Doyle O'Flannegan:
Full Name: Doyle Paddy O'Flannegan
Date Of Birth: 18/06/1895
Height: 6'1"
Occupation: Sergeant In The PCPD
Alignment: Lawful Good
Next Of Kin: (Deceased)
Known Associates: Sebastian E. Crash, Chief M. Rappappaport, Doyle O'Flannegan, Lieutenant Biscotti, Militia Malone, Heimlich MacFrankenhauser
Distinguishing Features: Wise Eyes, Large Beard, Pale Skin, Kidney Spots, Shaking Lips, Irish Accent
Hobbies: Fishing, Potato-Breeding, Target Shooting, Playing The Ukulele, Irish Folk Music
Favourite Food: Irish Stew, Potcheen
Basic Bio:
Doyle O'Flannegan is one of Patriot City's elder Super Cops.
His words of wisom and keen sense of justice have helped shape the future of Patriot City.
He is a trusted friend and ally of Crash and Burn.
Back Story:
Doyle O'Flannegan was the first and only son of Diarmid and Liobhan O'Flannegan, two adventurous farm workers from Ballybunnion on the south west coast of Ireland.
In 1895 Diarmid discovered two new breeds of potato in their local soil, one which grew larger and the other more wholesome than their native peers. Seeing an opportunity for greatness, Diarmid and Liobhan (heavily pregnant with the baby Doyle) put all their money into transport aboard a steam packet, bound for America.
After a long and uncomfortable journey, they set foot on American soil and warmly greeted their new home.
Unfortunately the existing immigration structure at that time meant that they were promptly arrested and spent their first night in jail. Their first night was a memorable one though, as baby Doyle was born into their cell and had his first glimpse of their new home.
Before long the O'Flannegan's were able to secure work as farm hands and Diamid began ceaselessly trying to breed a new super-potato from the two obscure species he had brought from Ireland.
At the age of twelve, Doyle performed his first 'citizens arrest' - blinding a would be thief with a saucepan full of scalding water.
Doyle's early years were spent fishing and working hard alongside his mother as a farm boy. His father toiled night and day - endeavouring towards his dream world and the vision of his glorious super-potato.
Time Of Man
Sadly war came upon the world, leaving everyone feeling sullied and low.
Doyle was one of many brave young men who volunteered, leaping into the fray. Over time, Doyle became a strong and dependable soldier, earning himself a grand reputation for honesty and courage throughout his division.
In the course of time, Doyle was transferred to be an experimental pilot for what would eventually become the US Air Force.
Although little more than a rag-tag collection of biplanes and winged bicycles, the new 'flying' division began to have a serious impact on Austro-Hungarian forces.
With more than 400 kills under his belt, Doyle became the personal target of Manfred Von Richthofen AKA 'The Red Baron', who carried a portrait of Doyle with him at all times, referring to him as the 'golden lion'.
Victory came for Doyle though in 1918, whilst in a dogfight in Armeins.
Richthofen succeed in destroying Doyle's biplane, but the plucky Irishman leapt from the wreckage, seizing a Lewis gun and peppering the Baron's plane as he passed over head.
Doyle was never credited for this kill and refused to talk about it openly, regretting it deeply.
When he returned home from the war, he was a decorated war hero - a dozen medals upon his chest. His home however, was not as he'd left it.
Field Of Dreams
While away fighting the Bosch, Doyle's ageing father had become increasingly obsessed with his super-potato breeding project. For days at a time he would lock himself in his "lab" (which was a small potting shed at the end of their cottage garden) yelling incoherently at the potatoes he wished to splice.
His already fragile mind had begun to wane.
"Arr! Get in their ya we beggars!" he would cry. "Get together an' make make me rich, to be sure, so it is!"
It was time for Doyle to take control. Luckily he was able to find work for his mother at a local crumble factory while he helped his father to breed potatoes in his part time.
For the most part, Doyle enlisted in what was nicknamed the 'flying squad' - a newly formed federal police force, spearheaded by a certain J. Edgar Hoover.
It was here that Doyle came face to face with a new breed of criminal - meeting the likes of John Dillinger and Alvin Karpis. Perfecting his crime-fighting abilities, he was introduced to a world of forensic science and the inescapable trails left by violent wrongdoers.
War was a tide that none could avoid though and in 1939, Doyle was called to England's shores as a Captain overseeing the Royal Air Force's new initiative - 'Emerald Arrow'.
Emerald Arrow was dangerous but it's reward was priceless. As part of a four-man Irish crack team, Doyle's unit would be launched directly into the sky above Berlin. Parachuting in on Hitler's command, they would literally 'kick him in the Panzers'.
Tragedy struck though, as Doyle's unit was captured upon landing. Held in a German POW camp, Doyle received news of his family from the icy walls of Colditz.
His father, Diarmid, had died of hopelessness - never succeeding to breed his prized super-potato.
Using old boot laces and bits of shirt, Doyle constructed a flying machine in his cell, hiding it from guards by pretending it was a canvas for his life sized paintings of Hitler.
Although the end of the war was in sight, Doyle had his own agenda. Continuing with operation Emerald Arrow, Doyle launched his glider - soaring straight into the heart of Das Kapital.
Unbeknownst to all - Hitler had faked his death. Using a body double, he was planning to escape in a specially designed craft which would convey him to the moon. Once there, work would go ahead to build a second Reichstag, and a new master race of lunar Nazis.
A deadly battle occurred as Doyle cornered him on the roof of the Reichstag. A group of photographers were preparing to document his bold escape.
"Snap this," Doyle cried - socking Adolf in the jaw.
The moment was captured for all time, but Doyle was never one to take credit. He returned with many medals but preferred to leave the true demise of the great dictator to the darkened halls of memory.
The Shield
It wasn't long before Doyle settled back into law enforcement and excelled as a protector of the peace.
Much had changed in his time away but the stench of crime was still the same. Along the way he faced many new horrors, such as the Black Dahlia, The Zodiac and Charlie Manson.
He was soon invited by his old brother in arms to move to Patriot City and help tame that lawless city. In his first seven years as a PCPD officer he won the "Bootlegger's Nemesis Award" and a further 4 awards, the most prominent of which was for Operation Dostoevsky, which aimed to reduce the plague of Russian transsexuals in Patriot City.
Towards the end of his career with the PCPD, Doyle became a strong role model and was looked upon as a mentor and father figure by all of Patriot City's young officers.
Crash and Burn
It was while Doyle was returning from a fishing trip that he first met Crash and Burn - two young men with great prospects and conflicting personalities.
When the bus was hijacked by a gang of renegade midgets Doyle's first instinct was to act. However, although he tried to do so, something held him back, some sixth sense.
Watching, as fate seemed to command, Doyle saw a young Crash and Burn put aside their differences, working together to liberate the bus from the grip of evil
Just as the two men were about to part, Doyle stopped them, telling them of the PCPD and the city's want for good, honest cops.
It was there that O'Flannegan performed the ancient rights of Lady Justice, deeming Crash and Burn Super Cops - loyal knights in the order of righteousness.
Together they fought crime for many years, going on countless adventures.
Though always an officer of the law, he never forgot his service to his country - serving bravely in Korea and Vietnam.
Throughout the entire series, Doyle was one of the most popular characters in Shields of Justice, prompting many fans to sign a petition asking for a spin-off series.
This would never happen though, as Doyle was brutally assassinated in the two-part finale of Season 6. This prompted a spate of terrible suicides across the country and coined the phrase to 'Doyle out' - or to end one's life, in the longing for Doyle to return to their screens.
Writers brought Doyle back in the early Season 7 episode; Exploding Nuns of Fury. Returning as a ghost, loyal to the cause of the PCPD.
He later continued to appear as a ghost through Season 7 and also in the infamous "Origin" episode from Season 8 which was sadly never aired.
To this day, Doyle is fondly remembered alongside such fictional characters as Columbo, Ironside, Sherlock Holmes and Martin Luthor King.
Doyle O'Flannegan is played by Al Wadlan
