You can contact Lochlann in C/O Lorraine Brennan Management
Unit 22
Greenmount Industral Plaza
Harold's Cross
Dublin 6W
Ireland
Thanks to Mary Frances from Lorraine's office for the address.
NOTE: even though Mystic Knights is not shown in the US, you may be able to catch the first season reruns in other countries. Ive heard is was shown last year in Ireland, Germany, France and Malasia, so you never know... it just might pop up again.
Saban/FOX did not take the show off to make room for Pokemon or Digimon, or any other of those shows, it was taken off air for other reasons I am not allowed to say here. But I can tell you this much, it sure wasn't the ratings that caused one of my favorite shows to go offair. The ratings were brilliant, tis just a shame that some big wigs dont see that, they only see the money thing.
Character name: Rohan/Draganta
Knight of Fire
Armour Call: "Fire Within Me!"
Weapons: Sword of Kells, Dragon's Breath Dagger, Battle Gauntlet
Armour: Gold and Red
Character Discription: Rohan is the leader of the Mystic Knights and the first to gain his armour. He was orphaned as a child. After he was found wandering the streets, alone and hungry, he was taken to the King's Druid, Cathabad, and became an apprentice to the Druid. When the Druid discovered the tatoo on Rohan's arm, he realized that his young apprentice was the chosen one mentioned in the ancient scrolls. Rohan was destined to find the warrior Draganta and bring 1000 years of peace to the Kingdom of Kells. Rohan embarks on his journey to retrive his Mystic Armour, after being granted his Mystic Weapon by King Fin Varra. He travels to the Ice Caves to battle the Ice Lord of Temra, who wields the Black Ice Sword. After defeating the Ice Lord of Temra, Rohan is granted his Mystic Armour. While continuing his search for Draganta, he comes to discover that he is the fabled warrior.
Along with his friends and fellow Mystic Knights, he continues to battled Queen Maeve to free the Kingdom of Kells. During his fight to free Kells, he meets a warrior named Lugad, who bears the same Mark of Destiny on his arm. He comes to learn that Lugad is his half-brother, but Lugad does not want to believe it, thinking that it is a trick. Rohan then learns a little later that Maeve also bears the Mark of Destiny, thereby signifying that she is Rohan and Lugad's mother. He is seriously wounded in a battle with Lugad and comes very close to dying, but Garrett saves him with an Elixir of Vitality. When Maeve takes over the castle of Kells as her own, Rohan fights her in the throneroom and wins.
Thanks to Amber for her discription of Rohan.
Here you can read articles that were printed in RTE Guide and the Irish Sun about Lochlann's role in the famous soap opera 'Glenroe', which made him a household name in Ireland.
The show is now off air, RTE decided to cancel it after 18 wonderful years because of ratings falling off. (which I cannot believe, because those who I talked to said the show was doing grand, and that the fan following was still strong. but since I am not head of RTE, I cannot say much, just that it was a good show and it's a shame they had to pull it off.)
I will update as I get more articles/info on the show and his character, Hoppy Crosby. I am also going to be doing a picture page of all the roles he's had to date, so stay tuned for that as well.
TAKE A LOCH AT THE NEW GLENROE HUNK
Ex model steps in as Hoppy
September 2000
By Kathryn Rogers
Former male model, Lochlann O’Mearain has been lined up as the new heart-throb of RTE’s top soap, Glenroe.
The 26 year old hunk is the newest recruit to the series which returns to our screens after a four month absence this weekend.
Tanned, blue-eyed Lochlann from Killiney in Dublin, is taking over from actor Glenn Mulhern who left the soap at the end of the last series.
He will now play popular Glenroe character, Hoppy.
“I don’t know if it’s a good thing stepping into someone else’s shoes like that, “ Lochlann admits. “People can kind of resent you. I know I did when new people arrived like that in Home and Away.”
“You kind of think you’re being taken advantage of. It’s like, ‘Did they think I wouldn’t notice’?”
Lochlann trained as a chef and worked in the kitchen trade for about five years before studying for a diploma in drama in Trinity College.
“I just fancied my chances,” he says. “I didn’t get the diploma in the end. “They asked me to leave.”
“I was studying theatre and I’ve never worked in theatre since I left.”
Lochlann joined the Assets Modeling Agency before being hired for the role of ‘ultimate hero’ Rohan in the 52 – part American series, Mystic Knights Of Tir Na nOg. “It was a great education working five or six days a week and 13 hours a day.” He recalls.
Lochlann went for auditions for Glenroe several months ago and was thrilled when he was chosen for the part of Hoppy.
He joined the cast and crew when filming resumed on the show at the beginning of this month.
“I’ve just done a scene having a pint with Stephen Brennan and we can watch it back on the monitors afterwards. I have to say it’s very weird seeing yourself in the telly.”
He is looking forward to his Glenroe debut when it hits our screens on Sunday. “All my family is as well.” Says Lochlann.
“My granny died several years ago and the last thing she told me was ‘try and get a job in Glenroe.”
“You just can’t get any bigger than Glenroe in our family.” He adds.
HOP SPRINGS ETERNAL!
Lochlann O'Mearain might be a former chef, but in his new role playing Hoppy in Glenroe, he's sure to be cooking up a storm.
By James Dunne
He's being called soap's latest dish. Which is quite an appropriate description of Lochlann O'Mearain, as he worked as a chef for 5 years before finally hanging up his apron to concentrate full-time on acting.
Now this 26 year old Dubliner is well on his way into the big time, having just landed the plum role of Hoppy in Ireland's top soap 'Glenroe'.
He takes over the part from Glenn Mulhiem, who left at the end of last season and viewers will see him make his debut on Sunday, September 3, when the series returns for its regular slot.
He is certainly being thrown in at the deep end because in the opening episode, he comes up against the formidable Dick Moran (played by Emmet Bergin).
Fans will recall that Hoppy, the son of Venetia, has reported his mother to the Revenue Commission’s for having illegal offshore accounts.
He reckons that Tricky Dickie only named his mum for the money and is determined to stop him getting his hands on it, even if it means shopping his mum.
He's not against his mother- just Dick - and will do anything to stop him. I'm very lucky to have landed this role. It is great working with an actor like Emmit Bergin and terrific that I get involved in some very emotional stuff right from the beginning."
"Dick is so angry that I shopped my mother that he travels to Dublin to see me. I'm with my sister, Jennifer, when he calls and he tries everything to get me to change my mind. But I'm not listening to anything he has to say. I'm convinced that all he wants is my mother's money and that's why he married her. So despite his presentations, I'm having none of it. It's pretty hot stuff and I thoroughly enjoyed the scenes."
Lochlann got interested in acting while he was studying in Trinity College and ended up in the Dublin Youth Theatre. But it wasn't until he was training to be a chef in Galway that he finally took the acting bug seriously.
"I have no regrets giving up my career as a chef, unless of course, I could have become the next Jamie Oliver! Now I just cook to impress the ladies."
"It's great being part of the Glenroe team although I've no idea how long I'll be around. I'll just take it one day at a time."
"I originally auditioned for a role as a new love interest in the series, but failed to get the part after being called back three times. The day after, they rang back to offer me the role of Hoppy. That was my lucky break, I was in the right place at the right time."
He has been signed up for 8 episodes, so he is already discovering that acting is not exactly a stable job.
"I've been a chef in such restraunts as Roly's and Fitzens and you learn early on that you don't last long in any job unless you're good."
"The other actors in Glenroe are very nice and made me feel most welcome. I thought it might have been a bit intimidating at first, bit it wasn't. They really are like one big happy family and could not have been nicer."
"I'm certainly enjoying myself. Some days are better than others, but today is certainly good."
DON'T WORRY,BE HOPPY
September 2000
Donal O'Donoghue meets Lochlann O'Mearain, the new Hoppy
A couple of months back, Lochlann O'Mearain got in line with a bunch of 'Glenroe' hopefuls. New characters were being sought for the rural soap opera, and the 26 year old from Killeney in Dublin fancied his chances. And why not?
Tanned, blue-eyed and handsome (one of his former occupations included a stint as a male model with the Assets agency), O'Mearain successfully negotiated a brace of auditions before things took a dramatic twist. Glenn Mulhern, who played Hoppy, hopped out and Lochlann stepped into the breach.
A graduate of the Dublin Youth Theatre, O'Mearain later studied to be a chef at Galway RTC where he joined the college's drama society. After working in the kitchen trade for about five years, he made a leap into the dark and a diploma in Theatre Studies at the Samuel Beckett Centre in Trinity College, Dublin... sort of.
"I didn't complete it," Lochlann frankly says. "They asked me to leave." Er... why? "It was for punctuality, you really have to comply with the rules. I did everything for the diploma that was required up to the last term of the second year, including the final show."
Diploma-less, Lochlann knuckled down to the real thing, working with Down 2 Earth theatre company where acrobatics and physical theatre became his forte, eventually leading up the role of Rohan (the ultimate hero) in the 52 part Fox TV series Mystic Knights Of Tir Na nOg. "It wasn't a break as much as raw experience," he says, "I didn't get any spin-offs from it."
He has been working on Glenroe since the beginning of August, and on the day we met, the fourth episode was about to be wrapped. "It's very fast and there's no messing about." O'Mearain says with slight awe. "I'm really enjoying it and it's nice to be alongside people like Bobby Carrickford and Emmet Bergin."
He has wrapped himself up in the facts and foibles of his new character. "Hoppy's good fun but a little bit narrow-minded about a lot of things." he says. "He’s also a bit sly but I can't see why he is not getting on with Dick Moran: they have so much in common." In any case, Lochlann's looking forward to his primetime debut. "And all me auntie’s in Sligo are as well." He adds. "They are delighted. Venetia is a big hit with them."
As for future plans, Lochlann's not saying. Maybe he doesn't want to put a jinx on his career but he is keeping busy outside of Montrose. "You have to really," he says. "Nothing is definite." Then again, maybe he really is being serious when he says that five years down the line, "an organic farmer in Westmeath," could be where it's at. Or perhaps he has been hanging out with Miley Byrne too much.
Lochlann O'Mearain's Group
