'Neill realised that she wasn't just acting out a fictional character's experience, but reflecting tragic similarities in the lives of real people.
"I was aware that there was a responsibility going with it. I try not to think about it too much, because I didn't want it to labour on me . . . so I just did it from the heart and put myself there as much as possible, and gave it what I had. And to be as honest and as sincere as possible, to give it respect."
That honesty and dedication to their craft has helped to make Fair City cast members such as Tony Tormey and Aisling O'Neill feel like familiar friends to viewers when they appear on our TV screens. A successful soap is all about creating characters and scenarios that, although dramatic, seem realistic for its fans.
The Fair City bottom line for Tormey is that "people can relate to it. Everybody has a bit of Fair City in them. Someone can relate to every single story. Though not the affairs – you won't get anyone admitting to affairs – you know what I mean?
"When you look back over the years, there's all these big stories and big characters, and recently I was asked by somebody who was looking at covers of the RTÉ Guide and TV Now and whatever, and it was like: 'God, do you remember that story?'
"Like the time when the child took the tablet and Harry Molloy killed your man, and then Harry killed himself. There's been all these big stories, and they were fantastic.
"The whole thing about what happens is that people are wondering: 'What would I do if I was in that situation?' Or if I'd cancer, or if my child was leaving me, or one of my children died . . .
"That's where it really works," he feels. "People can put themselves in these, and many other situations, while watching Fair City."
"There's something about Fair City," says a smiling Aisling O'Neill. "I think there's nothing as safe and as homely as Fair City," she adds, laughing. "It's like: have a cup of tea and watch Fair City. It's so Irish. It's so Dublin."
