Gary Lydon, Banshees Actor, Dies at 61

Award-winning Irish actor Gary Lydon has died suddenly at the age of 61, his death confirmed on Sunday and prompting an outpouring of tributes from the theater and film communities.

Lydon, best known internationally for his role as the menacing Garda Peadar Kearney in the 2022 Oscar-nominated film The Banshees of Inisherin, had built a four-decade career across stage and screen. In the Martin McDonagh-directed black tragicomedy, he portrayed the abusive father of Barry Keoghan's troubled character, Dominic Kearney. His television credits included Patrick Murray, the counselor on RTÉ's The Clinic from 2003 to 2009, a role that earned him an Irish Film and Television Award for best supporting actor. He also appeared as Chief Superintendent in the series Love/Hate, Inspector Stanton in the 2014 film Calvary, Si Easton in Steven Spielberg's War Horse in 2011, and Mr. Farrell in Brooklyn in 2015 alongside Saoirse Ronan. Additional roles featured in The Guard and Pure Mule.

Born in London in 1964 to Irish parents, Lydon moved with his family to Wexford town in southeast Ireland at age nine. He initially pursued a business degree but took a gap year that led him to a local theater...