From the Rovers to the Railway

FAR removed from the cobbles of Coronation Street, Castlefinn saw two stars of the long-running hit television soap opera visit the small Donegal village at the weekend.

Those attending The Railway Tavern for Sunday dinner were star struck when Mikey North, who plays Gary Windass and Tanisha Gorey who plays Asha Alahan, popped into the local eatery.

The Railway Tavern, co-owned by musician Christopher ‘Chrissie Mac’ McGrath and his fiancé Terence Lafferty, were delighted to welcome the duo for a bite to eat.

Terence said, “Chrissie’s manager, Brian Cunningham is also the manager of a lot of famous people from across the water, including a lot of Coronation Street stars. We know Mikey, Tanisha and a few others from the soap because of that and we knew they were in Clonmany for an event. We invited them down for Sunday lunch and, to be honest, didn’t expect the invite to be taken up but sure enough, on Sunday morning they called and said, ‘we’re on our way.’”

Not wanting to start a frenzy, Terence and Chrissie kept the news under wraps right up until the moment Mikey and Tanisha walked in the door, much to the surprise of locals.

“The moment they walked in, the whole place turned to see who it was; there were a lot of surprised faces I can tell you. We said to everyone that the two of them were in for some food and could they not disturb them and, to their credit, everyone left Mikey and Tanisha alone to enjoy their meal. They didn’t come to work and, at the end of the day, they’re just normal people.”

Fed and watered, the Corrie crew were then more than happy to mingle with the locals, chatting away, taking photos and pulling pints! It was all topped off when Christopher dusted off the guitar and treated the whole place to a song.

Now the dust has settled, and everyone in the Railway Tavern has a ‘do you remember the day two people from Corrie came in?’ story, Terence says he’s delighted that his famous guests came and dined in the Tavern, concluding with “They’re welcome to make a (Rovers) return anytime!”