Tractor driving skills landed Mary iconic role of Biddy

It was her ability to drive a tractor rather than her acting skills that landed Mary McEvoy the iconic role of Biddy in Glenroe, she says.

Speaking to RTÉ's Joe Duffy on The Meaning of Life, Delvin native Mary said that she was the “third choice” for the part of farmer Biddy in the RTÉ soap that was a huge hit with viewers in the 1980s and 1990s.

The reason she was cast in the role, she believes, was because of the skills she acquired growing up on the family farm.

“..I could drive a tractor. That's the only reason. I was third choice. I have no illusions.”

Due to the stunning success of Glenroe, Mary and the late Mick Lally, who played her on-screen husband Miley, were catapulted to national fame, much to their discomfort, she says.

“We didn't like being recognised. Mick Lally...don't call him Miley, he did not like it.

“I didn’t like it either. I’ve relaxed about it. I still don’t like being called Biddy simply because it’s not my name.”

Over the years, she has learned to “roll” with being someone in the public eye.

“..You’re always at a disadvantage because somebody knows you and you don’t know them.

“You could walk into a room and everyone will know you and you don’t know a soul and there is something very primitive about the feeling, of being hunted or something. It’s a very strange one.”

Mary spoke candidly about living with depression, saying that “it doesn't leave”.

“I think people confuse unhappiness and depression because you can be a happy person, but you can be depressed.

“There are times when it really gets me. It got me good in January now, and anxiety as well. I suffer a huge amount of anxiety.

“Funnily enough, the most relaxed place would be something like this or doing the Today show or on a stage, or anything that’s a completely controlled environment,” she told Joe Duffy.

The much loved actor also revealed how she almost a victim in the Dublin bombings in May 1974.

“There was a shampoo I wanted in Shop and Save on Talbot Street. I also wanted to buy a remnant from Hickey's. I decided that I would get the remnant before I got the shampoo and the bomb went off outside Shop and Save. That decision saved my life.”

Mary's appearance on The Meaning of Life can be watched on the RTÉ player.