And no ambition, he says.He tells Suzanne Power about leaving behind a life on the farm for a life on the stage, and about missing his days as Miley on 'Glenroe' HEwould describe himself as being dangerously devoid of ambition. "I think I am too calm, " he admits, "to a fault.

There is very little I feel is worth exploding about, or that would be different if I had exploded. I don't rationalise about it all that often, but now I am asked I have tof" He puts a forkful of mashed potato into his mouth and chews deliberately before answering. "I am just not the temper-losing type. In most parts of my life I am dedicated to the collaborative effort . . . stage, screen, family. I have to get on with people. So I am far too laid back . . . to the point of being horizontal. I'm optimistic. You have to be when you are an actor; you have to believe everything will turn out for the best."

As Mick Lally's 61st birthday passes he finds himself in agreement with most of the decisions the young man he was took: "That young man was a shy person. They say acting is a shy person's revenge and it was true in my case, but it was not revenge. It was a help into the world. That young man knew to do what he wanted with his working life and he wasn't worried too much about money or position. That's the advice I'd give anyone his age now.

"For so long in Ireland we've had a history of the wrong people doing the wrong jobs. Permanency, security and pensions were crucial. That's why we ended up with a lot of misery in our society.

There were a lot of square pegs in round holes. Some of the problems we have now are a spin off of that.

This dogged pursuit of career, to the detriment of our lives, is a mistake.

"I've never had a career. To call what I do a career is wrong. It's so broken and sporadic.

"I am playing a man full of regret now. A man who walked out on his family and lives with the consequences of that on his return. I don't have those regrets because I did what I wanted.

"I'm not as accepting as I would appear having said that. I would be a contrary individual at times. It doesn't get much public expression."

Mick Lally is one of the founding members of Ireland's most successful theatre company . . . Druid.

He's travelling all over the country now with The Year of the Hiker, a Garry Hynes-directed interpretation of the John B Keane play.

It's just finished a run in Tralee and the reception has him on a high. A high for Mick Lally is a smile.

Does he worry at all?

"Yes, about money, health, and my three children. But so far so good, things have turned out fine and I really have the best of children. They're all in their mid-20s.

Still living at home. They can stay as long as they want as far as I am concerned. I wouldn't want to put them out these days; the rents have gone so outrageous. We have plenty of room from them and thankfully they are good young citizens. None of them are actors.

And they wouldn't ever be forced to be anything."

While they were teenagers he was still working on Glenroe and he got to spend a lot of time with them.

"Yes. The thing with teenagers was to remain comrades. I have spent a lot of time with the children. In the Glenroe scheme of things we tended to work either very late days or very early ones. So I would have had a lot more time with my children than most working fathers."

He admits to missing the Glenroe days. "To be frank, there's no point in disguising it, I miss the regular income. It was a very enjoyable programme to do and they took it off right at the time they should have been developing it into a programme which runs two or three times a week. I would have said that even if I was never in it at all."

What does he say to the rumour that there was talk of reviving the series?

"Ah that'll not happen. If they put it back on again they'd have to admit they were wrong to take it off. When a decision like that is made in RTE it's much like the pope has made one in Rome."

At the height of it all, when every second Irish home tuned into Glenroe on Sundays, he found the status of playing Miley . . . who to this day is his most recognisable character . . . "a bit of a nuisance. I met a man at a fleadh ceoil in Lahinch once who told me poverty was no disgrace, but an inconvenience, and fame was something similar. I found that to be correct."

Since Glenroe ended he has spent much of his time in theatre.

"And almost everything I've done has ended up as a tour. The country has venues that are crying out for theatre to come to them and the Arts Council needs to look at that. They've allocated a couple of million to help fund tours, but that's also to cover exhibitions as well as theatre. You begin to wonder what planet they are on! It costs so much more to get a group of actors on the road. We need to have an active look at it."

He has what he describes as "an odd schizophrenic thing about touring. I enjoy being on the road, but then at the same time I hate being away from home. If I'm free at night I am very much a stay-athome type. I rarely go to the pubs in Dublin at all. For most of my married life I've been like that.

"The most significant moments in my life were nothing to do with acting. They were meeting my wife, Peigin, and having our three children."

What was it he admired in the woman he has shared his life with?

"Her willingness to talk about anything as a person, not making the distinction that she is a woman. She has travelled. She lived in Denmark and regards it as the best country in the world. The Danes speak their mind and so does she."

What does he enjoy doing most when he's not working?

"I'm a great idler when I get a chance. When I'm working I can work like mad, but I can relax very easily given the chance."

The outside world came to him via his father's wireless. It was a rare opportunity that took him out of the world in which he was born: "My grandfather emigrated to America. He didn't leave until he was in his 60s and widowed. Within two years of arriving in Cincinnati he had married again and was settled for life. So he thought of helping the bit of family left behind and he decided it was his duty to educate the firstborn grandson.

"There was no secondary school in Tourmakeady, where I am from. The nearest one was in Ballinrobe 15 miles away. So I was sent to boarding school in Galway to be educated.

"That changed the course of my life. I would probably have ended up running the farm. It was unheard of for a small farmer's son to continue his education past primary. If he did it would be for one year, sort of an Irish finishing school! So it did set me apart and my mother warned me of that. I have retained my buddies but I was regarded as different from that point on.

For a time, while he was acting, he taught in secondary schools.

"Funnily enough, when I was teaching I was more seen to be different by my old friends. An actor can be anything or one, a teacher is middle class and settled. And then with Miley, when they saw me letting on to be a farmer, I became less separate. The old buddies liked that.

"I did not mind the work but I certainly do not have the idyllic view of farming that certain writers in the south of Ireland have. It was very boring. And not being able to hear the All-Ireland because I was out on the bog used to break my heart. I'm more a sports fan than a farming fan I suppose."

Garry Hynes, his current director and longtime friend, is one of those people in his life who has made all the difference.

"She has a reputation for being tough and I do not know a single good director who isn't. She is a wonderfully warm person. I'm sure she has forgotten a documentary done on her where she was asked the question, 'You have a reputation for being very severe on your actors.' And her reply, after a pause . . . 'Well I work with very demanding people and my role, as a director, is to articulate those demands.'" Their longstanding friendship had its birth in the desire to form a theatre company to put Galway on the map.

"In the early years we staggered from play to play, wondering what we were going to do next. Then suddenly it took off. In 1977 it really hit the big time!

He chose to stay in Ireland when it was not an easy choice for anyone and a harder one for an actor: "It wasn't that I dug my heels into the old sod deliberately. I just left my heels where they were.

And so it goes on. Mick Lally and his endless stream of stories of a life dedicated to broadening horizons, devoid of any ambition.

"The radio gave me the curiosity about the world. My family had one of the first wirelesses in the area. We were in a small part of the world, but we were part of it no less. I come from a rich background where the men and the women were open to everything."

It meant he never felt out of place, no matter where he went.

The only time he ever felt intimidated was moving to Dublin. He was frightened of the Dublin acting scene, full of people he had only read about in the papers.

"But it was all in my head. The only time I did not work was for two months while Darragh, my second lad, was about to be born. I just didn't want to be touring then. And I thought I would never work again."

A thought that never materialised. Mick Lally believes in following God's example in more than one way. He loves his work and wants to do it after death, wherever that theatre is.

Sundays are also sacrosanct and dedicated to rest: "I will drop, sleep 14 hours."

'The Year of the Hiker' will visit Tralee, Cork, Ennis, Letterkenny, Dun Laoghaire, Longford, Newbridge and Portlaoise. Contact your local theatre for details.