George McMahon, who plays Mondo in Fair City, and Rachel Smyth, dancer and choreographer, talk to Julie Lordan about work, family, life in Bettystown, and their shared passion for the arts.
George McMahon and Rachel Smyth have known each other for 20 years, have been married for four years, and are parents to two gorgeous children, Frankie (5) and her brother Kody (2). Both Dubliners, they have found their home and community in seaside Bettystown in Co Meath.
The couple take nothing for granted, aware they are blessed with how their lives have worked out. "Yeah, I’m very happy with what I’ve got in terms of my career and I have a beautiful family and a lovely home. We have enough to put a roof over our heads and have a nice holiday every year," says George.
Rachel agrees that in a as precarious as entertainment, they have been fortunate. "We consider ourselves very lucky that we have everything we want in life."
George is best known for playing Mondo O’Connell in Fair City and Rachel is a dancer and choreographer. It was through their work in show business that they met, as George recalls. "We were both doing shows, Rachel as a dancer and I was acting, and we all hung out together as a group. For myself and Rachel back then, it was a friendship. Well, maybe I fancied Rachel a bit more than she fancied me," he says.
"Well, I was in a relationship so myself and George were just pals back then," laughs Rachel. "But then we found our moment to get together."
Not only are they husband and wife, but they also work very successfully in training children and teenagers who want to get involved in the arts.
Rachel says the opportunities to dance no longer present themselves as frequently as they once did, as the next generation steps up and are given their chance. She is supportive of this and uses her skills and talent to teach in the local area, while George travels the country doing acting workshops, mostly with school students.
"Yeah, I go all around the country, and I really enjoy it. The focus is on acting as a career, and I talk about my own career, do some practical exercises, mock auditions and introduce students to acting as a possible career. If it’s not something that interests them, we also look at some of the skills that actors use that can transfer to any profession," explains George. "It’s changed now, and has become mainstream to have an interest in acting, even as a hobby."
"We have a love of teaching. For me, it’s something you do when you stop performing but still want to be doing something you love, and that’s where I am at with choreography," says Rachel.
She still has dance opportunities, but Rachel knows that long-term contracts are just not for her now that she has children. "I’m not as free any more but the odd corporate gig, where I get a day or two, are fine. But the classes I teach are local, in Naul and Julianstown, and two days a week, which is perfect for my schedule."
Neither of them grew up in particularly showbiz families, but both were encouraged to pursue their interests. "My dad was in business," says George, "and my mam was very much on the business end of things also. She had an artistic flair, for sure, but not as a career. From when I was 13 or 14, my mam was trying to find something for me that would scratch that itch but she was adamant that it had to be led by me, rather than her pushing me into something. So, I joined a stage school, and started getting gigs and going for auditions, and that was it."
"I have one sister, who is older, and she helped me when I set up my first stage school in Celbridge, very much the business end," says George.
"They definitely wouldn’t have had a stage school without one another," adds Rachel. "Then when we moved out here, his sister took over the school in Celbridge and it’s still going."
Rachel is the youngest of four girls from Santry in Dublin. "My mam put us all into dancing, for a break!" she laughs. "I did everything – Irish, ballet, jazz – I went to Billy Barry stage school. Then as a teenager I started auditioning and just knew that’s what I wanted to do. I have been very lucky in that I always had work," says Rachel. "Back then there was plenty of work; we went from one contract to the next: pantos, cabarets, tours to the States. We just kept ticking over, and living the high life."
Rachel never had an interest in acting, but George won’t let her away with not describing the time she stood in for an actor in a play in Limerick. "I did, and I have so much respect for acting, but it’s not for me," she says. "She was brilliant," interrupts George. "She brought the house down with her performance." "I begged George not to watch me, but found out later that he got front row seats," says Rachel.
It will come as no surprise to anyone who meets their daughter Frankie that the little girl will follow in her parents’ footsteps. While Kody is still too young, Frankie, who is in her first year at school, attends ballet and Irish dancing classes, and is also is a pupil at the Billy Barry school. "She loves it and we will continue supporting that as long as she is happy. She’s well able to tell us what’s for her or not, even at five years of age," laughs Rachel.
"It’s a tough world, but if it is what she wants, we would support her. I think Frankie is going to be 'something’, with or without our input. It’s written for her, as anyone who has met her will say," says Rachel.
Neither George nor Rachel are huge fans of social media, especially when it comes to putting up images of their children. "We’re kind of old-school, and we should probably invest more in a social media presence but there is a side to it that still frightens me," says George. "And I’m private, even though I am often encouraged to do more publicity, but it’s not me," says Rachel.
George has had steady work in Fair City for 22 years. "Having that security for an actor is the exception to the rule," says George. "Usually, actors don’t know what they will be doing in six months’ time, but with my role in soap drama, I can plan a little better. I still feel like I’m new in there though, but as long as they still have stories for Mondo, I’ll want to tell them," he says.
"They have never failed to come up with new storylines for my character – the teen pregnancy was what kicked him off. Mondo was the bold boy done good. He was the cheeky chappie, but now he is someone who is trying to set a better example for his daughter, and make sure she doesn’t make all the mistakes he used to make," he says.
George recognises the importance of having long-running characters in a soap. "There’s a need to keep that continuity, and I know that viewers take comfort in seeing familiar faces," he says. It’s particularly important when a character is going through a hard time. Even though Mondo is being neglectful of his partner, Kira, who is cheating on him, viewers will probably be rooting for him."
Kira is now having regrets about her affair with Victor, so it could all come right for the couple – George is giving little away, but he is certainly enjoying the drama of it all.
George’s take on what his favourite storylines through the years changes with time. "There was a storyline where Mondo was falsely accused of sexual assault. He was ostracised and he had to fight for his good name. It was a very challenging time for Mondo, but my absolute favourite has to be the very first one when he was going to be a father, and he didn’t know if Kira was going to stay or go, so he was alone, crying, and I still remember that heartbreaking Christmas episode," says George.
For George and Rachel, real life certainly doesn’t imitate art, as they happily gather up Frankie and Kody and head for home.
