Has six children: Kate (b. 1962), Christopher (b. 1964) and Susannah (b. 1967) from his first marriage, which ended in 1976. He has three other children from his marriage to Sally, namely: Lucy (b. 1980), Joe (b. 1982) and Sam (b. 1985). He attended Belcamp College, Dublin as a boarder before going onto University College Dublin (which he did not finish). He got his first big break playing Father Sheehy in the RTE weekly soap "The Riordans" (1965) in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1998, he won an Irish Film and Television Academy Award for best leading performance for his role in "Amongst Women" (1998). He also won a Silver Nymph award at the Monte Carlo TV Awards.Father of Susannah Doyle .