The BBC was inundated with complaints from angry viewers from Ireland for negative stereotyping, portraying Irish people as "dirty, rude, and drunk".
[2] In 1997, EastEnders aired a storyline in which the character Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard) discovers that she has a long-lost sister, Maggie Flaherty (Olivia Shanley).
In the storyline, Pauline's now-deceased mother Lou Beale had given Maggie up for adoption shortly after her birth, as she was born out of wedlock.
Pauline and various members of the Fowler and Beale family travel to Ireland to reunite with their long-lost relatives in a special week of episodes.
It's not like London at all, where they take you a little bit for granted", and Todd Carty, who played her screen son Mark, said "It's also really nice to get out of Albert Square for a while to do something different.
[4] They included Maggie Flaherty, played by Olivia Shanley, son Conor (Sean Gleeson) and his headstrong daughter Mary (Melanie Clark Pullen).
I was pretty starstruck [...] Wendy Richard who plays Pauline Fowler was great – she is the most wonderful woman and she quietly gave me advice on how to cope with the sudden fame and attention.
[7] Others were angered by the scriptwriters' decision to include various farm animals in a street scene on the outskirts of Dublin, with one viewer commenting to the Daily Mirror: "It was nothing like life in the real Ireland of today.
BBC contributor Mike Philpott described the show as "the worst case of stage 'Oirish' seen for a long time" and "one of the most shameful half-hour episodes in the history of British television".
[8] The angry reaction stretched from official channels, such as the Irish Embassy, to holiday chiefs, who feared that the episodes would have a negative effect on tourist trade.
Irish people can laugh at themselves but, the point is, this is one of the most popular programmes on British television, and it decided to present an image of Ireland that conforms to old-fashioned negative stereotypes.
Actor Garret Keogh, who played an "ignorant" Irish hotel owner in the EastEnders episodes, revealed: "The streets around Cabra, where I live, are hopping.
"[7][12] Complaints were upheld by the British Broadcasting Standards Commission, who said "the intention was positive rather than negative but the result was clumsy and irritating".
[9] The BBC said, "EastEnders has a reputation for showing slices of life in many different ways and sometimes these are not flattering",[7] but they admitted that the episodes were "ill-judged" and issued a public apology for causing offence and misrepresenting Irish people.
A year later, in 1998, BBC chairman Christopher Bland admitted that as result of the Irish-set EastEnders episodes, the station failed in its pledge to represent all groups accurately and avoid reinforcing prejudice.
[13] Margaret "Maggie" Flaherty is the illegitimate child of Lou (Anna Wing) and Albert Beale (Gary Olsen), before they married.
Whilst in Ireland, Maggie's lecherous husband Sean (Pat Laffin) flirts with Pauline, and is abusive to his granddaughter, Mary (Melanie Clark Pullen).
Sean leers over Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard)'s breasts and tries to buy her a drink, only to be told to leave her alone by Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt).
[14] Eamonn later tells Sean of his granddaughter Mary (Melanie Clark Pullen)'s affair with married man Gerry McCrae.
[15] Conor Flaherty, played by Seán Gleeson, is Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard)'s nephew – the son of her long-lost sister Maggie and her husband Sean.
Eamonn Flaherty, portrayed by Maurice O'Donoghue, is Pauline Fowler (Wendy Richard)'s nephew – the eldest son of her long-lost sister Maggie and her husband Sean.
According to the Kilmoneen hotelier, Patrick, Eamonn had been on the receiving end of his father's abuse as a child and was severely whipped with a belt for stealing chocolate.
Even though he is of aware of the potential repercussions, Eamonn informs his father that his niece Mary (Melanie Clark Pullen) has been having an affair with a married man, and Sean is furious.