Seamus and Maggie McFly

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Back to the Future character
Seamus and Maggie McFly, with son William
Seamus and Maggie McFly
Date of birth	1860s
Age (1885)	Mid-twenties (approx)
Age (1895)	Mid-thirties (approx)
Gender	Seamus: Male Maggie: Female
Hair color	Seamus: Reddish-brown Maggie: Brown
Eye color	Seamus: Blue Maggie: Brown
Played by	Seamus: Michael J Fox Maggie: Lea Thompson
Voiced by	n/a

Seamus and Maggie McFly are fictional characters in the Back to the Future films. They are Irish by birth and together with Seamus' brother Martin moved to the United States from Ireland in the 1880s. They are Catholic.

Seamus and Maggie appear to be in their mid-twenties to early-thirties, placing their birthyear in the late 1850s/early 1860s. They emigrated from Ballybowhill, Ireland and immigrated to the USA, where they live and work in a farmhouse 14 miles outside of Hill Valley, California, together with their son William who was born in April 1885. He was "the first McFly to be born in America". The couple work hard on their farm, often going into town - where Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen aside, they are liked by all the townspeople.

Seamus is an optimist, who usually looks on the bright side of life - he will, however, walk away from a fight rather than being goaded into one. This is not because he is a coward, but because he knows it does not matter what other people think of him. Also, he remembers how his brother Martin McFly (who always loved getting into fights) had been killed in Virginia City after getting into a fight.

Seamus also likes unusual hats, one of which he gives to "Clint Eastwood" (in reality, his future great-great-grandson Marty McFly).

Maggie is a no-nonsense woman, not prepared to take any mess from anyone, and is also a very practical woman. Despite this, she loves her husband and their son William dearly and is a caring woman, ready to help those in need.

Maggie, despite looking like Lorraine Baines McFly, is not directly related to Lorraine but merely looks a bit like her (due to actress Lea Thompson playing both roles). It has been suggested that the McFly men are always attracted to women who look like Lea Thompson.

[edit] Pre-Back to the Future

Seamus, Maggie and Seamus' brother Martin left Ballybowhill, Ireland in the early 1880s with hopes of a better life. They gradually headed west, eventually ending up in Hill Valley, although it is unknown exactly when they arrived there. Since William is a few months old by September 1885, and the townspeople know the McFlys quite well, they may have been living in Hill Valley for a couple of years by 1885.

They either lived in, or passed through, Virginia City, Nevada before arriving in Hill Valley. It was there that Martin McFly lost his life - whilst trying to prove that he wasn't a chicken, he was stabbed in a saloon with a bowie knife. This had an effect on Seamus as well, who remembers his brother and tries not to make the same mistake. Seamus encourages others to learn from Martin's mistake and not let what other people think of them take over their lives.

After settling into Hill Valley, local outlaw Buford Tannen took a dislike to Seamus for some unknown reason, and tells Seamus not to step into the Palace Saloon. Seamus however does not appear to take much notice of Buford, and indeed the two men do not actually encounter each other in Back to the Future Part III'.

[edit] Back to the Future Part III

Seamus and Maggie are first seen in the film when Marty McFly, who has time travelled back from 1955 (and is originally from 1985) crashes into their fence whilst running from a bear. Seamus found Marty unconscious and he and Maggie took him in, putting him in their bedroom whilst he recovered.

After Marty woke up, he discovered who his great-great grandparents were. As he couldn't tell them his real name, he called himself "Clint Eastwood". Seamus in particular had a feeling about Marty, that they should look after him - especially after seeing Marty hold William, who normally hates strangers. Seamus and Maggie let "Clint" stay in their barn overnight, after telling him about his friend Doc Brown being the local blacksmith in town. The next morning, Seamus gave "Clint" a lift to the railroad tracks into Hill Valley.

They went into town themselves 2 days later for the Hill Valley festival, which was celebrating the arrival of the new Courthouse clock. There, they met "Clint" again (who had found Doc by this stage). Buford Tannen showed up and after trying to shoot Doc, challenged Marty to a duel by calling him chicken. Seamus and Maggie overheard this and afterwards told Marty the story of his namesake Martin in Virginia City, suggesting to Marty that he start thinking about his future.

Seamus met Marty for the final time on Monday, September 7, as he arrived into town to watch the duel between Marty and Buford. His "funny feeling" had returned, making him feel he had to be there - "as if my future had something to do with it". Whilst the other bar patrons are trying to get Marty to go out and fight Tannen, because otherwise he will be a coward, Seamus encourages Marty to make his own decision. Marty realises that it doesn't matter what people think of him, and decides not to fight Tannen.

Marty has to end up in a duel with Tannen anyway, this time to save Doc rather than prove he's not a coward, and he defeats Tannen by using his mind instead. Afterwards, Marty gives Seamus his unused gun - "worth $12, never been used" - and Seamus decides to trade it for a new hat. Marty's final word to Seamus is to take good care of their baby.

Back to the Future Characters

The McFly Family Marty McFly | George McFly | Lorraine Baines McFly | Jennifer Parker | Seamus & Maggie McFly | Dave McFly | Linda McFly | Marty McFly, Jr | Marlene McFly

The Brown Family Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown | Clara Clayton Brown | Jules Brown | Verne Brown | Einstein

The Tannen Family Biff Tannen | Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen | Griff Tannen

Other Characters Mr Strickland | Marshall Strickland | Match, Skinhead & 3-D | Goldie Wilson | Douglas J Needles