Meet Tommy Donnelly

Lately, we have been focused on the campaign and the buzz around it but now we would like to take some time to reintroduce the Donnelly brothers. Yesterday, you were introduced to Kevin Donnelly portrayed by Billy Lush. Today we will introduce you to Tommy Donnelly.

Tommy Donnelly, the second oldest of the four Donnellys brothers, is portrayed by Jonathan Tucker . Tommy’s dream is to become an artist and he is the one brother who clearly has the talent and ability to be more than just another neighborhood thug. Unfortunately, Tommy is burdened by the fact that an impulsive decision made during his youth resulted in serious injury and a lasting disability for his older brother, Jimmy. Tommy’s guilt over his childhood mistake prevents him from escaping from Hell’s Kitchen and the crime and dangers that have become a way of life there. Instead, Tommy shoulders the burdens of those around him in vain effort to right the wrong that he has done.

Tommy bails out his brothers time and time again. Sometimes that means taking care of unpaid gambling debts and other times it means disposing of bodies. But Tommy’s responsibilities don’t end there. Tommy also looks out for his brothers’ tag-a-long friends and the other Irish families in the neighborhood and he makes a special effort to protect Jenny Reilly, his childhood sweetheart.

Throughout it all, Tommy demonstrates that he is a capable (though somewhat reluctant) leader adept at handling even the toughest problems. While this earns him the respect of both the Irish and Italians in the neighborhood (positioning him as the next leader of the Irish mafia), it creates a number of problems for Tommy personally. For instance, Tommy is forced to give up his dream of becoming an artist in order to look out for his brothers. In addition, Tommy’s relationships with his older brother and the woman he loves are seriously damaged as he becomes more and more involved in the life he tried to leave behind.

At the end of the day, Tommy’s intentions are good. His only goal is to make sure that the people around him are safe and happy. Unfortunately, Tommy is forced to do things that no one would want to do in order to protect those that he loves. As he encounters one impossible dilemma after another, Tommy is forced to choose the lesser of two evils in an often futile attempt to make the right choice and help someone else.

As Kevin, his younger brother, states, “Tommy, you got to stop helping people. It’s a bad thing.” While Tommy tries to do “right,” he quickly finds out that sometimes the “right” thing may turn out ‘wrong”.