Kieran O'Reilly

Kieran O'Reilly (born 3 September 1979) is an Irish actor, musician and producer.

He is also the songwriter and lead vocalist of the Irish alternative rock band, Hail The Ghost.

He is best known for his controversial role as Detective Garda Ciarán Madden in RTÉ's hit crime drama, Love/Hate, and his role as 'White Hair' in the Emmy Award-winning television show, Vikings.

O'Reilly was born Kieran Mark O'Reilly and is a twin.

He grew up in Dublin, Ireland, and was educated at St. Kilians National School in Tallaght and Synge Street CBS in Dublin's City Centre.

On leaving school, he worked as a clerk in the Special Detective Unit in Dublin and in 2000, he enrolled in the Garda Síochána (Ireland's National Police Force).

He was stationed at Pearse Street Garda Station in the city centre where he worked in uniform and then in the District Drug Unit.

He was then transferred to the National Drug Unit based in Dublin Castle, where he sometimes worked undercover.

Kieran O'Reilly is reported to have worked on more than 500 police investigations and was the lead investigating detective in the D.P.P. - vs - Sunny Idah case.

Idah was convicted of conspiracy to import controlled drugs into Ireland from Brazil and was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

O'Reilly also infiltrated 'Gangland Limerick' whilst living as a heroin addict, in one of the most high profile long-term undercover drugs operations in An Garda Siochana's history.

He was also involved in the seizure of €29 million worth of cocaine which resulted in lengthy prison sentences for both Gareth Hopkins and Abraham Shodiya.

Kieran O'Reilly began playing music in 2003, teaching himself how to play the drums.

That same year, he joined Dublin pop/rock band, Doris.

O'Reilly was a central figure in the band's development and assisted in the releasing of the band's first two singles, "Will I Ever Learn" and "Stop".

During O'Reilly's time in the band, they were selected by Hot Press Magazine to have a music video shot for "Will I Ever Learn" in conjunction with the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University.

O'Reilly left the band in 2007.

O'Reilly formed White McKenzie in 2010 with a group of friends.

He was the sole vocalist and songwriter for the band.

In 2011, in only the band's third live performance, they played in the final of the Shercock Battle of the Bands competition, competing for a place to play in the Glastonbury Festival in the UK; however they missed out on the top prize to Irish blues band, Crow Black Chicken.

O'Reilly and friends later released a 7 track Mini Album/E.P. entitled Absence.

The sleeve image for this E.P. was provided by Rob Hann (New York City).

In November 2011, Jackie Hayden of Hot Press Magazine chose Absence as his "Pick of the Fortnight".

White McKenzie also opened the Kildare leg of the First Music Contact Tour on 9 November 2012, sharing the stage with Squarehead, We Cut Corners and The Lost Brothers.

White McKenzie released their single, 'Heatseeker' in late 2012, shortly before the band broke up.

Sensing band members were moving in different directions, O'Reilly decided to leave the band.

In 2013, O'Reilly auditioned for a part in the RTÉ crime drama, Love/Hate, securing the role of Detective Ciarán Madden.

He first appeared on Irish television screens on 12 October 2013 as part of the opening sequence to Episode 2 (Love/Hate Season 4) playing the part of an undercover cop posing as a drug addict ("Heggo").

This role caused some controversy amongst top ranking officers, in particular, the then Commissioner, Martin Callinan.

He ordered an inquiry into O'Reilly's appearance in the show, despite the fact that O'Reilly had not infringed any regulations of the Police Code of Conduct.

O'Reilly featured in Irish newspapers for several months and despite being transferred to The National Immigration Bureau, was cleared of all matters in 2014.

O'Reilly's acting debut was well received by the Irish public and he was credited as a natural talent.

His Love/Hate co-star, actor, Brían F. O'Byrne, praised O'Reilly's acting, stating, "He has a rare natural talent. As an actor, Kieran possesses an ease, a fluency and creativity on set that belies his novice status".

He was also described by Love/Hate creator, Stuart Carolan, as "a pretty amazing actor".

The Sunday Times journalist Liam Fay wrote: "...but its initial believability has been enhanced by a strikingly rough-edged performance from Kieran O'Reilly, a real-life undercover Garda".

O'Reilly filmed Love/Hate Season 5 in 2014.

He is currently a member of the Bow Street Academy for Screen Acting.

O'Reilly joined the cast of Vikings in 2017 playing the role of 'White Hair' across Seasons 5 and 6.

O'Reilly's character met his demise in what has been described as the best one-on-one fight in the history of the show, when 'White Hair' took on lead actress Katheryn Winnick who played 'Lagertha', in what would be 'Lagertha's' last battle before being killed herself by 'Hvitserk'.

The fight sequence was shot on location in Ireland over several days with both actors reportedly doing all the stunts themselves.