Joseph Laurence Lynch (16 July 1926 – 1 August 2001) was an Irish actor who had a long career in both comedy and drama. He provided voice work for children's animated series, in particular Chorlton and the Wheelies. He was latterly best known in Ireland for playing wily farmer Dinny Byrne in Glenroe on RTÉ television from 1983 to 2000.
Lynch was also a singer and songwriter, performing in the film Johnny Nobody (1961). He also recorded work by other songwriters, including Leo Maguire's "The Whistling Gypsy" and Dick Farrelly's "Cottage by the Lee", one of his biggest 1950s recordings.
Early life Born in Mallow in County Cork, Lynch attended the North Monastery Christian Brothers School. He had a number of other jobs before moving into acting and broadcasting full time.
Career Initially acting part-time with the Cork Shakespearean Company and at the Cork Opera House, by 1947 Lynch was acting full-time.
He was a founding member of the Radio Éireann Players and appeared in productions of Teresa Deevy plays among others. Between 1967–81, he acted onstage with the Abbey Theatre. During the 1950s he was responsible for a Radio Éireann show Living with Lynch, broadcast on Sunday nights — the first comedy series on Radio Éireann."First Radio Comedy Series1954". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Retrieved 27 August 2020
Lynch appeared in the popular ABC/Thames Television sitcom Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width (1968–70), and its spin-off feature film in 1973. Other notable film roles included The Siege of Sidney Street (1960), The Running Man (1963), Girl with Green Eyes (1964), The Face of Fu Manchu (1965), Ulysses (1967), Loot (1970), The Mackintosh Man (1973), The Outsider (1980), If You Go Down in the Woods Today (1981) and Eat the Peach (1986). In the 1970s, Lynch made regular guest appearances as Elsie Tanner's boyfriend in the long-running Granada TV soap Coronation Street.
In 1962, and again in 1977, Lynch won a Jacob's Award for his acting on RTÉ television.McGarry, Patsy. "Late writer Wesley Burrowes best remembered for ‘Glenroe’". Irish Times, 1 January 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2020
By 1979, Lynch was back in Ireland, and made his first appearances as Dinny Byrne in the RTÉ soap Bracken. Later the Byrne character would feature in the long-running RTÉ soap Glenroe.
Lynch quit Glenroe after he claimed to have been "shamefully treated" and offered "small potatoes" when he asked for a pay rise. He was also upset that he was not to get a pension. RTÉ disputed those claims. Lynch criticised RTÉ for preventing him from doing other acting work alongside Glenroe. "I was terrible restricted in RTÉ, they wouldn't let me off for anything, even commercials."
Lynch voiced the main antagonist, "Grundel the Toad", in the Don Bluth film Thumbelina, his final audio work before his death seven years later.
Filmography Film YearTitle Role Director Notes1960The Night FightersSeamusTay Garnett1960The Siege of Sidney StreetSgt. ToddRobert S. BakerMonty Berman1961Johnny NobodyTinkerNigel Patrick1963The List of Adrian MessengerCyclistJohn HustonUncredited1963The Running ManRoy TannerCarol Reed1964Girl with Green EyesAndy DevlinDesmond Davis1965Young Cassidy1st HurlerJack CardiffJohn Ford1965The Face of Fu ManchuCustodianDon Sharp1967UlyssesBlazes BoylanJoseph Strick1967RobberyLorry driverPeter YatesUncredited1969The Best House in LondonPolicemanPhilip SavilleUncredited1970LootFather O'ShaughnessySilvio Narizzano1973Never Mind the Quality, Feel the WidthPatrick Brendan Kevin Aloysius KellyRonnie Baxter1973The MacKintosh Man1st GardaJohn Huston1976Never Too Young to RockRussian SoldierDennis Abey1979The Saint and the Brave GooseCapt. FinniganCyril Frankel1979The OutsiderSean ThompsonTony Luraschi1981If You Go Down in the Woods TodayShepherdEric Sykes1986Eat the PeachBoss MurtaghPeter Ormrod1994 ThumbelinaGrundelDon BluthGary GoldmanVoice
Television YearTitleRoleNotes1958Theatre NightChristopher MahonEpisode: "The Heart's a Wonder"1959The Anne Shelton Show4 episodes1964No Hiding PlacePaddyEpisode: "An Eye for an Eye"1964CompactHennegan4 episodes1965Thirty-Minute TheatreKieronEpisode: "The Late Arrival of the Incoming Aircraft"1966RedcapSgt. O'BrienEpisode: "Crime Passionel"1966InsurrectionCathal BrughaEpisode: "Thursday, 27 April 1916: When We Are All Wiped Out"1966Armchair TheatreDes HumphriesEpisode: "Great Big Blonde"1967Ó DúillLiam Ó DúillTV Mini-Series1967SanctuaryMr. DalyEpisode: "You Can't Touch Me"1967The GamblersMulleryEpisode: "Read 'em and Weep"1967-1971Never Mind the Quality, Feel the WidthPatrick Kelly41 episodes1968Thirty-Minute TheatreMr. HillEpisode: "Eveline"1968The Jazz AgeFetchEpisode: "The Assassin"1969Love StoryEpisode: "Look Out! It's Margaret Mitchell's Solicitors!"1969All Star Comedy CarnivalPatrick Brendan Kevin Aloysius KellyTV movie1970Happy Ever AfterWiggyEpisode: "Come Back Stranger"1970ITV Sunday Night TheatreMichael O'ConnorEpisode: "Slattery's Mounted Foot"1972ITV Sunday Night DramaFinbar O'SullivanEpisode: "The Sanctuary Man"1973Crown CourtGeorge WillsEpisode: "The Night for Country Dancing"1973The View from Daniel PikeJim MurphyEpisode: "None So Blind"1973The FrightenersBob BlawEpisode: "Glad to Be of Help"1974ChildhoodMichael O'DonovanEpisode: "An Only Child"1974The Tommy Cooper Hour1 episodes1974The Playboy of the Western WorldMichael JamesTV movie1975Crown CourtEric FlynnEpisode: "Ring in the New Year"1975Rule Britannia!Paddy O'Brien7 episodes 1976-1979Chorlton and the WheeliesNarrator / Various Characters 17 episodes1976BreakdownDick CulverTV movie1976Whodunnit?Art SelbyEpisode: "A Bad Habit"1978-1980Coronation StreetRon Mather41 episodes1979Play for TodayStaceyEpisode: "The Out of Town Boys"1979Return of the SaintCaptain Finnigan2 episodes1979The Hard WayDevaneTV movie1980-1982BrackenDinny Byrne11 episodes1983The Irish R.M.Sgt. Murray4 episodes1983-2000GlenroeDinny Byrneregular
References
External links Joe Lynch at the Abbey Theatre Archive Joe Lynch at the Teresa Deevy Archive Audio clip from Radio Éireann's Living with Lynch