Conor Flaherty

Name: Conor Flaherty
First Appeared: 22nd November 1997
Last Appeared: 22nd February 1999
Played by: Seán Gleeson

Conor Flaherty first made waves in Walford in 1997 when his aunt, Pauline Fowler, tracked him and his mother, Maggie Flaherty, down in Ireland. This reunion was a family surprise, as Pauline discovered Maggie was the sister she never knew she had. Conor, already dealing with a rocky relationship with his daughter Mary from his first marriage, saw his life take a turn when Mary decided to move to Walford with Pauline in September. Following suit, Conor arrived in Walford on December 1, ready for a fresh start.

In Walford, Conor took on work as a mechanic for Phil Mitchell and dabbled in some less savoury activities as a loan shark ‘heavy’ for Annie Palmer. Despite his efforts to win Annie’s affections, competing against Phil, Annie wasn’t interested. Conor’s love life took another twist when he fell for Ruth Fowler, the estranged wife of Pauline’s son, Mark Fowler. Their secret affair took a dramatic turn after an unprotected encounter left Conor panicking about the possibility of Ruth becoming pregnant. Despite Ruth’s protests, he insisted she take the morning-after pill, which she falsely claimed to do.

The affair ended, but Ruth did become pregnant, discovering this in January 1999. Deciding to keep the baby, Ruth’s condition was accidentally revealed to Mark by Mary, leading to a furious confrontation. Mark, feeling betrayed, attacked Conor before informing him of the pregnancy. Conor, trying to make amends, offered to resume his relationship with Ruth and raise the child together. This decision led to them moving to Scotland in February 1999 with Mary, seeking a new beginning away from the turmoil of Walford.