Shay Gorman (born 18th April 1923 in Dublin, died 19th April 1999 in London) appeared on Coronation Street in two roles: firstly as Michael Regan, who in April 1961 was a short-term love interest of Concepta Riley; and he returned to the programme in March 1993 as John Finnan, the maternal grandfather of nurse Carmel Finnan.
Gorman was a committed trade unionist who was at the forefront of the Equity actors' strike in the early 1960s. After making a passionate pro-union speech which featured on BBC News, employers saw him as a troublemaker and work subsequently dried up for a period.
His acting career spanned over more than four decades and other television credits included roles in A Place of Execution, The Vise, Space School, Boyd Q.C., Dixon of Dock Green, The Mad O'Haras, The Flying Doctor, Danger Man, No Hiding Place, Knight Errant Limited, The Saint, Emergency-Ward 10, Softly Softly, Paul Temple, Z Cars, The Onedin Line, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, When the Boat Comes In, The Sweeney, Minder, Boys from the Blackstuff, The Bill, Covington Cross and Father Ted.
Film roles included Tim Driscoll's Donkey, Captain Lightfoot, The Big Money, Kill Her Gently, Nine Hours to Rama, Calculated Risk, The Eyes of Annie Jones, Island of Terror, Guns in the Heather, Ascendancy, Runners, Fords on Water and Angela's Ashes.
On stage, he appeared in productions of Measure for Measure, The Man Who Played God, Chicken Soup With Barley, Death of a Salesman, Romeo and Juliet, Timon of Athens, Richard III, A Touch of the Poet, The Playboy of the Western World and Translations. Due to failing health following an earlier diagnosis of a kidney tumour, his final theatre role was in a 1998 production of Philadelphia Here I Come at the Theatre Druid, Galway.
