Sean Riley was the father of Concepta Riley and husband of Shelagh. He and Shelagh attended Concepta's wedding to Harry Hewitt in 1961 before returning home to Ireland. At first he and Shelagh were against the marriage as Harry was not a Catholic but they changed their minds in time to attend. Sean ran a garage in Ireland and when failing health forced him to retire, the Hewitts moved from Weatherfield to take over the family firm.