Anna Manahan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Anna Maria Manahan (1924-10-18)18 October 1924 |
| Died | 8 March 2009(2009-03-08) (aged 84) Waterford, Ireland |
| Resting place | Saint Mary's Cemetery,Ballygunner,Ireland |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1944–2006 |
| Spouse | |
Anna Maria Manahan (18 October 1924 – 8 March 2009) was anIrish stage, film and television actress.[1][2]
Manahan received twoTony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play nominations for her performances in the 1968 production ofLovers and the 1998 production ofThe Beauty Queen of Leenane, the latter for which she won at the52nd Tony Awards.
Manahan was also nominated for twoDrama Desk Awards, aLaurence Olivier Award, and anOuter Critics Circle Award in her career spanned more than 60 years. She interpreted the works of, among others,Seán O'Casey,John B. Keane,John Millington Synge,Oscar Wilde,James Joyce,Martin McDonagh,Christy Brown, andBrian Friel.
Manahan was born inCounty Waterford in what was then the Irish Free State (now the Republic of Ireland). Her career began when, as a young woman, she was recruited by the legendary Irish impresarios and theatrical directorsMicheál MacLiammóir andHilton Edwards. She later married stage director Colm O'Kelly, who died not long afterwards of polio, which he contracted after swimming in theNile during a theatre tour ofEgypt. They had no children and she never remarried. She was known professionally by her maiden name.In 1946 she appeared in a production by Irish playwrightTeresa Deevy,The Wild Goose[3] where she played the part of Eileen Connolly, this was performed by Equity Productions in theTheatre Royal, Waterford.[4]
In 1957, she played Serafina in the first Irish production ofTennessee Williams'The Rose Tattoo and achieved unexpected notoriety when she and several other members of the cast were arrested for the possession of a condom on stage.[5]
Manahan played a minor role in the Irishcult soap operaThe Riordans (1960s), and as Mrs. Mary Kenefick in the TV comedyMe Mammy (1970s). She also played the lead in the Irish comedy series,Leave It To Mrs O'Brien (1980s) and Mrs. Cadogan inThe Irish R.M. (1980s). Most recently she played Ursula inFair City, for which her niece, Michele Manahan (daughter ofMichael Manahan), is a writer.
She had an extensive theatre portfolio having played at theatres throughout Ireland including theAbbey Theatre,[6] the UK, continental Europe, the US and Australia. She won theTony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her role as Mag inMartin McDonagh'sThe Beauty Queen of Leenane on Broadway. She previously received a Tony nomination in 1969 forBrian Friel'sLovers.
The late Irish playwrightJohn B. Keane wrote the playBig Maggie specifically for her. In 2001 she starred in Keane'sThe Matchmaker with veteran Irish actorDes Keogh. In 2005 she starred inSisters, a new play by Declan Hassett that was also written for her and for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award in the category of Outstanding Solo Performance.[7] The production toured Ireland and was staged at the International Festival of World Theatre inColorado and also played at the 59e59 Theater in New York City in 2006.
She appeared in films starring, among others,Laurence Olivier,Peter Cushing,Kenneth More,Christopher Walken,Maggie Smith,Albert Finney andBrenda Fricker, and withJohn Gielgud inA Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1977).[citation needed]
She received the Gold Medal of theÉire Society of Boston in 1984 and thus joined the company of past recipients such asJohn F. Kennedy, and film makersJohn Ford andJohn Huston. She received anhonorary doctorate in letters from theUniversity of Limerick in 2003. She was granted the freedom of the city ofWaterford in 2002 in recognition of her life's achievement in the arts. She thus became the 28th Freeman of Waterford sinceIsaac Butt in 1877.
In 2004 she started to play the role of Ursula inFair City.All About Anna (2005) a documentary on her life and work was made by Charlie Mc Carthy/Icebox Films for RTÉ television. In 2008, she became the first ever patron of the Active Retirement Ireland organization.[8][9]
Manahan died ofmultiple organ failure on 8 March 2009 inWaterford,Ireland.[10][11] She had suffered from a longterm illness.[12]
Her funeral was held on 11 March, officiated by her "longtime friend" the psychoanalyst, poet, and priestBernard Kennedy. "As the final curtain falls, the lights dim, the auditorium becomes silent, we remember her" he said. Describing her as a woman of faith (who "sought to bring the word of God alive"), he said she had brought everyone together to be present at "her last great exit from this great stage of life," saying her life's work had drawn people from all over the world. "Anna believed in the empty tomb of the Resurrection and she believed the empty tomb could be filled by hearing the word take the place of the emptiness," he said. "She knew the bedsits which preceded the Tony nomination."[13][14]
Manahan was buried in Ballygunner Cemetery,Knockboy.[12]
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