Daragh O'Malley

Daragh Gerard Marion O'Malley (born 25 May 1954) is an Irish actor, director, and producer. O'Malley is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Patrick Harper in the series Sharpe (1993–2009) starring with Sean Bean although O'Malley has appeared in a number of other films, major television shows, and stage productions throughout his career. Career O'Malley began his acting career with roles in the films The Long Good Friday and Withnail and I. O'Malley went on to star in over 100 UK and US television series, including Tales of the Unexpected, Waking The Dead, and Vera, as well as appearing in TV roles in Longitude, Cleopatra, and The Magnificent Seven. O'Malley also played Irish explorer Tom Crean in the epic eight-part television series The Last Place on Earth. O'Malley also played the crooked lawyer Nick Varago in the multi million selling George Lucas interactive game "Grim Fandango" In 2011, O'Malley shifted his focus to the stage, appearing in productions in both the US and the UK. In recent years O'Malley has appeared in over a dozen stage productions, including a revival of Dancing at Lughnasa, where he played Father Jack, which was nominated for an MTA Best Production Award. He followed this by playing John Rainey in a London revival of Irvine's Mixed Marriage, which received positive reviews and which The Guardians Michael Billington called " the most compelling play in London" . In 2014, O'Malley appeared as Big Daddy in a production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at The Royal Exchange Theatre Manchester, for which he was nominated for an MTA Best Actor award. UK's The Stage selected O'Malley's performance as one of the Top Five Performances in UK theatre in 2014. In 1968 O'Malley's father, Donough, as Minister for Education introduced Free Secondary Education in Ireland which is credited with the subsequent massive upsurge in the Irish economy. O'Malley's mother, Hilda, a doctor, was the inspiration for the much loved poem and song "On Raglan Road" as well as eleven other Patrick Kavanagh poems. In 2019 "On Raglan Road" was voted Ireland's All Time Favourite Song in a National poll.