Peter Caffrey

The actor Peter Caffrey has died at the age of 58.
Best known for his role as Padraig in 'Ballykissangel', and also appeared in films including 'I Went Down' and 'A Love Divided'.
He also starred in the RTÉ series 'Bracken'.
Peter Caffrey moved to London in 1983 to further his acting career and went on become a familiar face on British as well as Irish television.
In 1992 he was diagnosed with cancer of the mouth, an illness which it was feared could end his career. However he staged a remarkable recovery and returned to Ireland where he starred in 'Ballykissangel'.
In the year 2000 however Peter Caffrey suffered a debilitating stroke, but planned to return to acting. He was cast as a publican in the independent film 'Sweet Dancer'.
As a regular on Ballykissangel over 5 series, Peter was one of the 'familiar faces' of the production. In recent years he has also appeared in Channel 4’s Fr. Ted , the acclaimed low-budget Irish feature I Went Down, and the BBC’s A Love Divided. He also features in the highly acclaimed feature Night Train (1999) with John Hurt.
Peter agreed to play the leading role of "Paddy" in the film "To Catch A Crow" having greatly admired the script.
Peter Caffrey first heard about To Catch A Crow in the summer of '98, having received the script through his London agent. Peter loved the story and immediately dedicated his support to the project, and luckily was available to come to Sligo for the weeks shooting.
To catch a crow is about a pompous English film crew arriving in a small village in County Sligo, in the north-west of Ireland to shoot a feature film. All the villagers want a part in the movie, or to make a few bob from the production, including Paddy, a local farmer. Unfortunately, Paddy's acting talents leave a lot to be desired, but then Martin, the props master, comes to Paddy and his brother Joe, looking for a crow to use in the film. They manage to catch a few crows, but the demanding film Director wants a yellow beaked blackbird. The blackbird proves to be a very difficult catch, and before long the whole village is out searching for the elusive bird. As time runs out before the shoot, the panic stricken film crew keep increasing the price on the head of the blackbird , and crow hysteria takes over the whole village...but who can catch the crow?

Sadly Peters health never fully recovered and he died on new years day in England.
He is survived by his sisters Linda, Sheila and Carol.

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Peter Caffrey