Pauline McLynn (born 11 July 1962) is an Irish character actress and author. She is best known for her roles as Mrs Doyle in the Channel 4 sitcom Father Ted, Libby Croker in the Channel 4 comedy drama Shameless, Tip Haddem in the BBC One comedy Jam & Jerusalem, and Yvonne Cotton in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. McLynn also appeared as a policewoman in Sky One's Trollied. Early life McLynn was born in Sligo, and grew up with two younger brothers in Galway. She studied History of Art and Modern English at Trinity College, Dublin, but was more heavily involved in the college's drama society. She graduated with an MA. Career Although McLynn was in her early thirties when playing Mrs Doyle in Father Ted, makeup was used to make her look far older to fit the character's elderly profile. She received a British Comedy Award for her performances in 1996. The award was presented to her by Tony Blair. Subsequent televised appearances included a similar elderly role in the "Yesterday Island" episode of youth sci-fi series Life Force, sketches on Bremner, Bird and Fortune, and panel shows Just a Minute, Have I Got News for You, and If I Ruled the World. In 1999, she appeared in the film adaptation of Angela's Ashes. She also appeared in Jennifer Saunders' Jam & Jerusalem. Between 2001 and 2003 she reprised Mrs Doyle in an advert for online tax return filing by the Inland Revenue. McLynn was critically acclaimed for her performance in the 2005 film Gypo, receiving an Irish Film and Television Award nomination for Best Actress. McLynn appeared in Shameless, which was produced by the British broadcaster Channel 4, as Libby Croker. In January 2011 it was announced that she had left the show, reportedly after a "difficult year". McLynn also played the role of Alice's mother in the Comedy Central show Threesome. She starred in Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield in 2011. McLynn played Mary Whyte in the BBC's 2013 sitcom Father Figure. In 2014, McLynn played the part of Evelyn in "Kiss for the Camera", a series three episode of the BBC comedy Pramface. On 12 May 2014, McLynn joined the cast of EastEnders as Yvonne Cotton, the mother of Charlie Cotton (Declan Bennett) and ex-daughter-in-law of Dot Branning (June Brown). After starting as a recurring character, McLynn quickly became a regular when