Ali O'Shea

Infobox character
name= Ali Foley
portrayer=Doireann Ní Chorragáin
occupation=Single Mother
spouse=Lorcan Foley (deceased)
children=Lorcan Foley Jr.
family=Mick Mahoney (uncle)

Ali Foley (nee O'Shea) is a fictional character in the RTÉ soap opera "Fair City", portrayed by Doireann Ní Chorragáin. Ali is the niece of Mick and the widow of Lorcan.

Character;s background

When Ali met Lorcan Foley, she began a relationship with him and they were poised to cause some mischief in Carrigstown.When Kwame started selling drugs in "Carol's Club", Lorcan was escatic. Believing that he could give his new girlfriend Ali everything that she wanted if he was rich, Lorcan allowed Kwame to sell drugs in exchange for half the profits. When Sylvester Garrigan ordered Mick O'Shea to kill a Ukrainian gang member, he used his niece Ali as bait. Her job was to distract the gang member, Alex, long enough for Mick's henchmen to arrive and terminate him. Unfortunately for Ali, she was forced to have sex with Alex to keep him in "Carol's Club".

When Lorcan found out about this, he slapped Ali and blamed Mick for her infedility. Lorcan reconciled with Ali when she purposed to him. Infuriated by Mick's presence, Lorcan told Anthony Farrell, Garrigan's solicitor, to get rid of Mick. Mick reluctantly decided to leave Carrigstown, but he promised Ali that he would be there at her wedding. Although Ali feared that the Ukrainian gang was now stalking her, she and Lorcan made preparations for their wedding. On Lorcan and Ali's wedding day, it became apparent that Kwame had been arrested by the Gardaí. Mick agreed to take the drugs, provided that Lorcan never orders him around again. Lorcan reluctantly agreed and the wedding went ahead. It wasn't long before Ali was caught up in another terrifying scenario. The killing of Alex came back to haunt Ali.

When the Ukrainian gang discovered that Mick had killed one of their members, they kidnapped Ali and threatened to kill her if he didn't assassinate Garrigan. Lorcan was horrified but he was eventually persuaded to help with the assassination attempt. Carol and Garrigan were in a car when Lorcan appeared on a motorbike with the shooter. As the shooter was about to pull the trigger, Lorcan realised his mother was in the car and rode off. The shooter's aim was put off and the shot wounded Garrigan. However, he survived the attack and ordered Farrell to find those responsible. The Ukrainians were furious that Mick goofed up but, realising that Garrigan would have all his goons on their trail, they released Ali and fled the country. After recovering in hospital, Garrigan discovered that Mick was behind the assassination attempt and forced Mick to amputate one of his own fingers as punishment for double-crossing him. Carol Meehan, in an attempt to protect her son from Garrigan's wrath, offered herself to him. Garrigan accepted and told her that Lorcan was safe. An undercover Garda, Rory Goff, later infiltrated Garrigan's gang in 2006 and manipulated an unaware Carol into giving him information, by having a sexual relationship with her. Armed with this info, the Gardaí raided one of Garrigan's booze runs. They also found drugs which Lorcan was piggybacking on the booze run. Meanwhile Lorcan discovered that Rory was passing information to the police but thought he was a police tout and not a Garda himself. Garrigan was furious that Lorcan implicated him in drug-dealing and he ordered Lorcan to kill the undercover Garda. As the two men confronted each other, Lorcan fired the first shot, but Rory struck back with another, wounding them both in the process. When Carol arrived on the scene, she called for an ambulance and they were taken to hospital. Rory survived his ordeal, but Lorcan's days were numbered. When Carol and Ali convinced him to do the right thing, Lorcan made a complete death-bed confession to the Gardaí before he died in hospital. Garrigan suspected that Carol had betrayed him and decided to leave Carrigstown for the time being, but Detective Sergeant Byrne arrested him and took him to a Garda Station for questioning.

In the aftermath of Lorcan's funeral, Ali told Carol that she was pregnant with Lorcan's child. Carol subsequently broke up with Rory and warned him never to speak to her again. In 2007, Ali gave birth to a baby boy and named him Lorcan in memory of her deceased husband. Carol was overcome by happiness, but she was also saddened, as her son will never be able to hold his baby. Jimmy Doyle has taken on the role of a mentor to Ali, demonstrating his parenting skills to her and advising her to contact him if she ever feels alone, much to his wife Robin's annoyance.

Ali soon embarked on an affair with Jimmy. She even persuaded him to leave Robin for her, which he did. Jimmy's parents had a hard time accepting Ali into the family. Soon, Jimmy's feelings came back for Robin. The two women fought on many occasions but on one, Jimmy decided he was leaving Carrigstown. Ali acted as if she didn't care but she eventually begged him not to go. She was left heartbroken.

Jimmy later sold his shares in the garage and gave Ali 22%. Carol gave Ali her shares too, giving her the second largest amount before Paul Brennan. This has angered Robin. Ali was delighted when Mick was released from prison and came to live with her. After Carol was targeted by the Criminal Assets Bureau, Ali refused to speak to her as she had to charge Ali rent.

External links

* [http://www.rte.ie/tv/faircity/ali.html Profile of Ali Foley at www.rte.ie]