Father MacAnally
a.k.a. Father Mac
Age: 65 (at the time of the series premiere)

Milo MacAnally was born in Bellevue, WA. He grew up as part of a large Irish family. The church was always a very important part of his family's life. It was, as it is with all Irish Catholic parents, his parents' dream that one of their children would become a priest. Milo realized his parents' dream, and was, therefore, the "golden child". He made the decision to become a priest after his brother's fatal climbing accident.

Father Mac has been the priest at Our Lady of the Sea for the past 40 years, during which he has performed 102 weddings. He has a love for whiskey.

Before Daniel comes along, Father Mac had become complacent about his religion. In a strange way, Daniel's presence on the island reignites Father Mac's fire. He looks upon Daniel as a younger version of himself--when he was full of passion and hope and desire to meet the challenges of having his own church.

Father Mac has an enormous ego. He interprets Daniel's youth as a kind of threat. In this world, where ageism is the latest discrimination, he wonders if his congregation will look at Daniel and wonder if, perhaps, a younger priest would help to invigorate Our Lady of the Sea.

Deep down, Father Mac is an artist. He writes the annual community play, but no one knows it. It is his one artistic outlet, and, oddly, his writing is very close to that of a romance novel. He will come to see Daniel's ability to get up in front of his congregation and sing and play music as the artistic outlet he never allows himself to share with others. He believes that if his congregation was aware of his artistic bent, they would not give him the same respect. In his mind, the two don't mix.

Where Daniel is flexible and willing to see the other side of things, Father Mac is rigid. He mostly believes "my way or the highway". He's more than willing to tell Daniel what to do, calling it "advice". Deep down, the two clergymen do admire each other, but Father Mac's lack of tolerance for any other religion keeps them from truly being colleagues.

Has a difficult relationship with Alex. When Alex's father left, Father Mac tried to fill the role of surrogate father to Alex and Laura, but when Alex became rebellious in her teens, Father Mac had no skills with which to deal with her, and Alex found herself on her own. Just when Alex needed Father Mac most, he stepped back, unable to deal with the raging hormones of a 15 year old. Alex and Father Mac are actually very much alike. They both speak their minds, have very little tolerance for bullshit, and are hard-headed. As much as opposites have conflict, people of like personalities--when they're as strong as Alex and Father Mac--find much to keep them apart. In many ways, Father Mac is befuddled by Alex's lack of faith. He still remembers her as that sweet little girl who made her first Holy Communion in his church.

Father Mac liked it when it was a one church island and wishes it were again. He's not a bad guy, just a guy who has not truly met the challenges of his congregation. The times have changed, but Father Mac has not been able to change with them. He holds to his beliefs, because, if he did not, his world would fall apart.