Isobel grew up in Glasnevin, Dublin, and her interest in drama began at an early age, because her mother was a drama teacher. She is probably best known for her role as Michelle in Glenroe, but is also a playwright and qualified psychotherapist.

Isobel writes regularly for Fair City, and is currently playing the role of Linda in the smash hit comedy play, Mum's the Word, currently showing at the Pavilion Theatre, in Dun Laoghaire. She lives in Dublin with her partner Mark, step-daughter Beth (22) and daughter, Jessica (4).

Mary grew up in Westmeath, and made her professional debut in The Philanderer.

She is most familiar to Irish audiences from her role as Biddy in Glenroe, and her upcoming roles include The Vagina Monologues, which will be playing at the Pavilion Theatre from 19 to 24 June, and a tour with her Glenroe husband Mick Lally in The Matchmaker. Mary's partner is the musician Garvan Gallagher, and she has a step-daughter Carla (24).

Isobel on Mary I first met Mary in 1982, when we were both cast in the play Semi Private at the Gate Theatre. She was already well established there, and was in the 'incrowd', whereas I was a total blow-in.

Mary was very composed and at home in the Green Room, but she was very friendly to me and we became friends.

Mary's a great seeker and is very independent-minded . . . she's a real pioneering spirit and is always checking out new things. When she started practising Buddhism, everything that she was talking about started to fall into place for me. She had started chanting, and I saw amazing changes in her. It seemed to me that she had found something that really worked for her, so I decided I was going to check it out too. We're still at it 19 years later. We both chant morning and evening, and there was a time when we went to a lot of Buddhist activities together, although we don't have the same time these days. It was great fun though, and we've made tremendous friendships through it.

Mary has so many amazing qualities, and she has a very broad view of life and an amazing generosity of spirit. She sees the potential and the best in everyone, and shares it with them. Her worst quality in the past was that she could be a 'Queen Bee' at times, but that doesn't really happen any more. Mary is so well able to command a stage and I really envy that about her . . . she's really confident and solid on stage whereas I'm really shy and still get very nervous. We always have a laugh when we're together, and one of the funniest things happened when we went on holidays to Magaluf years ago. We were lying there topless at the pool, and we woke up to find a big family around us, and they were saying, "Look children, there's Biddy and Michelle". We were mortified.

Mary is like a touchstone in my life, and we know each other's patterns and give each other advice. We are best friends, and we're both very lucky because we have a lot of deep friendships in our lives.

We're never up for the same parts professionally, which is great, because it would be very hard to be up against your friend. Mary has an amazing life, because she's a sheep farmer as well, and I love hearing about it. She's on stage on opening night one day, and the next, she's out delivering lambs.

Mary on Isobel Isobel and I used to call ourselves Meg and Shep because we were like two sheepdogs, and seemed to follow a similar path in life. When we first met, I hated her on sight. Ah, only joking, but I was really envious of her because she was gorgeous and blonde and petite. We got on really well from the beginning, although we only really started to pal around together when we were in Glenroe. Isobel came in two years after me, and we both starting practising Buddhism, so that was a common band as well. It was brilliant working together during those years, and my very last scene on the show was actually with Isobel.

I think that Isobel's worst quality is her lack of belief in her own amazing abilities.

She's a wonderful writer and a terrific actress, but she doesn't believe enough in herself. She's great fun as well, and we have a laugh together. Her stories about her little girl, Jessica, are always hysterically funny. Isobel is a great friend, and she has always been there for me. I can say dark things about myself to Isobel, even if I would feel too vulnerable to say them to other people. I know she wouldn't judge me, because she's both a counsellor and a Buddhist. We almost have a helpline to each other, and we both usually know how each other is thinking in a situation.

I was training for the Ladies Mini Marathon for months, and about three weeks beforehand, Isobel decided she was going to do it for MS. I was all worried about her, thinking she was going to be so unfit and would do herself an injury. We went for a run in Cabinteely park, and ran around once, and I told her to sit down and rest. On the day of the marathon, we were supposed to meet but it was impossibly crowded and we couldn't find each other. I trundled my way around the course in some obscenely long time, thinking she was miles behind me and, at the end, I rang her to see if she was okay. I couldn't believe it when she said she was already at home. She ran it in an hour and five minutes . . . you have no idea how much I hated her at that time. I know she's younger than me and is three stone lighter, but it was just typical of me . . . thinking I was minding Isobel when she was well able to look after herself!