Martin Brownlow was the first love of Myra McQueen. Martin embarked on a life of crime, which Myra tended to overlook out of love for him. In 1980, Martin was arrested by police officers Jack Osborne and Officer Lacey and received a prison sentence. Whilst in prison, Martin was stabbed to death by a prison inmate. Myra was pregnant at the time and gave birth to a son, who she named Matthew, abandoning him at St. Eustace's Catholic Church at her mother's persuasion.
In December 2007, Matthew - under the name Niall Rafferty, arrived in the village wanting revenge for the abandonment. At Jack's 'funeral' in August 2008, Lacey told Myra that Jack was one of the arresting officers and expressed no sympathy for Martin's death. Later in the month, Myra told 'Niall' about Martin and that she still had feelings for him.