John Byrne meets up with Fair City star Maclean Burke as the RTÉ One soap celebrates its 35th anniversary and his character faces some testing times that could completely change his life.
Maclean Burke is one of those faces that’s synonymous with Fair City, RTÉ One’s long-running soap that’s currently celebrating its 35th anniversary. And it's no wonder.
After all, the guy’s spent nearly two-thirds of his life playing Carrigstown local Damien Halpin; a decent, well-intentioned chap whose short fuse can sometimes get him into trouble.
And although the Fair City set has been part and parcel of the Montrose landscape for many decades, it’s still kind of weird to see him wander into the Oasis, the beverage and snack area in the centre of the RTÉ building known as Stage 7.
I’m tempted to shout ‘Hey! Damo!’ at him, but he turns around just as I’m about to call out, and a gentle wave suffices to grab his attention. I think I also remembered to smile.
Post-lockdown, like many workplaces, the Montrose site’s a changed place. With remote working a reality for many (plus the odd redundancy here and there), there just aren’t as many bodies about the place on a given day.
You can’t do a TV show by remote working though – and it’s especially quiet around the Fair City lot now as autumn recording on the show hasn’t begun.
That means Maclean’s in here on his own time for a chat with RTÉ Entertainment. And he gives so generously of that time that we talk for quite a while.
First up, he looks back on his time so far on Fair City, how he's changed (or not!) over the years, his relationship with his Carrigstown character Damien Halpin, and how getting older does not necessarily generate any greater insight or wisdom.
John Byrne: Hi Maclean. I nearly called you Damo! In all fairness you’ve basically grown up on Fair City, eh?
Maclean Burke: It’s funny. Every so often people would go: How long are you in it there? And only recently I’m like, I’m there over a quarter of a century. It’s just wild.
I started when I was in my teens, and I’m 46 now. I think I was 17, 18-years-of age when I started. And it’s gone in the blink of an eye.
I remember when I first started off, with an eight-week contract. I was away in the States. I'd just finished Saving Private Ryan and I’d an invite over to a thing in New York, and the agent said to me - she rang me, I remember it was close to the summer - and she said: Look, there’s a thing on RTÉ. And I said, I can’t do it as I’m heading off.
And she said: It’s only for eight weeks, and I said: What is it? It’s Fair City, and I said, Nah. I’m not going to get into it because I want to do this in the States. She said: It’s only for eight weeks, they’re going to pay you X amount of money. And I went: R-r-right.
Back then I think the dollar was nearly 2.5 to the pound. It was something crazy. And I went: Okay, that makes sense. And then, life takes over.
Another thing I found weird was, when younger actors come in and go: Mac, what do you think of the thing that’s . . . And I go: What are you asking me for? And then I look in the mirror and go: Awww . . . I’m that old dude now. (Laughs)
You assume that with age comes knowledge and wisdom. But, as far as I’m concerned, I’ve just ended up as an older version of myself. How about you?
For me, I don’t think I’ve ever grown up. The age in my head versus what my body is trying to tell me is 26. I don’t think I grew up any more after 26. I still think I’m able to do everything. Still think I can jump off everything and go swimming and go diving.
It’s wild. And it’s funny because when I started you had the likes of Jim Bartley and Tom Jordan, and all those elder lemons. Jim and Tom were like the kingpins of the show at that time.
We looked up to them. And you did learn great knowledge from them. And their work ethic was phenomenal. Just how they operated.
You learned an awful lot about how to work the camera, for example. There’s a lot more to it than just standing there and saying your lines, you know?
So, with time - in a lot of senses - I’ve become one of them now. When young lads come up now, they go: Please, can I ask you a question? And I’m going: Please don’t! (Laughs)
One of the first things you learn as an actor is that you’re going to be unemployed a lot of the time - but being on a soap for three decades marks you out a bit differently . . .
I’ve been - touch wood [and he does] - I’ve been very lucky. I’ve managed to manoeuvre around and get to do other things. I really enjoy doing the pants each year. I do the pantomime in the Olympia Theatre in Dublin every year and then there’s other stuff. Some voiceover work.
Unfortunately, I had a Netflix thing booked for the summer, and it fell through with dates in the end. That's the killer. And it was something I really wanted to do. It was one of the biggest shows in the world. But it was a dates thing. And that happens a lot.
So you’d be looking to exploit the space that exists in the Fair City schedule?
That’s the bread and butter. Fair City is my number one priority because it’s what keeps the fire burning.
There’s been a few ups and downs over the years with RTÉ recently cutting back on the amount of episodes. And, of course, there was the much-publicised scraps over contracts and wages down the years.
How are things behind the scenes nowadays?
I think we’re in the same position as everyone else (in RTÉ) at this stage. You sign a contract for a year and then you hope that it comes back the following year. I don’t know.
It’s an interesting time for RTÉ and you just hope that Fair City is a strong enough vehicle for the powers that be to want.
It’s lasted 35 years! That’s wild! Previous RTÉ soaps such as The Riordans and Glenroe are held up like televisual totem poles and neither of them lasted anywhere near that long . . .
It’s remarkable. What I’ve found over the year is that - for example - I’ve walked into surgeons’ offices. I remember one time in particular, when I smashed up my shoulder.
I came off a mountain bike. I was mad into sports back then and I was a bit wild anyway. And this time I ended up in a tree and completely shattered my shoulder.
So anyway, I went in to see a surgeon and he goes: Maclean Burke . . . Ah! It’s yourself! Damien!
Thank God, I said to myself. And he goes: I love the show! It’s brilliant! And then he says, We’ll have to do something with this [referring to Maclean’s shoulder]. He goes: When are you free? And I say: I’m not. I said I’m free this weekend and then I’m back in work on Monday.
He says: Okay.
It was during the time we were doing that big story with Suzanne and Damien, it was about spousal abuse. It was a very big story at the time. And I had to be back in work on the Monday and this had happened on the Friday or the Thursday.
And he goes: Okay. Leave it with me. Give me your number. So I gave him my number and left the office. And about half-an-hour later he rang me and said: Right. Come into Vincent's [Hospital] in the morning at nine o’clock. So I was in at nine and by eleven o’clock I had the surgery done. And I was back in work on Monday.
My point was that there’s no one demographic that watches Fair City. You have surgeons who watch it. You’ve doctors, you’ve nurses, you’ve teachers, you’ve fellas in after bricklaying all day. They’ll say: You lot have me plagued! My mot’s been watching it for years. But they’ll tell you what’s going on.
Or you’ll get the lad saying: I don’t watch it myself - but come here, what’s going on with your man Paul Brennan and that one?
For me soaps are like the heavy metal of TV shows. Heavy metal fans tend to be hardcore and take it very seriously – and soap fans are just as devoted to their soaps.
You either love it or hate it. There’s no middle ground. But it’s funny, being on the telly that length of time - and genuinely, people that don’t even watch it - by osmosis they’ve seen you. They know you. It’s just a familiar face.
The obvious response to that is: how weird is it to be that familiar to the general public? But it’s not weird to you. After all, you know no different.
At this stage I couldn’t tell you. I don’t even notice myself and that’s being honest. I’ve grown up with it.
But everything is different now with streaming services and hundreds of satellite channels.
Back when I started, you only had six or seven stations. And RTÉ was still the king of Ireland - you know what I mean?
Certainly, when the likes of Tony Tormey, Jim Bartley and all of those heads had started, they were proper Irish stars. It’s not the same now.
But then again, I think Fair City is the strongest performing programme on the RTÉ Player.
What I always say about soaps in general, is I think for punters watching it, it’s about sitting there and going: Aw Jayze, I know we’ve a few issues but at least our lives are not as bad as that!
You’re just above reality. It could be their neighbour that’s up to that. And I think that’s half the battle. And certainly, from Damo’s point of view, he’s had some wild stories. Silly madness. But in general he tends to reflect the everyman of Ireland.
I remember, in the downturn in particular, he was a builder by trade. That story, when Ireland hit skid row in 2008, his life reflected what was going on for a lot of people out there.
It was interesting to see that and I think people found - not solace - but at least they realised that they weren’t on their own.
Has Damo helped you at all in your own life?
Not really, no. Because I’d be a lot calmer than him.
That’s why they call it acting, eh?
Yeah. I want to give his head a wobble - just the way he reacts to things. I’d probably be a little more thoughtful.
Now we all have moments when we react. But Damo, because of his history, he definitely has a bit of fire in him.
But he tends to very low key until he gets poked one time too many - and then he explodes. Without thought.
We hear he’s going to be implicated in the upcoming fire - presumably you know what’s going to happen next?
I do and I don’t. I don’t actually know what’s going to happen to him long-term. We’re back filming in a month’s time and we’ll be jumping back into the story.
There’s a huge history between James and himself. James Rafferty has screwed him more than once. It’s a complete sell-out because Damo has been anything but underhanded. He’s kind of open.
His main concern was not a fire. It’s about, Why are you [the Garda] not doing your job, finding the killer of Laura? And it all culminates in the coming weeks. It’s building into some storyline!
Part two of this interview will be published on rte.ie on Saturday September 14.
Fair City continues on RTÉ One on Sunday and Tuesday nights at 8pm, Thursdays at 8.30pm and Fridays at 7.30pm and on the RTÉ Player.
