Ciara O'Dowd B.A. (Mod.) M.A. 09232113 Doctoral Scholar of ...

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Title The on and off-stage roles of Abbey Theatre actresses of the1930s

Author(s) O'Dowd, Ciara

PublicationDate 2016-05-11

Item record http://hdl.handle.net/10379/5789

https://aran.library.nuigalway.ie

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ie/

CiaraO’Dowd

B.A.(Mod.)M.A.

09232113

DoctoralScholarofTheCollegeofArts,SocialSciences,andCelticStudies

atNationalUniversityofIreland,Galway.

TheOnandOff-StageRolesofAbbeyTheatreActressesofthe1930s

SupervisedbyProf.AdrianFrazier&Prof.LionelPilkington

May2016

Acknowledgments

I am forever indebt toall thepeoplewhoprovidedexpertise,assistance

andsupportasIcompletedthisthesis.ProfessorAdrianFraziermadeitall

possible, and I would like to acknowledge his inspirational teaching and

guidance. Thanks are due to all the staff of the English Department,

particularly Professor Lionel Pilkington, Professor Sean Ryder and Dr.

Marie-Louise Coolahan. Thanks to my fellow doctoral students and to

ProfessorPatrickLonergan;Dr.CharlotteMcIvor;ProfessorsJillDolanand

StacyWolfofPrincetonUniversity;and,forherastutequestionsatmyviva

voce,toDr.AoifeMonks. IwasprivilegedtobeaDoctoralScholarofthe

CollegeofArts,SocialSciencesandCelticStudies.

Inmyarchivalresearch,IwasablyassistedbyBarryHoulihanandallofthe

staffoftheHardimanLibrarySpecialCollectionsaswellasCarrieMarshof

Claremont University in California. I have boundless gratitude for those

who shared my passion and helped along the way: Christine Shields;

KatharineWeber; Patrick Laffan;Maev Kennedy andValMulkerns;Mary

McCullough;AlmaNowlan;SusanSlott;HelenSheehyandFinolaFinlay.

Fortheirpatience,practicalsupportandgoodhumour,Ithankmyparents,

Patrick and Deirdre, my brothers Killian and Oran and my sisters-in-law

MarinaandHana.I’vebeenblessedtohaveJames,Hannah,Shane,Mark,

Rose andNell acceptmyeccentricities. Throughout this process, Thomas

Conwayheldmyhandand,whenneeded,heldmeup.Therearenowords

toexpressthedepthofmygratitude,onlylove.

TableofContents

Introduction............................................................................................1

Chapter1:ResearchMethodologies,ArchivesandTruths........................8

Chapter2:EileenCrowe(1898-1978)andMayCraig(1889–1972)........39

Chapter3:AideenO’Connor(1913–1950)............................................94

Chapter4:FrolieMulhern(1907–1939)..............................................166

Chapter5:RiaMooney(1903–1973)..................................................179

Conclusion...........................................................................................263

WorksCited.........................................................................................270

InterviewsConducted..........................................................................286

Appendix1:ArchivalNotes..................................................................287

Appendix2:InterviewwithPatLaffan.................................................301

Introduction CiaraO’Dowd

1

Introduction

Building on the work of Maggie B. Gale and John Stokes in The

Cambridge Companion to the Actress, this doctoral thesis exposes ‘the

constructionoftheactress’intheparticularcontextoftheIrishFreeState

(1922 – 1937). (2) It examines the life stories of five women who

performed together in the Abbey Theatre Company during the 1930s.

These are life stories that intersect and interweave, that separate and

come together. The five women, Eileen Crowe, May Craig, Aideen

O’Connor,FrolieMulhernandRiaMooney,areconnectedbyonething:a

devotiontoIrishtheatre.The‘construction’ofanactressismulti-faceted,

but has two key elements: (1) the training and development of her

theatrical craft, and (2) the professionalization of the individual as a

working performer with the consequent impact of this position on her

place in society. The following chapters examine the careers of each of

thesewomen,detailingmanyoftheirperformancesattheAbbeyTheatre

andtwoparticulartoursofAmericabytheAbbeyCompany(1934-35and

1937-38),toexposethesetwoelements.

Chapter1tracesthegenealogyoftheoreticalresearchinthisarea,

considersthemethodologiesavailableandsetsouttheinterventionIseek

tomake in the fieldof theatrehistory. Chapter 2 focuseson the livesof

Eileen Crowe andMay Craig, considering their careers particularly in the

contextoftheirpredecessorsattheAbbeyTheatreandthesocialcontext

of the 1930s. Crowe’s career, I argue, ismost usefully considered in the

lightof the Irish Free State and the female ideal it upheld fornationalist

purposes. Chapters 3 and 4 consider the lives of Aideen O’Connor and

FrolieMulhern,whojoinedthecompanyinthe1930s.Chapter5tracesthe

lifeofRiaMooney,thedevelopmentofherartisticvisioninNewYork,and

arguesthatshewasthefirstfeministdirectorattheAbbeyTheatre,whose

contributiontoIrishculturallifehasbeenoverlooked.

FortheeditorsofTheCambridgeCompanion,thedominantfeature

of‘theactress’ isher‘occasional invisibilitycoupledwithherall-pervasive


2

significance’. (Gale and Stokes 2) While portraying ‘real’ women, she

retainsauniquestatusasanobserveroftheirlivesbothonandoffstage.

Sheis,independentofthecharactersdepicted,inapositiontounderstand

therisksandrewardsinvolvedinanyactofself-presentationbywomenin

society. This is significant in the context of 1930s Ireland,wherewomen

wereparticularlyvulnerabletowhatMelissaSihraterms‘themonotheistic

patriarchalmeta-narrative’,i.e.,thepowerofChurchandState.(2)

The theatrical lives explored here have been largely forgotten or

ignored;yetIarguethesewomenarelegitimatesubjectsforanexploration

oftheformationoftheprofessionalactressinIreland.Inthisdissertation,I

drawonmucharchivalmaterial thathashithertoneverbeen collatedor

usedforscholarlypurposes.Ineachcase,Ire-constitutearchivaltracesand

strivetocaptureasenseof thewomanherself:herunderstandingofher

craft,herpersonalchallenges,herachievementsandfailures.Thenatureof

thesearch,challengesandmaterialunearthediscommenteduponineach

sectionandthereisaconcertedeffort,asSusanBennetturges,‘toextend

anddisturbhistoriographicalmethodbeyonditsusualevidence.’(55)

Thelengthanddensityofeachofthechaptersreflectsthevolume

of archival material about these women. These are partial biographies,

basedonlyonarchivaltraces,andsuchtracesvaryfromactresstoactress.

However,Iarguethat,presentedtogether,thesebiographiesfacilitatethe

inductionofpatternsthatallowadeeperunderstandingofstrategiesused

by women to further their artistic careers.1That is to say, where these

women may not have consciously calculated their every career and life

choice, the overall story of their lives as actresses was shaped by their

decisions in tandem with external circumstances and influenced by

prevailingideologies.Collectedtogetherinthismanner,thesebiographies

provide evidence that Irish women who conformed to the dominant

1Inusingtheterm‘strategy’,IamrelyingonJoanWallachScott’sdefinitionoftheterm,beingonethatenablesustothinkabouthowpeoplemakedecisionsintheface of changing economic circumstances. Scott also says, ‘In addition,we takestrategytobeashorthandfor theapplicationof (culturallyspecific)perceptionstothepractical(subsistence)demandsofdailylife.’(ScottandTilly7)


3

ideologiesonandoffthestageoftheAbbeyTheatrewererewardedwitha

levelofsuccess, longevityandprofessionalrespect in Ireland.Conversely,

womenwhobehavedinamannerviewedasinanywaysubversiveofthat

ideologymetwithresistancethathadthecapacitytoendtheircareersin

thiscountryand/ortodenythemrespecttheydeserved.

TheConceptofRole

Akeyresearchquestionis:howdotheseparticularactressesofthe

IrishNationalTheatre learnandplaythemyriadrolesrequiredofthem—

on and off the stage? Gale and Stokes suggest using ‘a double lens’ to

consider ‘the lossanddisguiseof theself indramaticperformance’while

simultaneouslyholdinginbalance‘thepracticalandideologicalaspects’of

thecareer.(2)Theagencyoftheactress,theabilitytoearnindependently

andtopubliclyrepresentotherwomen,sitsatoddswiththerequirement

of the actress to conceal her individuality and subsume her own

personalityintoanon-stagepresence.Suchagencyalsoconflictedwiththe

ideologiesinIrelandthatdemandedparticularbehaviourofwomen.

Stanislavski, actor and theoretician of the craft, alluded to a

principlesimilartothis‘doublelens’.HistranslatorJeanBenedettistates:

The actor’s individuality, her own particular way of doing andsayingthings,wasofparamountimportance.Atthesametimealltheactor’sgiftsandtalentshadtobesubordinatedtothecentralthemeoftheplay.(13)

In researching this thesis, it became evident that such a ‘double

lens’, as suggested by Gale and Stokes, is useful but not adequate.

Somethingclosertoakaleidoscopeisrequired,allowingasthiswouldfor

shifting focus, background and foreground to switch places at various

points,andafullappreciationofthemyriadofelementsatplayatanyone

moment inthe livesofthesewomen.Thatsaid,theconceptof ‘role’was

vitalinallaspectsandthusdemandsdefinition.

TheatreandStanislavski scholarSharonCarnickehasexplored the

Stanislavskian definition of ‘role’ and how this can be applied in critical


4

theory.Carnickesuggeststhatby‘role’Stanislavskimeant‘thewordsthat

serveasa“score”fortheactor’sperformance,inthesamewaythatnotes

provide a “score” formusicians.’ (4) A ‘role’ allows each actor to give a

unique performance, while providing a structure and form thatmust be

preserved. These paradoxical positions of the actor, repetition coupled

with incessant variation and invisibility coupled with public notoriety,

drove Stanislavski’s thinking. Like his mentor Mikhail Shchepkin,

Stanislavskiviewedcharacter-creationasaprocessnotofself-effacement

butofself-transformation.Heclaimedthatathirdbeingwascreatedinthis

process, a fusion of the character the authorwrote and the actor’s own

personality, ‘theactor/role’.(Benedetti95)It isthis‘actor/role’–thetwo

positionstogether,distinctandoverlapping–thatthisthesiscentresupon.

TheOxfordEnglishDictionarydefines‘role’as:‘Anactor’spartina

play,film,etc.’(‘Role’)However,ithasasecondarymeaninginvoking,the

‘function assumed or part played by a person or thing in a particular

situation.’ (‘Role’) In sociological terms, a ‘role’ denotes particular

behaviouralpatternsthatareconnectedtosocialstatus.Theword‘role’is

in fact synonymous with ‘capacity’, ‘duty’, ‘responsibility’ and ‘place.’ In

using the phrase ‘roles’ in my title, I am consciously invoking all of the

meanings of this term – considering the place of these women in Irish

society as well as in the theatre, considering their capacity as an Irish

woman and as a performer. The rate of married Irish women in paid

employmentremainedaroundthe6%markfromtheestablishmentofIrish

Free Stateup to the1960s. (HillWomen99) Thus, themarried actresses

(MayCraigandEileenCrowe)werealreadyinadistinctminorityinIreland.

PotentialRoleModels:ActressesattheAbbeyTheatrepriortothe1930s

ThewomenoftheIrishNationalTheatreSocietyandofInghinidhe

na hEireann are a useful starting point in seeking role models for the

actresses of the 1930s. Inghinidhe na hEireann was a radical nationalist

women’s organization, Daughters of Ireland, founded in 1900. In 1902,

severalnationalistorganisationscametogethertoperformtwoIrishplays:


5

George Russell’s Deirdre and Yeats’ Cathleen Ní Houlihan. (Trotter 74)

Inghinidhe na hEireann members took on vital work as producers,

financiers, ticket sellers andactors. Thesewereaunitedbodyofwomen

fromacrosssocialclasses,butasMaryTrotterhaselucidated, ‘Feminism,

nationalism and workers’ rights activity often pulled [these] women in

contradictorydirections.’(73)Someoftheplaywrightsandactorsinvolved

inthe1902productionswentontoformtheIrishNationalTheatreSociety

(INTS) a year later. At that point, Inghinidhe na hEireann discontinued

dramaticactivity,althoughsomewomenremainedactiveinbothgroups.

ThewomenofInghinidhenahEireannbegantoblurtheboundaries

betweenthepersonalandthepoliticalrealmsthathadbeensodistinctfor

womenin Irishpublic life.But itremainsthatthefemaleperformersthat

emerged from this movement, most notably Maud Gonne, remained

political and nationalist advocates first and foremost. Even where

members of the group did become devoted to acting, theywere always

primarilyidentifiedwiththepoliticalgroup.HistorianR.F.Foster,inwriting

of howGonne, SaraAllgoodandothers tookdrama classesorganizedby

theInghinidhe,concludes,‘Allofthemsawtheirtheatricalactivitiesasan

integralpartofnationalistconsciousness-raising.’(VividFaces81)

AsTrotteralsodescribes, thesewomen ‘performednot [as]“real”

women but [as] idealised personae, developed from rhetoric of Irish

femininity such as Hibernia and Dark Rosaleen.’ (78-79) Inghinidhe na

hEireann initially presented ‘tableaux’, still images carefully posed to

represent ideasorpoliticalmoments.When theybegan rehearsingplays,

MaireNicShiubhlaigh,theoriginalNoraBurkeinInTheShadowoftheGlen,

recalledhow in rehearsals for the1903premiere Frank Fay toldher: ‘Be

themouthpieceofNoraBurke,ratherthanNoraBurke.’(qtdinRitschel90)

InFay’steaching,thesewerenotrealorordinarywomen,butratherwere

the mouthpiece for a particular type of Irish femininity. To perform

typicallymalepoliticalacts,Gonnehadtoconstructandpresentherselfas

an extraordinary woman. She did so with aplomb, but her class and

economic privilege undoubtedly assisted. The stage remained for Gonne


6

primarilyapoliticalplatformtorallysupportfornationalistcauses.Whenit

nolongerservedtosupporthercause,shemovedon.

The next generation of actresses at the Abbey Theatre included

SaraAllgoodandhersisterMolly(MaireO’Neill). Allgoodhadalsobegun

her career with Inghinidhe na hÉireann, although she later travelled to

Liverpool and left for Australia in 1915 with the lead in ‘a Hibernicized

melodrama’entitledPegO’MyHeart.(FrazierHollywoodIrish149)Having

appearedonstageintheUKfrequently,shereturnedtotheAbbeyinthe

1920s, before settling in Hollywood where she established a film career

andappliedforUScitizenshipinthemid1940s.Allgoodwas,fromearlyon,

ambitious and hardworking. Her depiction of the mother figure Juno in

SeanO’Casey’sJunoandthePaycockin1924wasconsideredalandmarkin

Irishacting.(Crowewaspresentforthatpremiere,playingtheminorrole

ofMaryBoyle,Juno’sdaughter.)ManyactresseswhoplayedJuno,Crowe

inparticular,neverescapedtheshadowofAllgood’slaudedperformances.

In considering Allgood’s career it becomes evident how she

becamesynonymouswithaparticular typeof female role.AdrianFrazier

describeshowshewasbroughttoBroadway‘toadvertiseadegreeofIrish

authenticity’ in a production of Paul Vincent Carroll’s Shadow and

Substancein1938.(HollywoodIrish151)Allgood’splumpfigure,plain,soft

featuresandIrishaccentdefinedherroles.Shewasadeptatmimicryand

presentation of the stereotypical ‘Irish characteristics’ demanded by

Hollywood executives. But by the 1930s, actresses at the Abbey were

strainingtotakeonrolesnotalwaysdefinedbytheirnationality,andwere

increasinglyawareofinternationaltheatricalinfluences.

ItwasintravellingtoAmericathatthesewomenfoundrolemodels

andfemalementors.ForRiaMooney,itwastheinspirationofdirectorand

actress,EvaLeGallienne.ForAideenO’Connor,itwasBroadwaycomposer,

Kay Swift. Both Le Gallienne and Swift left an impression on their Irish

counterparts,allowingconsiderationofanotherkindoffemininityandthe

prospectofplayingtheirchosenroleinmoreradicalways.

Thewomenrepresentedherebytheir lifestoriesformpartofthe


7

firstwaveofprofessional Irishactresses from theNational Theatre. They

did not seek to rally political support, although they held political views.

They did not travel the world to showcase a particular form of Irish

nationalityandwomanhood. Instead, theysought tobe independentand

successful theatrical performersworthyof appearingon theworld stage,

and aimed to perform awide range of female roles.Mooney,O’Connor,

Mulhern, Craig and Crowe all held an identical score, to fill all the roles

requiredofaprofessionalactress.

Thetrainingandtechnicaldevelopmentofthesewomenistracked

herealongside thedevelopmentof Irish theatreduring theperiodof the

IrishFreeStateandbeyond.Iconsidertheirinterpretationoffemaleroles

alongwith the femalecharacters thatwerebeing stagedat theAbbey in

the 1930s. However, as Olwen Fouéré, the actress and theatre artist,

asserts,‘Contrarytopublicopinion,actorsdon’tneedaplaytopracticethe

art of theatre. It is a way of life. A lot of our work is about completely

subverting thescript.’ (Qtd inSihra220)This thesis seeksalso toexplore

theirlivesoffthestageandtoexposethescripttheysubvertedandlived.

Foster asserts, ‘Part of recapturing their world must involve

prospecting the ties of affection, and the patterns of tension, between

families,friendsandlovers.’(VividFaces116)Thisthesisexploressuchties

andpatterns,amongAbbeyactorsandoutsideofthatcircle.Unexpectedly

for me, the women of American theatre that inspired their Irish

counterpartsbydemonstratinghowtoleadalifefullofcreativeambition,

withindependenceandlove,becameavitalpartofthenarratives.

Toarguethatthelifechoicesmadebythesewomenwererightor

wrong,goodorbad,theirtheatricalcareerswere‘successful’or‘failed’,is

not my intent. They all sought professional success in the theatre and

personalhappiness.Eachwomannegotiatedherownlife,withinthevery

particularcircumstancesandconstraintsofIrishsocietyinthe1930s.This

thesis is a study of the work required and the choices made by these

womentoconstructthemselvesasIrishactresses.

Chapter1:ResearchMethodologiesandTruthsCiaraO’Dowd

Page8of307

Chapter1:ResearchMethodologies,ArchivesandTruths

Introduction

This thesis isworkingonanumberof different fronts. In the first

instance,itpresentsthebiographiesoffiveIrishactressesoftheIrishFree

State,recountinglifestoriesofwomenthathavebeenlargelyelidedinthe

history of the Irish National Theatre recorded heretofore. There are

limited accounts of the achievements of these women and, with the

exception of Ria Mooney, no prior written accounts of their lives.

Therefore, these biographies draw on extensive archival research and

shapethehithertounknownmaterialintonarrative.Theyarethestoriesof

womenwhodedicatedtheirlivestothestage.ItisthisdedicationtoIrish

theatreIwishtodrawout,ratherthananynotionofsuccess,oflegacy,or

of lasting influence. These are individual lives, but they are stories

embeddedin Irishtheatricalhistory.Theyarecasestudiesoffemale lives

inIrishtheatreduringthefirsthalfofthecentury.

In her essay ‘Actors’ Biography andMythmaking: The Example of

EdmundKean’,theatrehistorianandbiographerLeighWoodsasserts,‘Not

only does the biographical narrative furnish a way of selecting and

organizing fact, consistent with the narrator's preexistent values; but it

can, finally, absorb fact, amoeba-like and reconstitute it in order to

transcend it. It can, in this, tilt the narrativemode into a dramatic one.’

(245) Such a ‘tilt’ empowers biographicalwork in a newway. InWoods’

writingonactors,thisdramaticmodeisalliedwiththecreativeworkofthe

actorsthemselves.Iarguethatthenarrativemodecanalsobetiltedintoa

different,moretheoreticalmodethatexposesandhighlightshowarchival

materialmayre-constitutealifestory.Thismeansthatinusingarchivesto

constructalifestory,itispossibletosimultaneouslyreflectonthatmanner

ofconstruction.

Second, this thesis serves as a critical intervention in the field of

theatre history through the development of methodologies for the

treatmentofarchivesandtheatrehistory.Inthisway,itcontributestothe


Page9of307

furtheringofknowledgeinthisarea.Itisacompositebiographyofwomen

previouslyelidedinIrishhistory.Itisalsoapieceofcriticalwritingonthe

history of Irish theatre and performance, and how we serve this

historiographybydifferentmodesofworkingwitharchivalmaterial.Most

crucially, however, it works at the intersection of both fields, forcing

reflectiononand re-evalutionofhowwe record, re-tell andperform the

historyofIrishtheatre.

TheatreandPerformanceHistory

In Research Methods in Theatre and Performance, Katie

Normington et al pose a question essential to this study: ‘What

methodologiesareappropriatetoretrieveatheatrehistoryforwhichthere

arefewtraces?’(‘Researching’86)Theatreandperformancehistoriesare

concerned with the ephemeral and intangible and the limited materials

availabletothehistoricalstudyofperformanceandperformersshouldnot

be limitedtoafixednotionofdocumentation.Restrictingtheexploration

ofpastperformancestoanexaminationof textual remainsworksagainst

capturing the temporal nature of the event, but to focus only on the

performance aspects (ignoring such textual remains) similarly restricts

understanding. In Research Methods a number of subject-area experts

explorethepossibilitiesofvariousresearchmethods.

According to JosephRoach,an important strategyofperformance

researchtodayistojuxtaposelivingmemoryasrestoredbehaviouragainst

ahistoricalarchiveofrecords.(Normingtonetal. ‘Researching’101)Heis

following a current within performance studies that sets ‘the archive’—

writtenandmaterialtexthousedinanarchive—againstthe‘repertoire’—

embodied traditionsofperformance.ForRoach, theseare fundamentally

differentmodesofworkingforatheatrehistorian.However,DianaTaylor,

oneofthefirstscholarstoseparatethediscursivefromtheperformative,

describestherelationshipbetweenthearchiveandtherepertoireas ‘not

by definition antagonistic or oppositional.’ (36) The two forms of

knowledge,Taylorstates,‘usuallyworkintandem.’(21)


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For Taylor, the focus on repertoire is a political act of resistance.

Thearchivesustainspowerinitscurrentformwhiletherepertoireenacts

socialagencyandthusisnotamenabletobeinghousedinanarchive.Both

Taylor and Roach champion the body and oral traditions as legitimate

pointsoffocusforfuturestudy.(Normingtonetal.‘Researching’92)Dance

historian Susan Leigh Foster elucidates the compelling notion of ‘Bodily

Writing’. (She had previously set out this concept in the 1995 volumeof

essays, Choreographing History.) Bodily writing examines the physical

traces of the pastwithin contemporary somatic expression including the

relationshipofbodiestotheirsurroundings:buildings,clothingorobjects.

(Normingtonetal.‘Researching’87)

In contrasting these aspects of study, the archive and the

repertoire, the binary between the two is re-asserted. Even where they

maywork in tandem, they become two distinct forms of archive,where

onecanbe treatedasmore ‘authentic’ormore ‘real’ than theother.By

setting out to find a more inclusive mode of study, Taylor arguably

reiterateswhatRebeccaSchneiderinPerformingRemainscalled‘thetired

mutualexclusitivity’betweenthe‘error-riddentheatrical’andapureform

of the ‘real’. (18)Schneider’swork focuseson thepossibilitiesofferedby

historical re-enactment,andthe ‘temporaldrag’ thatcomeswhen ‘in the

syncopatedtimeofreenactment,...thenandnowpunctuateeachother’.

(2) She insists that theatricality isnotamatterof the lossof someprior,

purer actual. Instead, theatricality and mimesis are allied; neither

threatens authenticity. Rather, both are ‘vehicles for access to the

transitive,performativeandcross-temporalreal’.(30)

This thesis does not seek to re-play the argument about the

‘archive’ and the ‘repertoire’, or to reify one mode of archival research

overanother.Thisisastudynotonlyoftheatricalperformancesbutofthe

performersthemselves-althoughtheirperformancesarefundamentalto

how theworld viewed them aswell as to how they viewed themselves.

Therefore, lines of enquiry focusing on the dramatic repertoire (oral

traditionsandbodilymemory;bodilywriting)arenotonlylimitedbecause


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of the historic nature of my subjects, but also are limiting in that they

exclude a number of other approaches. Other methods of biographical

researchincludingtheexaminationofdocumentation,interviewingrelated

people, visiting locations and reflecting on the larger political and social

context had to be incorporated. It was sometimes necessary to develop

methodologies to meet my ends. It is here useful to revisit historical

theoriesonarchivesandtheirimpactonthedevelopmentofperformance

theorytofurtherexplainmymethodologicalapproach.

Archives:TracesandMarks

Derrida’snotionof‘tracesandmarks’regardingtheongoingpower

of language to communicate in the absence of the original interlocutors

remains a core concept in the investigation of historical performances.

(Franko and Richards 5) The ‘trace’ is only ever a tantalising glimpse,

without real substance, while the ‘mark’ is something that remains.

Theatre and performance studies must consider that which remains,

persists, and even returns. The archives themselves are ‘marks’; the

documents can be handled, examined, copied and cited. The ‘mark’, as

Mark Franko and Annette Richards have pointed out, is a scar, a clear

referencetothepast.(5)ButwhileFrankoandRichardsbelievethatscars

donotrefertothepresent,Iwouldsuggestthattherelevanceofthescar

liesinitscurrentinterpretation.

Such ‘marks’ disappear only if we ignore them, fail to read them

accurately, or read them outside of an appropriate pattern. Making

decisionsaboutthecontextinwhichthe‘mark’isplacedisacrucialpoint

ofdeparture.Thecompositionofthepatterninwhichwesituateandread

themarksbecomescrucial,asitisthisstructure(ratherthanthematerial

itself)whichprovidesmeaningandaffordspowertothemarks.

In1985,BruceA.McConachiemadeapowerful argument for the

needtomovebeyondtheaestheticsoftheatreto itsmodesofreception

and to the social and cultural contexts that engendered these.

(Normington et al. ‘Researching’ 89) He drew attention to the fact that


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theatrehistories(plural)donotexistinalimbobutarepartofsomething

broader in scope and relating to society at large. It is equally important

that as the scholar researching and narrativising this history that I

acknowledgemyownideologicalpositionandsubjectivedecisions.Iintend

this thesis as a work of feminist historiography: exploring lives of 1930s

actresses and asserting the importance of recognising these women’s

careersinIrishtheatrehistory.

T.C.Davisasserts,‘Inwritingtheatreandperformancehistory,we

utilize theory, logic, surmise, and induction.’ (‘Context’ 204) Induction

allows the inference of a general principle from a number of specific

instances.Sheexcludes‘deduction’:theinverseof‘induction’.Thisprocess

involves using general principles to investigate specific circumstances.

However,ResearchMethodsinTheatreandPerformancepointsoutthata

‘top-down’approachtoinvestigationisjustaslegitimateasa‘bottomup’

approach.(Normingtonetal.‘Researching’92)Thatis,itisasvalidtolook

attheculturalbackdropofthe1930sandmakeassumptions(orsurmise)

about the treatment of actresses in the Irish theatre business (using

‘deduction’) as to beginwith the experience of a sample ofwomen and

elicit information about the position of actresses in Irish theatre during

that time (using ‘induction’). This thesis uses both methods at different

points, exposing the limitations as well as the strengths of these

approaches.Yetanymethodologymustcontinuallyquestiontheequation

of‘archive’with‘truth’.

CanArchivesYieldTruth?

In Archive Fever: A Freudian Impression Derrida explored the

politicsofthearchive.Heinterrogatesthenexusofpowerrelationsaround

the‘archive’andarguesthattheworditselfdenotescommencementand

commandment: the origin and the principle. He wrote of an archontic

power which ‘gathers the functions of unification, of identification, of

classification’andalso‘ofconsignation’.(Derrida9)Theactofconsignation

wasnotonly theputting inorder,but theputting intoorder.ForDerrida


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was troubled by this archontic principle: its authority, and its genealogy,

therightthatitcommands,andthelegitimacythatdependsonit.Itisthe

structuresthatestablishandhousethearchivesthatdemandmostofhis

attention; Derrida sees these as predetermining archivable material and

enforcing particular ways of reading it. Maggie B. Gale and Ann

Featherstone, interrogating ‘the archive’ both in concept and material

form,alsocallonscholarsto ‘developawarenessofhowideology,values

andbeliefsnuancehowarchiveshavebeencreatedandtheintentionsthat

haveinformedtheprocessofcollection.’(18)

Myownresearchprocessunderlinesthecontinuing importanceof

Derrida’s concerns. In 2011, I abandoned research on the actress Shelah

Richards because of a lack of archival material documenting her life. I

subsequently discovered that the actress’s personal diaries and most

intimate letters are contained in the (William) Denis Johnston Collection

held inTrinityCollegeDublin.This is thearchiveofmaterialsdonatedby

herex-husband,thewriterDenisJohnston.Thelettersanddiarieswerehis

property on his death. Indeed, the material archives show his

amendments, edits and retorts to her correspondences; he used a

different-coloured pen to annotate her letters in the margins as he

assembledmaterialtocompletehisautobiography.Detailedconsideration

of this material allowed me to re-visit Richards’ inclusion in this study.

However, it became apparent that she was set apart from the other

women by virtue of her Protestantism, family background, and by her

departurefromthecompanyinthe1930stoworkinothertheatres.Allthe

other women travelled together with the Abbey Company in 1934 and

1937; this shared experience is vital tomy narrative. Richardswas not, I

concluded,afittingpieceforthepatternIwasconstructing. This isnota

reflectiononthepowerorimportanceofherlifestory;itwasapragmatic

decisiontoomitastorythatdidn’tconnectwiththosesetouthere.

The nexus of power relations around the archives of women

(writers, artists and performers) in Irish theatre history is slowly being

interrogated. At the same time, the structures around Irish archives


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themselves are being rethought and realigned (in particular, due to the

introductionofdigitalarchives).Ihavechosentosetasidetheseconcerns

becauseDerrida’sdiscussionaboutthepoliticsofthearchiveinterestsme

less than the proposals he makes about the archive as a pledge that

providesaresponse,apromiseandaresponsibility.AsRebeccaSchneider

asserts, ‘materials in the archive are given, too, for the future of their

(re)enactment.’(108)

Schneider focuses on this aspect of the archive that promised a

tokenforthefuture.Shestatesthat,‘thearchiveperformstheequationof

performance with disappearance, even as it performs the service of

“saving”.’ (Schneider 99) The question then becomes: Can the archive

performdifferently?Or,acceptingDerrida’semphasisonagency:Canwe

make the archive perform differently? Rather than disappearing or

restoring, Schneider suggests the archive could be ‘saved’ by its

transmission into the future. She goes on to argue for a new mode of

workinginwhichthearchivemaybepitchedtowardsthefuture,whereit

may function as a form of text that can be set in play. Rather than the

notionofascript,whicharguablyplotsacourseevenasitallowsspacefor

improvisation, Schneider suggests that archival documents may be a

‘score,scriptormaterialforinstruction.’(28)Ifindmostusefulthenotion

ofthearchiveasamusicalscore:awrittenrepresentationthatshowsallof

the vocal and instrumental parts arranged one below the other, to

foreground different elements at various points but always to work

towardsapieceharmoniouswithitsguidingprinciple.

This consideration of the future possibilities of archives moves

scholarsawayfromaformofarchivalresearchthatisakinto‘archaeology’.

This process of excavation and analysis is often used as an analogy for

archival research,but archaeology strives (never succeeding) toexposea

historicalsiteinaplacewhereitholdsnomeaningwithouttheframework

ofasecure,immutablecontext.AsDavisdescribesinarguingforafeminist

methodologyintheatrehistory:


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Atheatrehistorythatassemblesprimarysources(textual,visual,andtactile)todescribebutnottoanalyseperformance...resultsin...thearchaeologyoftheatricalforms[...](‘FeministMethodology’65)

Daviscontinues:Feminist theatre historians are rarely satisfied with 'recreative'approaches because the meaning of the production is alwaysparamountamongourconcerns.(‘FeministMethodology’65)

Thiscompositebiographybeginswithsuchare-creativeapproach,seeking

toreconstitutethedetailsofthewomen’slivesfromallmannerofarchival

material. It does so in the understanding that, as Shannon Jackson has

pointedout,‘Afocusonthedetail,thelocal,theparticularhasagendered

history.’ (150) Jackson observes that throughout history, femininity has

beenassociatedwithwhatwasgenerallyseenas inconsequentialdetail–

inconsequentialeitherforbeingseenasmerelyornamental(Jacksonuses

the term ‘decadence’ (162)) or as mundane ‘prosiness.’ Yet, such detail

containsathreateningpower:

[I]ts tendency to subvert an internal hierarchic ordering of thework of art which clearly subordinates the periphery to thecentre, the accessory to the principal, the foreground to thebackground.(NaomiSchorqtdinJackson163)

Assemblingprimarymaterialonthelivesofthesewomenallowsan

exploration of this hierarchical ordering. One can finally shift the focus

betweenforegroundandbackground,centreandperiphery.But it isvital

to move past the archaeological model once that work is completed

because on its own it is, as Davis asserts, unsatisfying in its failure to

express something meaningful and current. Furthermore, the strata of

archaeologicallayersdonotallowthe‘syncopation’ofpastandfuturethat

Schneider celebrates. This movement, the travelling and returning, a

jumping and recurring, ‘troubles ephemerality’. (Schneider 94) Such

syncopation is vital for theatre history to create a connection with the

present. It is inherent in the relationship between historical subject and

current day researcher, and its presence can be exposed rather than

elidingtheconnection.Afeministmethodology,then,mayberequiredto


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make the archive perform differently. I intend to revisit this notion of

syncopation and performing archives, but before I move on from this

considerationofarchivalandperformance theory, it isuseful toexamine

therelationshipbetweenhistoricityandperformativity.

HistoricityandPerformativity

ForPeggyPhelan, ‘Performance’sonly life is in thepresent.’ (146)

ThereisnospaceforhistoryinPhelan’sconceptofabsoluteperformance.

Its temporal condition and independence from reproduction is

fundamental to its being. C. M. Soussloff, however, has probed the

interdisciplinary concept of ‘performativity’ to assess its effectiveness in

the interpretation of historical performance in her essay ‘Like a

Performance’. (69-99) Soussloff traces an argument from J. L. Austin’s

speechactstoDerrida’sinsistenceallcommunicationsexistasapresence

knownonlythroughiteration,andhencetoJudithButler’sargumentthat:

Performativeactswithintheatricalcontextsare likeorsimilar tonatural acts in any other context, and it is only through theextreme naturalisation of each - the loss of their ‘culturalmeaning’ - that has allowed them to appear distinct from eachother.(Butler520)

Butler continues, ‘In its very character as performative resides the

possibilityofcontestingitsreifiedstatus.’(520)

Soussloffexaminestheseconceptsinrelationtosculpture,butinits

‘dualsubjectivity’actingisalliedtothisancientartform.Sculpturereveals

somethingof the creator/artistwhose idea rests inmarble alongside the

body of the sitter/figure, whose shape is imitated in stone. In their

performances, the women I write about embodied the characters and

ideasof playwrights, butwithout entirely erasing their self-manifestation

aswomenlivingintheFreeStateestablishedinIrelandin1922.

IsGenderausefulcategoryofanalysisinIrishtheatrehistory?

In 1986, feminist JoanWallach Scott first applied to her study of

historythetheoreticalconceptofgenderasawayofreferringtothesocial


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organisationof therelationshipbetweenthesexes.Scottwentontocite

and explore its usefulness as a category of historical analysis. (‘Gender’

1053-1075)Thiscategoryofanalysismustbeconsideredhereasafurther

dimensiontothe interventionofthisthesis.Thepowerdynamicsatwork

inthelivesoftheseIrishactressesareevidentthroughoutthesechapters,

whetherthosetensionsberelatedtoclass,religionorgender. Whilethe

issues of class and religion have been explored in prior Irish scholarship,

there has been little direct focus on gender. A focus solely on gender,

however, would occlude the other aspects of these lives: they were

professionalperformersfirstandforemost. Iwould liketo includegender

inmyanalysisoftheirlives,withoutignoringotheraspectsoftheircareers.

Scott asserted that ‘thewriting ofwomen into history necessarily

involves redefining and enlarging traditional notions of historical

significance,toencompasspersonal,subjectiveexperienceaswellaspublic

andpoliticalactivities.’(‘Gender’1054)Shesetoutthefourelementsshe

identifiedofgenderasaconstitutiveelementofsocialrelationships,andas

aprimarywayofsignifyingrelationshipsofpower.Theseare:(1)culturally

availablesymbols;(2)normativeconcepts(whichsetforthinterpretations

ofthemeaningsofsymbols);(3)kinshipsystem(basedonhouseholdand

family but also to include the labour market, education, polity) and (4)

subjective identity. (‘Gender’ 1067) These four elements do not operate

chronologicallyorinisolationtoeachother.Rather,theyservetoshowthe

connections between the individual identity and thewider social sphere.

Scottdemonstratedthatgenderoperates insubjectiveand localtermsas

wellasinthesocialandnationalconsciousness,andthattheseaspectsare

inextricablyinterconnected.

Itwillbecomeapparentthatthisstudyconsidersallfourelements

of gender in the context of Irish theatre history. Culturally available

symbols of Irish femininity were a strong feature of the early plays

performedattheAbbeyTheatre,mostnotablywiththenationalisticonof

CathleenniHoulihanwhofirstappearedinYeats’andLadyGregory’sone-

actplayin1902.Cathleenor‘theSeanBheanBocht’,isdiscussedindetail


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in Chapter 2. The manner in which such symbols of Ireland and Irish

womanhood were manipulated and used by later generations of

playwrights is evident in the exploration of dramatic female characters

through the 1920s and 1930s. Later characters, such as Deevy’s Katie

RocheandO’Casey’sRosieRedmond(bothdiscussed inChapter5), show

how the cultural symbols were gradually transmuted into normative

concepts.Whiletheseplaysandcharactersmayhavebeenconceivedasa

critiqueorcommentaryontheideologyoftheIrishFreeStategovernment,

inmanycasestheyservedtosolidifythestatusquo.Insettingouttheties

betweenthesewomen,theirfamiliesandcolleaguesandinconsideringthe

termsandconditionsoftheir labour, Iexploretheoperationofgender in

the kinship system.With its biographical focus, this thesis considers the

subjectiveidentityofeachwomanindetail.

In the 1999 revised version ofGender and the Politics of History

Scottreturnedtoherground-breakingbooktoaskanumberofquestions,

including: ‘Does thepresenceofwomenalways call for genderanalysis?’

Shewentontoassertthat‘thephysicalpresenceoffemalesisnotalwaysa

sure sign that ‘women’ are a separate political category, that they have

beenmobilisedaswomen.’(Scott212)Scottasksthatfeministscholarsbe

precise about the kind of gender analysis that is appropriate and useful.

(212)Ihaveendeavouredtoensurethatthisthesisispreciseinitsgender

analysis. A consideration of gender is inherent in the use of the term

‘actresses’butthefactremainsthattheseperformerswerenotmobilised

asfeministsinthepoliticalorsocialsense.Indeed,IrishhistorianMaryDaly

has claimed that the ‘Irish women's movement lost momentum as a

politicalforceafterindependence’andsothesewomenwereinstepwith

muchoftheirgeneration.(108)

Inher2014book,HapticAllegories:KinshipandPerformanceinthe

BlackandGreenAtlantic,KathleenGoughdrawsattentiontothechallenge

of reading the objective reality of Irish women as separate from their

allegoricalimagesandmetaphoricconstructionsinhistory.Sheisintrigued

bythepossibilityoffindinginanarchiveafemalebodythatexistspriorto


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suchmetaphoricconstructions.(Gough7)Thisthesisusesarchivalmaterial

never consideredbefore to takeon this challenge,andendeavours togo

furtherbyplacingtherealwomenindirectcontactwiththeallegoricaland

metaphoric constructions of women, in the form of the characters they

playedonthestageoftheNationalTheatre.

Focusedgenderanalysis isanotableabsence inthescholarshipof

Irish theatre history to date. In 1991 Irish historian Margaret Ward

challengedhowIrishhistorywasbeingresearched,publishedandtaught.

InTheMissingSexin1991Wardaskedthatthecollectiveamnesiaofmale

historiansbeinterrogated,withafreshfocusonwomen’scontributionto

Irish history. However, in terms of Irish theatre history there remains a

dearth of such work, with a few notable exceptions. Melissa Sihra’s

Women in Irish Drama: A Century of Authorship and Representation has

been called ‘field changing’ and commentators see the essays contained

therein as locating ‘a discursive gendered relationship in Irish theatre

practice, thusmakingway for a richerunderstandingof thepluralitiesof

gendered representations on the stage.’ (Caulfield 276-277) In her 2010

volume Irish Women Playwrights 1930 – 1939: Gender and Violence on

Stage Cathy Leeny focuses on a small number of female playwrights to

worktowards‘acriticalframingandcontextualizationoftheseplaywrights

withinagender/violencedialectic.’ (Caulfield276-277)More recentwork

such asPerforming Feminisms in Contemporary Ireland considers gender

on the Irish stage in the21st century. (Fitzpatrick2013)Yet, for themost

part, academic and historical theatre research has not engagedwith the

Irishfemaleperformerinhistory.

The(Irish)ActressinTheory

The publication ofActresses asWorkingWomen: Their Social Identity in

VictorianCulturebyTracyC.Davisin1992wasadepartureinthestudyof

women in theatricalhistory. Itwas the firstnewhistorical readingof the

actress,re-inscribingthefigurewithinasociologicalframework.Yet,inThe


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Cambridge Companion to the Actress (published in 2007), Davis’s work

receivesonlytwobriefreferences.Intheintroduction,theeditorsstate:

Theactualbusinessoftheatreis,asT.C.Davishasshowninearlyresearch that has done more than any other to determine thiswholefield,aguardedmalepreserve.(GaleandStokes4)

Butfromthere,thevolumeswiftlymovesinadifferentdirection,exploring

new research and offering a radically different perspective on the

‘powerfulandlastingphenomenon’oftheactress.(GaleandStokes2)(The

secondreferencetoDavisisafootnoterelatingtoherlaterworkonfemale

playwrights.) As her starting point, Davis acknowledged the key

relationshipofwomen’sworkonstagetotheirsocialexistenceoffstage.In

her introduction,Davis explains how she abandonednarrativemodels of

historical explanation when she came to believe that the complicated

social existence of actresses could only be explained pluralistically.

(WorkingWomenxi)Inherwork,shesoughttouse‘hardfacts’(legislation,

census returns, labour supply) but to balance these with ‘soft evidence’

(socialbeliefs,customsandvalues).

Davis brought together individual stars (many already familiar

personas in theatre history such as Ellen Terry) with a host of hitherto

forgottenandlargelyunknownwomanperformers—balletgirls,musichall

acts, acrobats, equestriennes, trapeze artists—all of whom can be

legitimatelycategorizedas‘actress’.Theinitialcommentaryonthevolume

united in applauding how Davis succeeded in grouping the female

performersofthisperiod.Criticsassertedthatshe‘highlightstheVictorian

actressasakindofeverywomanworkerconfrontedwiththenecessityof

earning a living within the rigid gender restrictions of her time’. (Ferris

Signs162-172)

In 1994, writers in Feminist Review were championing the

employmentofMarxistandfeministtheorybyDavis,aswellasapplauding

her use of ideas from New Historicism to establish the group of the

Victorianactress.(D’Monté94-97)(Againandagain,scholarsresisttheuse

of‘class’forthelesspoliticalandmoregenericterm‘group’.)Butalreadyit


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was being noted (in Feminist Review and other journals) that Davis had

madelittlereferencetotheappearanceofthatstrongandpoliticalfigure

ofthe latenineteenthcentury,the ‘NewWoman’.HerMarxistreadingof

theVictorianactressasthesubjectofexploitationbyemployers,themale

audienceand societyat large,put theactress in the roleof victim.Davis

viewedawoman’sentry intoa lifeonthestagewithinthelightof labour

supply and financial demands, without any consideration of creative

ambitionsorambitionsforpersonalfulfilment.

Gail Marshall offered an important challenge to Davis's work in

1998,exploringhowthe'Galatea-aesthetic'oftheVictorianerapositioned

actressesasvisualand sexual commodities.Marshall restrictedher study

to ‘legitimate theatre,’ (i.e., drama rather thanmusic hall acts) and then

convincinglyargued that theactresscouldbeahighlyconservativesocial

figure.Marshall recognizedhowthisrancountertotheprevalentcurrent

view of the Victorian actress as awoman of positively transgressive and

liberatingsexualenergies. (97)Sheelucidatedhowtheemergenceof the

‘New Drama’ at the end of the century challenged this aesthetic. Her

analysisshowedhowVictorianactresseswerenotconstitutivelysubversive

butinsteadconformedtoVictorianexpectationsofmiddle-classfemininity.

Writing an article on ‘The State of theAbyss:NineteenthCentury

PerformanceandTheatreHistoriography in1999’, JaneMoodyconceded,

‘Davis's monograph represents a brilliant synthesis of interdisciplinary

methods and historical rigour’. (112) Her work was still seen as a

sophisticated critique thatoverturned the familiarorthodoxyofVictorian

actress as prostitute to examine the more complex issue of the social

identity of female performers. But aside from the historical rigour and

economic investigation, feminist scholarship had moved on and was

strainingtolookattheagencyofwomen,ratherthantheirvictimhood.

Kirsten Pullen’s Actresses and Whores: On Stage and in Society

(2004)notedhowtraditionalaccountsandhistoricalinvestigationsfocused

on the subjugation of actresses, rather than their potential for activity.

Pullen opened up the possibility that actresses did have a measure of


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controlovertheirownworkandrepresentations.Inherreading,actresses

wereentitled tounique ‘classprivileges’notafforded tootherwomen in

society. Pullen saw actresses as having a degree of financial autonomy

deniedtomanywomen.(41)

It is in the courseof continuing along the trajectory setbyPullen

thatTheCambridgeCompaniontotheActresscastsofftheassumptionsof

Davis’s work. Gale and Stokes set out their central concern as being ‘as

much to do with the construction, the loss and disguise of the self in

dramatic performance as it iswith the ideological and practical relations

between“acting”and“action’’.’(GaleandStokes2)VivGardneropensup

achapteronautobiographybydiscussinghowactressesusurpedthemale

right to a public persona both as individuals and as members of the

working class, but somehow managed to do this without losing their

subordinateanddomesticroleaswomen.(‘ByHerself’175)

Pullenexplorestheconceptof‘theactress’inGreatBritainandthe

UnitedStates,withaparticularfocusontheseventeenthcentury,butnot

excludingthoseinthetwentiethcentury.Yetagapinscholarshipremains;

therehasbeennoattempttounderstandtheparticularcircumstancesof

‘the Irish actress’. In 2007, Melissa Sihra edited the volume of essays

WomeninIrishDrama:ACenturyofAuthorshipandRepresentation,which

considers female Irish playwrights from Lady Gregory up to the current

day. In her introduction to the volume, Janelle Reinelt spokeof how the

book disentangled realwomen from themythical figures. She called the

volume‘aworkoffeministscholarshipinamomenttoo-oftenconsidered

post feminist’. (Sihra xii) The playwrightMarina Carr also acknowledged

this tardiness in her preface saying, ‘But for now the naming, the

announcing, the revival is the thing.’ (Sihraxi)Productionsof theseplays

andattemptstoestablisheithertheirvalueortheirsuccessinstandingthe

test of time were going to have to wait. The recovery of these female

voiceshadtocomefirst.

Thereisawealthofcriticismanalyzingtheplayscriptsofthe1930s,

situatingtheminthehistoricalcontextoftheIrishFreeState.InWomenin


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IrishDrama:A Century of Authorship andRepresentation, Lisa Fitzpatrick

examineshowthedwindlingopportunitiesaffordedwomeninthisperiod

are reflected in theplays. She stops shortof callingTeresaDeevy’swork

‘feminist’, instead asserting it addresses ‘a discomfort or uncertainty

regarding the unjust social position of women’. (Sihra 71) Fitzpatrick

explores the public reception of Deevy’s work and how the plays were

reinterpreted by male commentators to conform to dominant social

attitudesof the time.Again, the subjectof actress/role isbypassed for a

detailed textual analysis that ignores the creative input of the actresses

performing(andoftencreatingforthefirsttime)theseroles.

It is curious, and startling, to find that in a book that focuses on

female playwrights, the final word was given to an actress and theatre

artist: Olwen Fouéré. Her eloquent afterword opens up a new debate

ratherthanconcludingone,askingnotonlythatwerecoverandcelebrate

thefemaleplaywrights,butthatwe lookagainat thefemaleperformers,

their performances and their lives. (Sihra220) Fouéré’s testament to the

craftandvocationofactresseswasasvalidintheVictorianperiodstudied

byDavisasitwasinthe1930s,anditremainstrueinIrelandtoday.

InhisbookHegemonyandFantasyinIrishDrama1899–1949Paul

Murphysometimeslooksspecificallyatthedepictionofwomen.Heargues

that Deevy’s characters are deliberately hyperbolic to emphasize the

economic brutality and sexual repression of the period. For Murphy,

Deevy’s work shows ‘the relative complicity between women and the

ideological roles they were required to play’. (182) In his work,Murphy

consistentlyattachesthenameoftheperformertothepart.Forexample,

inhisanalysisofTheKingofSpain’sDaughter:

In the opening lines the threat of patriarchal violence is madeclearbyPeterKinsella’s(JohnStephenson)annoyancethatAnnie(RiaMooney)hasn’tmadehisdinnerontime.’(Murphy182)

BysettingouttheclosealliancebetweencharacterandactorintheAbbey

Theatreduringthisperiod,Murphycapturestheconnectionbetweenthe

actressandtherole.Healsohintsat thecomplicityof theaudiencewith


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theAbbeyCompanyduringthisperiod.

In considering Victorian actresses, Davis discusses their unique

positionamongEnglishwomenoftheperiod,onaccountoftheirhavinga

co-sexualworkplaceandtheabilitytoearnequalpay.Davissuggeststhat,

byengaging inan insecure, itinerant, andbohemianoccupation,female performers pushed beyond the traditional consciousnessofhome-centredwomenandengagedinactivestrugglewiththeideology of the dominant (masculine) culture. (‘FeministMethodology’69)

Whilethismightbetrueof Irishactressesduringotherperiodsofhistory

and for femaleperformersoutsideof theAbbey,beingamemberof the

IrishNational Theatre companyduring the1930swasnot an insecureor

wildlybohemianlife.Theideologyofthedominantmasculineculturewas

rarely openly confronted, but my research shows it was continually

encounteredandnegotiatedbywomenonaprivateandcovertlevel.

In a letter to Synge dated 1906 W. B. Yeats declared the

hopelessness of finding a ‘passionatewoman actress in Catholic Ireland.’

(Saddlemyer174) ‘WomenoftheclassofMissGarveyandMissWalker’-

IrishCatholicactresses-Yeatsoncecomplained,‘havenotsensitivebodies’

even though they had ‘high ideals’ and ‘simplicity of feeling’. (Frazier

Behind188)Yeats’insistenceonemployingEnglishwomentoembodyhis

heroinessuggestshenotedaparticularsubjectivityintheperformancesof

the Irish actresses that resisted passionate emotion to conform to Irish

culturalexpectations.

The production values of the Abbey Theatre in the decades after

1906stillborethemarksofitsamateurbeginnings:manyoftheactorshad

dayjobs,thefoodontheplateswascardboardandperformersoftenused

theirownclothesascostumes.The‘illusion’wassignaledbyahugebrass

gong and reinforced by the greasepaint on the performers’ faces.Unlike

thereverentialsilenceoftoday,theaudienceorderedteaandcoffeeand

smokedthroughouttheperformances.

TheatrescholarAoifeMonkshaswrittenoftheformativenatureof


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costume.Monksassertshow‘becauseinatheatreperformance,costumes

represent“clothes”,theybecomesymbolicofaseriesofmoral,emotional

and ideological qualities, and stand in for a set of broader social values.’

(39) The values of Dublin society were intrinsic to the National Theatre,

where actors fashioned their costumes from their own or a borrowed

wardrobe. An outing to the theatre was a social event, where actresses

mingledwiththeatregoersinthelobbydressedastheywereonstage.

ContextfortheworkingstructuresoftheAbbeyTheatreCompany

The Abbey School of Acting was established after the theatre

receivedastatesubsidyin1925,anditofferedeveningclassestostudents

who could pay for tuition. There is little archival data on the nature or

formatoftheclasses,althoughM.J.Dolan’spapersintheNationalLibrary

of Irelandsuggest that studentshad toaudition foraplace in the school

and that the emphasis at such auditions was on vocal technique of the

classicalstyle:enunciation,recitationand‘wordpainting’.(NLIMss22,556)

Students in the school attended weekly classes during the ‘term’

andthetermconcludedwithaperformanceofaplay,usuallydrawnfrom

themainrepertoire.WhiletherewasnoautomaticroutefromtheSchool

ofActing intotheCompany,astheexperiencesofMooneyandO’Connor

show,thedirectorswereawareoftalentedstudents.Requeststojointhe

Company appear to have been on a ‘type needed’ basis. Therefore, if a

memberof theperformingCompany left, theywoulddrawontheschool

to provide the required ‘type’. O’Connor joined the Company after the

femaleingénueKateCurlingdepartedforAmerica;sheautomaticallytook

on the roles Curling had played. Others first appeared with the main

Companywhenachildorteenagerwasspecificallyrequired;forinstance,

May Craig in Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World (1907). Later,

schoolgirlPhyllisRyanwasattendingclasseswhentheyauditionedherfor

theroleofBrigidinShadowandSubstancebyP.V.Carrollin1937.

Itisusefulheretonotetheprerequisiteforactorstohavefinancial

means to pursue their interest in theatre. Students paid for classes and


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only those with employers that allowed time for rehearsals and didn’t

object to public performances, or the independently wealthy, could join

theCompanyonapermanentbasis.Onherappointmentasdirectorofthe

SchoolofActing,Mooneyhadaspirationstoeradicate(oratleast,conceal)

the class differences between the students by providing a standard

‘uniform’.Thisproveddifficultinlightofotherpriorities.(McGlone64)

As well as the Abbey School, the biographies recorded here do

showatransferofartists fromotherperforminggroups inthecitytothe

theatre.Many began performing in the ‘At Homes’ or other upper-class

entertainments, including theDublinDrama League. Therewas a vibrant

amateur music hall scene in Dublin during the 1930s as well as small,

covert but strong scene of experimental theatre. However, only a few

notableexceptions(suchasRiaMooney)transferredseamlesslyfromsuch

groupstotheAbbeyCompany.

Many scholars have considered the social context of the 1930s in

termsofIrishnationality,its‘performance’anditstransmissiononnational

andinternationalstages.BarryMonahan,forinstance,haspointedout:

OnthestageoftheAbbeytheatre,actorsandactresseseffectedan embodiment of the ideological positions occupied by thegroup before and after the foundation of the Irish Free State.(Monahan111)

InActingIrishInHollywood,RuthBartonfollowsthesamelineofenquiry,

developing her argument by considering the identification at work

between film spectators and performers. But while the performance of

nationality has been studied, there has been less consideration of the

impactongenderrolesintheIrishFreeState.Scholarshavenotexplored

theblurringbetweenIrishactressandcharacterthatisnotreflectedinany

script.NobodyhasexplainedthatnegotiatingDublinsociallifeasafemale

member of the acting profession, particularly in the deepening

conservatismofthe1930s,wasataskasarduous,ifnotmoreso,thanany

ofthepartstheyplayed.

Davis’s bookActresses asWorkingWomen: their social identity in


Page27of307

VictorianCulture laid the foundation for subsequent investigationsof the

subject, yet since then theperspectivehas shifted radically.WhereDavis

saw victim,Gale and Stokes see power. Iwant to take up the argument

fromGale and Stokes but to interrogate it in the specific context of the

Irish Free State, where the women were making career choices,

compromisesandpersonaldecisionswithincomplexstrictures.Thenature

of the female parts theywere playing on the stage (whether penned by

menorwomen)putintostarkreliefthecomplicationsoftheirownlives—

bothpersonalandprofessional.

Thisisnotastudyof‘theIrishactress’ingeneralterms.Itdoesnot

seektomakeaclaimforaparticularnatureofperformeracrossdecadesof

Irishhistory. Instead, it focusesonasmallnumberofwomentrainedand

working in the IrishNational Theatreduring the Free Stateperiod,when

therewaspoliticalandsocialpressuretomeetaparticulartypeoffemale

ideal.MyworkseekstopointupthisaspectofthecareersthatIstudy,and

to demonstrate how archival research can expose the pressure on

individual lives,aswellashowthewomenrespondedtothesechallenges

in their own life choices. I’d like to prise apart performativity from

performance, while always showing them as co-constitutive. This is only

possiblewiththeextensiveuseofawiderangeofarchivaldocumentation.

ContextandMicro-History:EncounteringandCounteringGaps

‘TheContextProblem’waselegantlyoutlinedbyT.C.Davisin2004.

Davis asserted, ‘In theatre and performance history, the encounter with

‘gaps’ is a major conundrum of the discipline.’ (203) She uses the art

historytechniquesof ‘rigatino’and‘rondeur’to interrogatetheprocesses

bywhichtheatrehistorianscanmask,fillinordrawattentiontosuchgaps.

Davisasserts, ‘Contextualization isaprocess. It involvesreasonedchoices

aboutwhatissoughtandprovidedasexplanatorymechanisms.’(207)My

work aims to expose these subjective choices and to foreground the

incompletenessofthedatausedtoforgeahistoricalandsocialbackdrop.

As Davis explains, the process of what painters call ‘passage’ allows the


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foregroundingofspecificelementsorfeaturesforthefirsttime.Withinthis

‘complete’landscape,thenarrativesofthesewomen’slives(eachunique)

nowtakethecentralfocus.

Foucault’snotionof‘microhistories’assetoutinTheArchaeology

of Knowledge is one line of enquiry, championing as he does the

connection between the existence of documents and the existence of

events. In the evocatively-titled essay Historians Who Love Too Much:

ReflectionsonMicrohistory&Biography,JillLeporesetsoutthedifferences

inthesetwomodesofworking.Shedefinesmicro-historyasstudyingthe

history of ‘hitherto obscure people’ that ‘concentrates on the intensive

studyofparticular lives’. (130) Leporeargues thatmicro-historians ‘trace

their elusive subjects through slender records and tend to address

themselves to solving small mysteries.’ (133) She explains that micro-

historians see the value of a life in its exemplariness, as an allegory for

broaderissues,ratherthanitsuniqueness.Thatis,‘Thelifestoryisalways

ameanstoanend--explainingtheculture.’(Lepore133)Mysubjectsdid

not, in every case, leave ‘slender’ records, and I address small aswell as

largermysteries. I do not primarily seek to explain the culture, but I do

wanttoexploretheseactresses’livesinrelationtotheirculture.

In a strictly ‘clinical’ sense, one might read this thesis as case

studies of the actress who held steadfast to her individual craft (Aideen

O’Connor),theactresswhotrainedasadirectorandteacher(RiaMooney),

the upper-class girl who became a comedienne (Frolie Mulhern), the

wealthy widow that acted for pleasure (May Craig) and the respectable

Catholicwifeandmother(EileenCrowe).Butonemightalsoreadeachof

these life stories as a unique and discrete biography, celebrating the

individuallifechoices,achievementsandcontributiontotheatreinIreland.

Lepore goes on, ‘Micro-historiansmaintain a kind of distance (or

illusionofdistance)fromtheirsubjects.Abiographer'salteregoisusually

thesubject itself,whileamicro-historian'salteregomaybea figurewho

plays the role of detective/judge in relation to the subject.’ (134) In this


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thesis,Iaimnottojudgebuttounderstandandtonarrativisethedetailsof

theirlives.Inthismode,Ifindmyselfalliedwiththebiographer.

Pullen, inherseminalstudy inthisareaActressesandWhores:On

Stage& In Society, dismisses theuseof casehistories asonly capableof

producing tentative, incomplete, revisable conclusions. (5) The question

thenbecomes:cantentativeincompleteconclusionsbeuseful?Certainly,it

isintheserevisableconclusionsthatsignificanttruthsmaybefound.

Origins&Endings

InFreudianpsychoanalysis,with itsemphasisonrepetition, traces

and repression, Derrida saw a theory of the archive that drove the

investigatoralwaysbacktoorigins.Freudianism,forDerrida,wasascience

of the archive concerned with a powerful (death) drive moving in one

direct line, back to the source,where themomentof inception couldbe

recovered.The‘fever’hewritesofispartofthisdesiretofind,orlocate,or

possessthebeginningsofthings.InheressaycollectionDust:TheArchive

and Cultural History, Carolyn Steedman applied practical experiences of

archivalresearchtoDerrida’stheories.Shearguesin‘Somethingshecalled

a fever: Michelet, Derrida, and Dust’ that authority comes not from

documentsthemselves,butfromtheresearcher’svisits,andsheasserts:

Noonehistorian’sarchiveisever likeanother’s;eachaccountofhis or her experience within them will always producecounterexamples.(Steedman1163)

Theinsistenceon‘withinthem’isrevealing.Herfocusisnotthestructures

aroundthearchive.Instead,archivaldocumentscansubsumeandenvelop

thehistorians.Researchersarriveatthesitewiththeweightoftheirown

ideological baggage, perhapswith an arsenal of political belief already in

place to attack the material. They come with the intention to extract

something. Instead, theymust become absorbed into thematerial, with

thevisit allowingaparticular typeofosmosisbetweenpastandpresent.

While Derrida focuses on possession, Steedman is enthralled by the

creativepossibilitiesintherelationshipbetweenresearcherandmaterial.


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Derridaalsoquestionsthe‘theinstantofarchivization’inanageof

technological advances where boundaries between public and private

spheresareincreasinglydifficulttofind.Writingashewasin1995,Derrida

may have anticipated but could not have foreseen exactly how digital

technologies would transform both social and cultural contemporary life

and the process of storing and researching archives. Steedman arguably

needs to incorporate such changes into her own exploration of research

expeditions.Now,thejourneycanbevirtual.Thecompositionofthe‘dust’

inhaled in sucha simulatedencounterhasbeenomitted fromher study.

Refutinganyconnectionbetweenarchivesandorigins,Steedmansays:

Rather, they hold everything in medias res, the account caughthalfway through, most of it missing, with no end ever in sight.(‘Somethingshecalledafever’1175)

This refutation comes from the notion of ‘dust’; the exploration of

everything and nothing that archives may contain, where the minutest

detailcanbevital,andabsencescanbeastellingastheitemspresent.For

evenifoneiscollectingmaterialwiththeknowledge(orhope)thatitwill

bearchived,howcanoneknowthefinalshapethismaterialwilltakewhen

eventshaven’tyetunfolded?

Joseph Holloway’s diaries in the National Library of Ireland

represent a particular type of archive for theatre historians, and indeed

culturalhistorians,researchingDublininthefirstdecadesofthetwentieth

century. Holloway transcribed and catalogued events in a meticulous

fashion.Hisnarrativestyle,episodicandasymmetric,makesnodistinction

between‘everything’and‘nothing’,describingashedoesthetrafficonthe

way home with the same detail as the performance he had seen. Long

conversations with Abbey directors sit side-by-side with banal dialogues

with strangers. Frank O’Connor described the journal as ‘that donkey’s

detritus’. (Hogan and O’Neill xvi) Editors have described it as ‘a gigantic

repositoryoftriviarendered inastylethatmakesthereadingsometimes

an almost unendurable agony’ while it retains ‘hypnotic fascination’.

(HoganandO’Neillxx)


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TheepisodicstructureHollowayemploysstallstraditionalnarrative

drive, working in opposition to the autobiographical (and biographical)

instincttonarrateandshapestory.AsSteedmansays, ifhistoriansareto

contemplate ‘everything’, thentheymustbeginsomewhere,which isnot

to say theymust find anorigin. Steedmanasserts, ‘starting is a different

thing fromoriginating,or even frombeginning.’ (‘Something she calleda

fever’1177)It’svitaltobegin,withoutfindingthebeginning.

Similarly,thereisnoending.Webringaboutaconclusion,butthere

isnoend;thereaderisstilltherewiththeclosedbook,andtheresearcher

remains,packingbagsinthearchiveroomofthelibraryandpreparingfor

the journey home. The biographical subject lives on within that

relationship and ‘the truth’ is never found but ‘a truth’ is conjured into

beingbythatencounter.

ConjuringaTruth:SpeculationandImagination

Thomas Postlewait has drawn attention to the significance of

micro-history as a means of investigating the theatrical past. He

persuasivelyarguesthatstudyingthepastsynchronicallymayyieldresults

thatdiffer substantially frommorediachronic studies. (Normingtonet al.

‘Researching’ 96) As Schneider has asked of Phelan’s concept of ‘a

maniacally charged present’: ‘is it not punctuated by, syncopated with,

indeed charged by other moments, other times?’ (92) This notion of

syncopating archives with ‘other times’, of releasing moments from the

restrictionsof linearnarrativehistory tosyncopate,orpulse through, the

present is compelling, permitting as it does an element of informed

creativity. In fact, Research Methods in Theatre and Performance is

perhapsmostconvincingwhenitstatesthat:

thestudyoftheatrehistoryandhistoriographyissomethingofanadventure,notsomuchasurveyofwhatwas,asaninvestigationof what might have been. […] It arguably comes alive at themoment when careful scholarship and detailed research mergewith imaginative speculation to ignite a creative yet informedresponsetolivedata.(Normingtonetal.‘Researching’97)


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This echoes the call of Susan Bennett to feminist scholars to reconceive

theatre history itself: ‘I see the task as one thatmust drawemphatically

not on notions of “truth” or “fact”, but on what history most fears:

imagination.’(51)

Thisideaof‘imaginativespeculation’mustbeinterrogatedfurther.

InReflectionsonBiography,PaulaBackscheiderremindsusthatthereare

nofacts;thereisonlyevidenceforassessmentandinterpretation.(61)She

states: ‘Evidencemust bepresented inways thatmake the arrangement

seem to have arisen almost irresistibly from it.’ (Backscheider 88) In the

elision of ‘seem to’, there is once again the slip into the area of

‘imaginative speculation’. A stable, fixed history is not dictated by an

archive.Truth,evenwhenrestingondocumentaryevidence,iselusive.

Archives,whetherofficialorun-official, textualornon-textual,are

onlyformsofevidence.Datarequiresapatterntobecomesuggestiveofa

meaning.Appropriate strategies for reading suchevidenceeffectivelyare

essential. An example may help to illustrate this point. The marriage

certificate for Arthur Shield’smarriage to his thirdwife, Laurie Bailey, is

contained in theShieldsFamilyArchive in the JamesHardimanLibraryat

NUIGalway.ThecertificatewasissuedbyOurLadyofPeaceChurch(15444

NordhoffStreet,Sepulveda,California91343)on17thSeptember1955.The

names on the certificate in the archive read Lewis Shields and Loretta

Bailey.(ShieldsT13/A/495)Thecollection’sdescriptiveliststatesthisisan

error;theerrorwasnotedbyLaurieShieldsinlateryears,inpersonandin

writing.

Whatisthe‘real’orthe‘truth’insuchcases?TherecordorShields’

later anecdote? Can they, as Taylor advocates, work ‘in tandem’ where

theyovertlyresisteachother?Orcanaccesstothepastcomethroughan

erroneousdocument?Botharchiveandanecdoterevealsomethingabout

thatday,theevent.Thiscomplicatedrelationshipbetweendocumentand

memoryrequiresonetoreflectonthemannerinwhicharchivesperform.


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TheMannerinwhichArchivesPerform

In2009, culturalhistorianRobinBernsteinput forward thenotion

of ‘thescriptive thing’ inanarticleentitled ‘DanceswithThings:Material

Culture and the Performance of Race.’ Bernstein defined the ‘scriptive

thing’asa ‘heuristic tool fordealingwith incompleteevidence—andall

evidence is incomplete— tomake responsible, limited inferences about

the past.’ (76) Bernstein proposed that agency and intention co-emerge

through everyday physical encounters with thematerial world and used

this concept to explore issues of race. It is my proposition that in the

theatre historian or researcher’s encounter with any archive collection,

eacharticleofmaterialbecomessucha‘scriptivething’.

Following Heidegger, Bernstein elucidates that the essential

difference between a ‘thing’ and an ‘object’ is situational; a thing will

assert itself within a field of matter. (69) It follows that each item of

archival material is not a ‘scriptive thing’ by virtue of having been

catalogued and stored for posterity, but it becomes so through the

encounter with the researcher. That status is not assured until it is

examinedandputtowork.Bernsteinsays:

Anobjectbecomesathingwhenitinvitesapersontodance.[…]At the deepest ontological level, then, performance is whatdistinguishesanobjectfromathing.(70)

Ifitisperformancethatcharacterizesathing,itfollowsthateacharticleof

archivalmaterial inbecominga ‘scriptive thing’performs;and the ‘thing’

comestoconstitutebotharchiveandrepertoire.Taylor’sbinaryfallsaway:

The scriptivity [...] calls into question the verymodel of archiveandrepertoireasdistinct-but-interactive.(Bernstein89)

It follows that whether one is considering a dramatic text, an oral

interview,ananecdote,taxcorrespondenceorabookofphotographs,the

formofthethingismoot.Onepieceofevidenceisnotdistinguishedfrom

the other by virtue of having been ‘left behind’ or by being ‘not

transposable’. If the researcher chooses to dance with it, to treat each


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articleasacluefromthepastandpledgetothefuturefromthathistorical

moment,itbecomesascriptivethingratherthananinanimateobject.

Thelyricalconceptof‘dancingwiththings’capturestheinteraction

between researcher and archivalmaterial, but it obscures the inelegant,

frustrated relationship that often characterizes such research. Bernstein

accepts as essential the need to gain contextual understanding, but she

alsoinsiststhattherelationshipwitharchivalmaterialtakesitsownform:

One gains performance competence not only by accruingcontextualizingknowledgebutalso, crucially,byholdinga thing,manipulating it, shaking it to see what meaningful gesturestumbleforth.(90)

While the researchermayhold, shakeormanipulate it, archives conduct

theirownperformanceinthatencounter:‘thegesturestumbleforth’.

Drawing on archives to construct a composite biography such as

this,theresearcherfindsthatthe‘scriptivethings’cometostagetheirown

performanceofidentity.Itmaybeusefulheretorevisitsomeofthetypes

ofscriptivethingsthisthesishasdrawnon.Whilethereisnohierarchyof

evidential truth inparticular items, it is important to ask if thenatureof

each‘scriptivething’shapestheperformanceinparticularways.

ThePerformanceofArchives

PersonalLetters

MyresearchbeganwiththelettersofAideenO’Connor,writtenby

hand and sent home as she traversed theUS for the first timewith the

AbbeyTheatreCompany. These lettershadalreadybeenconfined to the

periphery:theywerecollectedbyShields’sthirdwifeassheresearcheda

biographyofherhusbandandusedonly forbackgrounddetailsaboutUS

tours.O’Connorwasagoodletterwriter:passionate,livelyandpackingher

correspondence with intimate thoughts and details specifically for the

recipient. The letters dating from 1934-35 and 1937-38 foreground the

differencesbetweenO’Connor’slifestyleandthatofhersistersathome.In

tone, they are young, confident and ambitious. They present a

professional, successful actress throwing off her middle-class roots and


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envisioninganewlifeforherselfinAmerica.Immediateandvisceral,they

presentfleetingmomentsinherlifeasatravellingperformer.

O’Connor’slaterletterstotheatreproducerEddieChoates,written

from Hollywood during World War II, mimic the same tone: upbeat,

confident and forward-looking, yet they perform differently. Now typed,

lettersoftenbeginwithformalreferencestobusinessarrangementsbefore

personaldetailsspillout.Work-relatednewsoftenslipsintothewayward

fantasies of someone drinking heavily. The loss of O’Connor’s belief and

passion ispalpable inthegapbetweentheformaltypeofthe lettersand

thepersonalsituationofthewriter,asexpressedinherprivatejournals.

Scrapbooks

In thecaseofFrolieMulhern, therearenoarchived letters inher

handwriting,givingushervoiceandtellingastory inwhichshe iscentral

and driving the action. Rather, there are scrapbooks of press cuttings:

articles, social columns, theatre reviews and photographs. Mulhern

constructed for posterity a ‘scriptive thing’ where the story, the

information, comes only from outside sources and circles around her

absence. The section on her life in this thesis begins and concludes in a

similar way, with her death detailed in formal obituaries rather than in

personal accounts. The obscure anecdote in Mooney’s autobiography

about a premonition of death delivered by an Asian woman in San

Franciscoalsoappears todealwithMulhern’sdeathata formal remove,

andcanbeseentoperformthelossfeltbyacolleagueandfriend.

Anecdotes

Formally recorded in autobiographies (such as that by Vincent

Dowling)or transmittedorally,anecdotesabound in Irish theatrehistory.

Rather than dismiss these as fables, or attempt to ‘verify’ their accuracy

(often impossible), I embrace themythic status of these scriptive things,

andwork to dislodge their emotional or historicalweight. The questions

become:whatdoesthisanecdoteexpressaboutthesubject?What isthe


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inference, the joke,pointinguporat?Whatdoes this tale tell about the

audience?Howdoesitreflecttheirunderstandingofthesubject?

Akeyexampleistheubiquitousstoryofhow,onbeingcastasRosie

Redmond in O’Casey’s The Plough and the Stars, Mooney had no

knowledgeofhowaprostituteearnedmoney.Evidencesuggeststhisstory

emanated from Mooney herself; many claim it is a falsehood. But the

deepertruthmaybethatMooneyunderstoodCatholicsociety in Ireland,

andtheimportanceofstressinghervirtue.Thestoryservedtodefendher

honourandthatofherfamilyinthefaceofhostility.Inaddition,itserved

thesectionofIrishtheatre-goingsocietyofthetimethatrefusedtoaccept

O’Casey’sdepictionofDublinanditsunsavouryinhabitants.

BusinessRecords

Often deemed to be devoid of personal or artistic input, the

business correspondence and financial records of the theatre company

(suchas thecollectionofElbertWickes,Americanproducerof theAbbey

toursintheUS)performinadifferentfashiontotheevidencelistedabove.

The legal correspondence, tax records, box office figures and financial

accounts; all of the practical details of his business, including a detailed

inventoryofthecontentsofhisofficeonBoylstonStreet inBoston,stack

upintoaframeworkwithinwhichthehistoricalcharactersareswirlingso

fast that they are invisible. Such details may perform by stealth, with

financial strains hidden in columns of figures, or they can set out the

inequitybetweencompanymembers,inthecompositionofwagepackets.

All archives, then, perform as ‘scriptive things’. In innumerable

ways, they perform an absence, a disappearance. To repeat Schneider:

‘The archive performs the equation of performance with disappearance,

even as it performs the service of ‘saving’. (99) But in equating

performancewith disappearance, it follows thatwe equate performance

withloss.Theperformanceofthearchivebecomesalwaysaperformance

of loss, unless onemakes of that performance a narrative that not only

enduresbutextendsintothefuture.


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ADefenceofNarrativeinBiography

Givenmy focuson imaginativespeculation,ondancing thingsand

ephemeral fragments, itmayappearmyuseof chronologicalnarrative is

outofstepwithmythinking.Therefore,I’dliketosetoutadefenceofthe

structure.Inthestudyofhistory,narrativehasforsometimebeenviewed

asa‘fictionaldeviceusedbythehistoriantoimposeareassuringorderon

randomlyarrivingbitsofinformationaboutthedead.’(Schamaxvi)Rather

thanusenarrativetoimposeareassuringorder,Ihavesoughttofind,and

impose,apatternthatcorrespondstothelivesofthesewomen.Indeed,in

his discussion of the limits and possibilities of narrative that precedes

Citizens:AChronicleoftheFrenchRevolution,historianSimonSchamasays:

Asartificialaswrittennarrativesmightbe,theyoftencorrespondtowaysinwhichhistoricalactorsconstructevents.Thatistosay,many, if not most, public men see their conduct as in partsituated between role and models from an heroic past andexpectationsofthejudgmentofposterity.(xvi)

The ‘actors’ referred to here are the performers on the stage of

worldhistory,but the statement isequallyapplicable to theatricalactors

andactresses.ReiteratingFouéré’sbeliefaboutthestatusofactorsquoted

inmyintroduction,performersconsistentlyseetheirlivesinthislightand

construct their life story accordingly. Thewomenof theAbbeyCompany

during the 1930s performed the position, career and the social role of

‘actress in the National Theatre’. My writing seeks to emulate that

formulation;itproposesthatallaccountsofalife(includingthisone)area

performativenarrativeandarenot‘thetruth’orverifiably‘real’.

Inwritingabout‘fever’inducedbyarchivalresearch,Steedmanwas

drawnintothediscussiononvalidityofnarrativeasaform.Sheasserts:

The grammatical tense of the archive is not, then, the futureperfect, not the conventional past historic of English-speakinghistorians,noreventhepresenthistoriqueoftheFrench,butthesyntaxofthefairytale.(‘Somethingshecalledafever’1177)

Fairytale syntax, beginning always ‘Once upon a time’ and choosing to

concludeatapointwhere‘theyalllivedhappilyeverafter’,underpinsthe

factthatthehistorywespeakoforwriteabout isno longerthere(ithas


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disappearedintothepast)butalsothatitneverwas;thatistosay,itnever

wasinsuchawayasithasbeentold.

Tonarrativisethese lives is, insomesmallway,toshifttheaxisof

powerfromthetellingofIrishtheatrehistorythroughthelivesofmentoa

more balanced depiction of events: performances and backstage events

that may have impacted on those performances as experienced by the

femaleplayersinthathistory.

While Davis has insisted that history itself is a narrative form,

Backscheider insists that the best biographies deliver a ‘narrative’ of the

life trajectory. She insists on the need for ‘the transformation of instinct

intopatternsof action, into character, into style—intoan identitywith a

core of integrity’, to produce a successful and satisfactory biography.

(Backscheider 124) The term transformation implies the impositionof an

external form, the application of something that is not there. However,

otherbiographersarguethatitisessentialtofindtheidealliteraryformto

expresseach life, thus forcing thewriter togobeyond the restrictionsof

cultural models and narrative expectations. (Backscheider 103)

Transformation becomes transmutation, where the base substance (or

evidence)ispresented,ormadevisible,inanotherform.

InReflectionsonBiographyBackscheiderquotesCatherineBowen

whensheclaimsthat:‘abiographyisnotanencyclopaedia,itisthestoryof

a life’. (85) In his Six Memos for the Next Millennium, Italo Calvino

pronounced: ‘Each life is an encyclopaedia, a library, an inventory of

objects, a series of styles, and everything canbe constantly shuffled and

reorderedineverywayconceivable.’(124)Itisthisdialecticaltension,that

oftheencyclopaediaandthenarrative,theevidenceandthepattern,the

archiveandthelifethatdrivesthenarrativesofthelifestoriesI’vewritten

and forms the core of this thesis.

Chapter2:EileenCrowe(1898-1978)andMayCraig(1889–1972)

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ActualizinganAbsence:TheLifeofEileenCrowe

Eileen Crowe was true to her travelling tradition and did notappearatall,shewasonthetrainbutunseen.(GeorgeYeatsqtd.inSaddlemyer491-492)

Archival searches have yet to produce a substantial amount of

material relating to Eileen Crowe’s personal life, or any documentation

revealingherownthoughtsabouthercareer.2Thiskindofabsenceposes

significant difficulties for the theatre historian or biographer, particularly

when, as in this study, she is the onlywoman in the group to present a

lacunaofthisorder.Itbrings,forthisresearcher,asadnessforalossthat

can’t be articulated, as there is no discernible shadowofwhat has been

lost.Onherretirementin1970,Crowehadplayedonethousandandthirty

fourpartsonthestageoftheAbbeyTheatre.Shewasakeyfigure inthe

Company from the 1920s onwards, originating many of the best-known

characters in Irish drama, and her wholesome, maternal persona was a

long-establishedfeatureoftheCompanyathomeandabroad.Yetlittlehas

been written about her career as a whole, or her contribution to Irish

theatrehistory.Reviewsareplentiful,anecdotesfromothersabound;but,

inthecaseofEileenCrowe,asenseofthewomanherselfisabsent.

Suchmethodologicalproblemsareaknownentitywithinthewider

fieldsofperformancestudiesandtheatrehistory.Enmeshedherewiththe

issueoftheephemeralityofperformanceisthefactthat,‘Historically,the

figure of the actress has often beenmarked by absence and exclusion.’

(GaleandStokes1)Thischapter,andindeedthisthesisasawhole,moves

betweenthepersonalandtheperformanceinaconstant,fluidmanner.It

incorporates the material facts of Crowe’s work to show the economic

realities for Abbey actresses, and explores how these intersected with

gender roles more broadly. Before concentrating on the carefully

2ThisistrueforarchivesinDublin,therestofIrelandandAmerica,includingtheAbbeyTheatre’sowndigitalarchivehousedatNUI,Galway.


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modulatedpresentationoftheself inthelifeandcareerofEileenCrowe,

I’dliketoconsiderthewiderbackgroundandtheoreticalissuesaroundthe

provisionofcontexttoanarrativeaccountofherlife.

In ‘The Context Problem’ of 2004 (previously mentioned in my

introduction), Davis explored the process of contextualization, and how

theoriesofperformanceandfeministhistoriography intersectedwiththis

processinthestudyoftheatrehistory.Daviscompareshistoricalcontextto

an optical trick, by which writers produce a multi-dimensional effect; in

effect, where they aim to make something appear complete, where

completeness is not possible. But the process of ‘passage’, as Davis

outlines, can be used in an alternative fashion. By placing the object of

study differently, lacunae surrounding it can ‘pull [the object] into the

foreground’.(‘Context’204)

DavisdrewontheworkofItalianhistorianandproponentofmicro-

history,CarloGinzburg,whofirst focusedattentiononthehistorian’suse

of ‘rigatino’. Ginzburg said the following of this art restoration method,

whichinvolved‘hatching’incolouranddetail:

The context, seen as a space of historical possibilities, gives thehistorianthepossibilitytointegratetheevidence,oftenconsistingonly of scattered fragments, about an individual’s life. We areobviouslyfarfromajudicialperspective.(90)

‘Rigatino’ leaves its mark on the page. For future art restorers and for

viewers, itmakesthenatureofthereparationvisible; it leavesanoutline

oforstatementaboutthedecisionsmade.Withsuchatechnique,specific

evidence can be integrated into a bigger landscape. Details are used to

supplement thecontextand thecontext isaligned to fitwith thedetails.

The following section on Eileen Croweworks in this fashion. The lack of

specific archival evidence shifted from being an obstacle to being a

statementabouthowCroweledherlife.

Davis states, ‘[I]n writing theatre and performance history, we

utilizetheory,logic,surmiseandinduction.’(‘Context’204)Thisthesisasa

wholemayworkby induction, i.e., inferringageneral lawfromparticular


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instances. However, this section works by deduction: inferring the

particularfromthegeneral.Istressthatthissectionworksinthismanner

because of the limited amount of specific evidence available. On

integratingparticularevidence into thewider social context, I found that

the result suggests the life of this particular actress is most usefully

consideredwithin themodel of Irishwomanhood promoted by the Irish

FreeState.TheundocumentednatureofCrowe’scareerledmetoconsider

what social historian Caitriona Clear has termed the ‘visible but silent’

character of Irish women in the period before World War II. (49) The

existenceandsocialrealityofwomenduringthisperiodwasnotconcealed,

buttheirsocialandpoliticalpower,theirvoices,wereoccluded.

Asalreadyindicated,Croweplayedoveronethousandpartsonthe

stageoftheAbbeyTheatreduringhercareer,withJunoBoyleinO’Casey’s

Junoand thePaycock hermost frequent role. (AbbeyArchivesDatabase)

AfterplayingMaryBoylefivetimes,CrowewentontoplayJunointhirty-

seven separate productions of the O’Casey play. Thirty-five times she

appeared in separate productions of The Shadow of a Gunman, also by

O’Casey, as Minnie Powell. Other repeated roles were Peggy Scally in

George Shiels’ comedy Professor Tim (32 productions) and Marian in

LennoxRobinson’sTheFar-OffHills(31productions.)SheplayedPegeenin

The Playboy of the Western World seventeen times, between the mid-

1920s andmid-1930s.Here, I’d like to trace theparts forwhich shewas

bestknown,evenwheretheyweren’thermostcriticallysuccessful.

The lack of documentary evidence makes an exhaustive study of

Crowe’slifeandcareerimpossible.Thischapteris,instead,anexploration

oftheworkshedidinthe1920sand1930s,andhowthoseperformances

set themodel for the rest of her career. It explores her acting style and

persona, the influenceofher forebearsonthatstyleofperformance, the

keypartssheplayedashercareerdevelopedandthematerialfactsofher

labour.Byexploringboththedepictionofwomenintheplaytextsofthis

periodand themanner inwhichCrowe interpretedandperformed these

roles,wecancome toamorenuancedunderstandingof theonandoff-


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stagerolesofIrishactressesduringthisperiod.

ThischapteralsoservestoilluminateCrowe’spositionintheAbbey

TheatreCompanyasacomparisontotheotheractresses,andparticularly

totheactressMayCraig.Ofasimilarageandalsomarriedwithchildren,

Craig isan insightfulcomparisonanddetailsofhercareerextracted from

herpersonalpapersinIrishtheatrearchivesareincludedhere.Itbecomes

evident that Crowe’s work presents a particularly telling study of Irish

womanhoodonthestageoftheAbbeyTheatreandontourintheUnited

StatesduringtheIrishFreeStateperiod.

GenderandClassStructureinIrelandduringtheFreeStatePeriod

HistorianMaryE.Dalyhashighlightedthatthehistoryofwomenin

Ireland inthetwentiethcentury isunique,butalsoverysimilartothat in

other countries. All across Europe after the first World War, dominant

ideologies confined the role of women to the family. With mass

unemployment and economic stagnation, most labour movements were

ambivalentonthequestionoffemalesintheworkplacewhilefallingbirth

rates concerned all national governments, for various reasons. Between

the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922 and the SecondWorld

War,thepartitionofIrelandandtherestorationofpublicorderwerekey

political issues for the government. The social ideologies that emanated

from the religious and political spheres during this period had long-

standingimplicationsforwomen.

In anessayentitled ‘Church, StateandWomen:TheAftermathof

Partition’,LiamO’Dowddrawsoutthereciprocalrelationshipbetweenthe

ProtestantchurchesintheNorthandtheCatholicChurchintheFreeState,

but demonstrates the ‘substantial theological differences’ between the

churchesonwomen’sroleinsociety.O’Dowdarguesthattheprominence

ofMariancults in IrishCatholicism fromthenineteenthcenturyonwards

separatedsex fromsexuality,andcontributed to theCatholic idealization

of motherhood. (13) Such theological differences created practical

differences,wherebyProtestantclergyemphasizedthespiritualcontractof


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marriageandtheindividualconscience,whiletheCatholicclergysoughtto

policethefamilyfromwithout.

Commentators,suchasMariaLuddyandMaryDaly,havewrittenof

howtheFreeStateandtheCatholicChurchshapedthefunctionandplace

ofwomen through issues relating to sexuality. As Luddy points out, ‘the

politicization of sexual behaviour had been a feature of Irish nationalism

fromthelatenineteenthcentury,’butfromthe1920s,itwasbelievedthat

the bodies of women threatened the morality of the State. (80) Moral

regulation lay in the imposition of standards of idealized conduct for

women. The imposition of these standards arguably also impacted the

Abbeyactingstyleimmeasurably.

Theextensivewritingsofsocialhistoriansandscholarsofwomen’s

studies (such as Caitriona Clear and Myrtle Hill) have proved time and

againthatattemptstodefineIrishwomanhoodduringtheearlypartofthe

century are riven with problems. Assessing the political and economic

status of Irishwomen is, however, possible by drawing on historical and

politicalfacts.Irishwomenoverthirtyyearsofageandthoseowningland

won suffrage in December 1918, with restrictions being lifted ten years

later to allowallwomenover theageof twenty-one to vote.While Irish

womenwere allowed to express their views in the polling booth earlier

than in most European states, they were forced to choose between

workingandmarriagebyanumberoflegalmeasures.

The Free State Act of 1935 gave the Minister for Industry and

Commerce powers to prohibit women from working in some industries,

and to prevent employers taking on more women than men. The

EmploymentAct, in the sameyear,extended themarriagebar toall civil

serviceposts, requiringwomenholdingstateemployment to resignupon

marriage.Whilepaidworkwasconsideredappropriate,andevenhealthy,

forsinglewomen,itdidnotreflectwellonahusbandtohaveawifeinthe

workplace.TherateofmarriedIrishwomeninpaidemploymentremained

around 6% until the 1960s. (Hill 99-100) Crowe, Craig and the other

marriedwomenoftheAbbeywereinthatminority.


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In the new Irish Free State, public order relied heavily on the

CatholicChurchandtheadoptionofEnglishCommonLawtorestoreand

maintainstability.WhileCelticBrehonlaws,whichprecededtheCommon

Law, gave women an egalitarian role in terms of marital and property

rights, English Common Law awarded them only a subordinated role to

theirhusbandwhenitwasfirstimplementedintheseventeenthcentury.

HistorianJoeLeearguesinhisessay‘WomenandtheChurchsince

the Famine’ that the socio-economic status of women reduced sharply

aftertheFamineofthe1840s,whentheemergenceofadominantclassof

strong tenant farmers transformed the class structure. (MacCurtain and

O’Corrain37) Theemergent systemof land inheritanceand the resulting

migrationofwomenhadgrave implications fortheirprospectandstatus.

By the 1920s and 1930s, while women had acquired the right to own

property,theycouldnotmakeavalidlegalcontractandtheirdomicilewas

legally regarded as that of her husband. In a society based on property

ownership, they retained little or no political power. One effect of the

idealization of family,marriage andmotherhood in both parts of Ireland

was to obscure the distribution of resourceswithin the family between

men and women. (O’Dowd 29) In the property-less working class, the

income-earning potential of womenwas of greater importance but long

working hours and family responsibilities keptmost of them from being

involvedinpoliticalactivismor influencingstatepolicies inanysignificant

way.

AsO’Dowdobserves, ‘BothChurchandState […]werecommitted

toideologicallyconsecratingthesmallproperty-owning,rural-basedsocial

system’. (29) Insuchasystem,themaleproperty-owningfarmerwasthe

centralfigureofpower.Singlewomenhadlittlestatuswhilethestatusof

marriedwomenwasideologicalratherthanmaterial.Theconservatismof

the states (both nationalist and unionist), the ideology of the Catholic

Church and the laissez-faire political ideology of the time all militated

against theparticipationofwomen inpublic life.Tom Inglishasexplored

the social grounding of loyalty to the Catholic Church and demonstrated


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thecloselinkbetweenreligiouscapitalandsocialacceptanceandrespect.

(68)He insightfullysuggeststhat it isanerrorto interpretthepositionof

womenasvictims,ashopelessorpowerless.Buttheirgendermadetheir

powerradicallydifferent. In fact,womencouldgainandholdpoweronly

byvirtueoftheirdisplayofsexualmorality.

The fact remains that the ideological separation of public and

private (familial) spheres, which was enforced by thematerial and class

conditionsof the time,hasobscuredwomen’s subordination, in termsof

classandgender,aswellasthefulldimensionsoftheirsocialrole.(33)The

roleinsocietyofanactressintheNationalTheatre,therefore,providesa

particularly complex but nonetheless illuminating case study of the

operationsofgenderandclassinIrishsocietyduringthistime.

The index of Caitriona Clear’s extensive survey Women of the

House:Women'sHouseholdWork in Ireland1922–61skipsdirectlyfrom

‘Abortion’ to ‘Advice towomen:beautyandappearance’. (274)Actresses

don’t figure inClear’sstudyandthere isanotable lackof informationon

thisparticular formof labourduring thatperiod. Inan interview in2012,

writerandeditorValMulkerns(whoattendedtheAbbeyfromthe1930s)

referred toMcCormick and Crowe by theirmarried names, ‘the Judges’.

She remarked on how the Judges’ two children (a boy and a girl) were

never seenat the theatre.Crowe,more thananyof theotherwomen in

mystudy, tookon thecontradictorypositionsofprofessionalactressand

mother. She somehow combined these roles to come to exemplify the

respectableandhumblemotherprizedbytheIrishFreeState.

ThePrivateLifeofEileenCrowe

‘Iamnotadancer.Iamnotasinger.Iamnotanything,’Crowetold

a journalist from theBoston Evening Transcript in 1933. (Scrapbooks NLI

Mss25,511-23)Shespokeeffusivelyabouttheworkofheractorhusband,

F.J.McCormick(alsoamemberoftheAbbeyCompany),butplayeddown

herowncareer.F.J.McCormickwasthestagenameofPeterJudge.Until

hisdeathin1947,husbandandwifeoftenappearedonthestageinDublin


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andontourasacouple,beforegoinghometogethertotheirtwochildren

intheirsuburbanhomeonPalmerstownRoadinRathmines.

Crowewas a privatewoman,who strove to conceal the stress of

motherhood in her public work as an actress. It is known she had two

children, a boy and a girl, but extensive searches failed to find any

documentation in the public domain recording when she gave birth, or

how she and her husband arranged childcare while they worked and

toured. There are no clues as to how she balanced professional and

domestic life; shekept suchdetailsprivate. (Craig’s familyarrangements,

conversely, were easy to source.) As quoted above, Crowe’s traditional

approachtotouringwastoavoidallunnecessarypublicityandbetherebut

unseen.When theactorsgathered forphotographsand rowdy farewells,

sheoftenkeptherselfandherprivatelifeconcealed.

Background

CrowetrainedattheAbbeySchoolofActingandLennoxRobinson

wasenamouredbyhertalentsatherauditionfortheCompany.Robinson

later claimed that, ‘Five minutes’ audition from Eileen Crowe was

sufficient.’(CurtainUp114)AswellascastingherasNorainHenrikIbsen’s

A Doll’s House, he cast her in many leading reals in his drawing room

comedies. These plays include The Far-Off Hills (1928), Drama at

Inish(1933),Church Street (1934), andKillycreggs in Twilight(1937). (Her

appearancesinRobinson’scomediesarediscussedseparately.)

In 1923 the Dublin Drama League presented a play titled The

Kingdom of God by Gregorio Martinez-Sierra at the Abbey Theatre. The

playhadbeentranslatedfromtheSpanishbyHelenandHarleyGranville-

BarkerandwasproducedbyArthurShields.InNovemberofthefollowing

year, Crowe revived her central role of Sister Gracia with the Abbey

CompanyinaproductionofthesameplaydirectedbyM.J.Dolan.

Thisquietdramatracesthethreestagesinthelifeofagirlfroma

prominentfamilywhoentersareligiousorderattheageofnineteen.She

serves old men in an asylum, unmarried mothers in a home and finally


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abandonedchildreninanorphanage.Despitethepleasofherfamilyanda

marriageproposal fromadoctor, sheholds fast toherCatholic faithand

devotiontoservitude.ThecharacterofSisterGraciastoodoutinthecast

from1923,withEveningHeraldcriticF.J.O’Donnellnotingon22October:

Thegreatergloryof theactingbelongs toMissEileenCrowe.AsSister Gracia she gave a perfect interpretation of the mentaloscillationsofayoungreligieuse.(‘KingdomofGod’)

Onemight surmise that these were oscillations Crowe personally

understood.Byherownadmission,shewasamoody,dissatisfiedteenager.

Shejoinedaconventasapostulantin1922,onlytoleavefourmonthslater.

Taking to thestage, sheclaimed,easedher temperament.Gradually, she

becamethe‘demure’womanknowntoDublinaudiences.(HigginsNLIMss

27,883(7))Thischaste,religiousandhomelynaturewasastrongfeatureof

Crowe’scareerandwasthepersonashelaterchosetobuildhertheatrical

reputationupon.Yet,earlyinhercareercertaincastingchoicesallowedfor

thepossibleemergenceofadifferentkindofactress.Themannerinwhich

Marriage,motherhoodandmorality

InDecember1925JosephHollowayreportedinhisdiary:

WehadaveryromanticmarriageoftwoplayersattheAbbeyonWednesday last at Dalkey, when FJMcCormick (Peter Judge, togivehimhisrightname)wedEileenCrowe.Noneofthecompanyknew of the coming event until the evening before when theywereinvitedtotheweddingthenextmorning.(HoganandO’Neill248)As sociologist Tom Inglis has pointed out, the key difference

betweenIrishCatholicsandotherWesternEuropeanCatholicsofthistime

was‘thegeneralacceptanceoftheChurchasthelegislatorandarbiterof

morality.’(138)Inglisoutlinesthelinkbetweenreligiouscapitalandsocial

acceptance and respect in Ireland, particularly forwomen. Education for

girls (formal and informal) prioritized the development of modesty and

virtue.Forwomentomaintainmoralpower,thesefeatureswereessential,

particularlyaftermarriage.Inglisfurtherexplains:


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Once a woman got married and gave up her dowry (economiccapital)andheroccupation(politicalcapital),herabilitytoattainother forms of capital became dependent on being well-respected,civil,andmoral.(72)

One of Crowe’smost repeated roles was that of Peggy Scally in George

Shiels’match-making comedyProfessor Tim.She appeared in the part in

thirty-twoproductions.AccordingtoShiels’text,Peggyis‘anattractivegirl

ofabout twenty-six.’ (67)As theplayopens, she is sittingaloneathome

‘doinglaundry-workatthetable.’(Shiels67)Whiletheplayis,accordingto

ChristopherMurray’sintroduction,‘boundupwithShiels’lastinginterestin

theIrishlandquestion’,itcentresonthelovingrelationshipbetweenPeggy

andherneighbourHughO’Cahan.(Shiels xvii) Theplotdemonstrates the

economicsofIrishmarriageatthistime.

O’Cahanhas fallen intodebt, andhis family estate is about tobe

repossessed. Because of this, Peggy’s mother has insisted she end her

relationship with O’Cahan and marry Joseph Kilroy. As the head of the

family’sfinances,MrsScallyisstrategicinaffairsoftheheart;herhusband

always acquiesces to her demands. Kilroy is the son of local landowners

andthisunionwillallowforawealthyallianceoffarmsandfamilies.

The action of Professor Tim traces the arrival of Mrs Scally’s

waywardbrotherTim,theauctionofO’Cahan’shome‘RushHill’,andthe

Scallys’attempts toconvince theKilroys thatTim isanacademicofgood

socialstatus.EventsunravelwhenMrsScallywantsthecoupletomarryas

soonaspossible,butMrsKilroywants theacademicat thewedding.The

resolution of affairs is summarized by Murray in his introduction:

‘[ProfessorTim]buysRushHillhimselfandgivesthekeystoHughO’Cahan

to enable him tomarry Peggy after all.’ (Shiels xvii) However, the scene

bearasubtleyetimportantdifferencetothissummary.Timhandsthekeys

toPeggy,grantingownershiptohisniece.Thefollowingdialogueensues:

PEGGY: CanIdowiththesethingswhateverIlike,uncle?[…]PEGGY: CanIgivethemtoHugh?[…]PEGGY: (hands them toO'CAHAN) You said you'd come


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back home, Hugh, didn't you? (No reply) Youwereagoodprophet:withoutgoingaway,you'recomingback....Now,saysomething.(Shiels127)

Peggyisgiventhekeysbutchoosestogiveherhusband-to-beownership.

Crucially,thisisnotsubordination.Theconversationcontinues:

PROFESSOR: [toO’Cahan]With Peggy theundisputedboss oftheshow.Youhearthat,Peggy?

PEGGY: I do, uncle. I hope Hugh hears it too. I want nomoredouble-banksorstonewalls...[…]

O'CAHAN: Before all present, Peggy, I hand you the whipandthereins.(Shiels128)

On one hand, this resolution, for all its theatrical play, echoes the social

reality for Irish women in the Free State period. But, to take a more

nuanced view, the drama’s conclusion presents a social fantasy that

maskedtheoppressiverealityforwomen.Clearexplains,‘Thewomanwas

therealhead[ofthefamily],butshehadtoindulgeherman'scomparative

powerlessness by giving him certain privileges and freedoms.’ (184)

Despitetheirlackofeconomicresources,womenwereperceivedtosetthe

tone in moral and social matters in the home. They were the decision-

makers and leaders in planning the future of all family members. Shiels

showsthistobethecaseforMrsScally,andthen,onreceiptofherown

home,Peggytakesup‘thereins’ofherhusband.Later, Iwilldiscusshow

Crowe’seconomicprivilegesoutweighedherhusband’sbutsheacquiesced

tohissuperiority,inaneatmirroringofPeggyandO’Cahan’sunion.

In the Irish context, generally ‘marriage and motherhood put an

endtofinancialindependenceandto“going”(independentmovementand

activity).’(Clear184)WithinthecompanythattravelledtotheUSin1934,

there were two married women: Crowe and Bazie Shields (nee Magee,

knownasMac).Shieldsreliedheavilyonfamilytohelpraiseheronlyson,

Adam,whilesheperformedandtravelled.Bythe1937tour,ArthurShields

was in a relationship with young actress Aideen O’Connor and Magee

stayedathometocareforherchild.(ShieldsT13/A/512)Therewasalsoa

widowwithfivechildrenonthattour:MayCraig.Craig’ssistermovedinto


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herhomefollowingthedeathofCraig’shusband,tohelpraisethechildren.

Craignever stoppedworkingand threeofherchildrenappeared in small

parts on the Abbey stage before they reached their teenage years. The

otherwomentravellingweresingle:MaureenDelany;RiaMooney;Frolie

Mulhern andAideenO’Connor.Abbeydirector F.R.Higgins describes the

first dinner aboard the Samaria as the Company left for New York in

September1937.Abuglecalled themtodress,andat7.30pmtheywere

seatedbyasteward;therewasoneattendantforeverytwotables.Higgins

setsoutthetableplan:

Boss, Paddy and I sat at one table, Delaney, Crowe, Craig,McCormack at a table next to us and thenMooney, O’Connor,Mulhern—furtherdown...(NLIMss27,883(7))

Management(Higgins;ArthurShieldsandPJCarolan)wereseparatedfrom

themarried Judges,who satwith thewidowMayCraig and themature,

unmarried Maureen Delaney. The single women: Mulhern, Mooney and

O’Connorwerelastinthepeckingorder.

All of these women had lifestyles that were, by Irish standards,

unorthodox. Yet there were degrees of respectability, and this loomed

largeonCrowe’s listofpriorities.Herpositionat the centre tablemeant

something toher.Crowe,unlike themajorityof Irishwomen,nevergave

upheroccupation,butthenecessitytoappearinsocietyascivilandmoral

remainedcrucial toher.Thismoral responsibility formedthekeystoneof

her career, while other actresses chose to prioritise their own personal

happinessortheircraft.

CathleenniHoulihan

In July 1927, Crowe took over the now-iconic role of Cathleen or

‘theSeanBheanBocht’,fromSaraAllgood,whohadleftforHollywood.At

the premiere of this one-act play in 1902, the rolewas played byMaud

Gonne,thenPresidentofInghinidhenahÉireannandtheVice-Presidentof

theIrishNationalTheatreSociety(INTS).In1902,Gonnewasattheheight

of her fame in Ireland as a political campaigner. She was known as an


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ardent nationalist and a beautiful woman, who brought to every

appearance an erotic charge. The history of the role is necessary to an

assessmentofCrowe’slaterinterpretationandothercareerchoices.

SetinMayoin1798(theyearofamajorrepublicanrebellion),the

playwaswrittenbyYeats in collaborationwith LadyGregory. It sets two

narrativesof Irishpeasantwomanhoodinconflict:MrsGillanerepresents

therealist,maternalorder.Intoherfamilyhomecomesapooroldwoman

(CathleenniHoulihan)whohasnoworldlygoods,but retainsherdignity

and belief in a united Ireland free of English rule. As the eponymous

heroine, Cathleen appeals to her children to offer their lives to Ireland.

Accountsofthefirstnightrevealthattheaudiencestruggledtounderstand

the shift inmode from realist peasant play to allegory. This shiftwas, in

fact, made more complex by Gonne’s appearance; arriving late and in

costume, she dramatically swept through the audience to take her cue.

MaryTrotterconsidersthisperformanceandstatesthat‘Gonne'sabilityto

play on her political identity as nationalist activist and founder of

Inghinidhe na hEireann […] made her performance one of the most

remembered in Irish theater history.’ (95) Cathleen ni Houlihan had a

propagandistfunction.Shewasapoliticalsymbolandafigurativerole,as

well as being a dramatic character. Once understood as a parable and

nationalistcalltoarms,theplaybecamebothpopularandcontroversial.

Scholars such as Trotter and Antoinette Quinn have written

convincinglyoftheinterplaybetweenthenewIrishtheatremovementand

Inghinidhe na hÉireann (daughters of Erin),with regard to the staging of

Irish women. (Quinn 39) They explain that the inscription of femininity

withinthenationalistmovementwascontestedfromthestart.(Quinn40)

Sean Ryder has also written of how ‘cultural nationalism produced an

idealised version of national identity which identified subjectivity

exclusivelywithmasculinity.’(210)IthaslongbeenobservedthatrealIrish

womenareovershadowedby thenationalist iconofCathleen in theplay

(Quinn47).AyearafterthestagingofCathleenniHoulihan,Inghinidhena

hEireann broke from the Irish National Theatre Society and the split


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betweenthetwobodiesremainedsteadfast.However,theimprintofthat

particularmodeoffemininityshapedtheplayanditscharacterindelibly.

ADoll’sHouse

Andbesides –he's soproudofbeing aman– it'dbe sopainfulandhumiliatingforhimtoknowthatheowedanythingtome.It'dcompletely wreck our relationship. This life we have builttogetherwouldnolongerexist.(Ibsen36)

In the first act of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, Nora Helmer warns

Krogstad,‘Ifyouspeakimpertinentlyofmyhusband,Ishallshowyouthe

door.’(46)Fromthere,herlifebecomesincreasinglycomplicated,untilshe

bangs the door on middle-class marriage to seek personal actualization

elsewhere. In1923, LennoxRobinsondirected the firstAbbeyproduction

of Ibsen’s play, in a version by English writer R. Farquharson Sharp.3As

Nora, the central character and infantilized ‘doll’, Robinson cast twenty-

five-year-old Crowe. Indeed, Robert Hogan has claimed that, ‘This

[productionofADoll’sHouse]was largely a showcase for EileenCrowe.’

(BurnhamandHogan143)

OnitspremiereinEnglandin1889,ADoll’sHousesentshockwaves

through English society for its exploration of the status of women

generally;buttheplayhadseriousconsequencesforactressesinparticular.

Ibsen was the first playwright to affect a shift in the perceptions of the

EnglishVictorianactress.VictorianscholarGailMarshallasserts,‘Ibsenwas

alsoadramatistwhochangedactresses'perceptionsofthemselvesandof

theirownwork.’(142) Marshallelucidates,inrelationtoADoll’sHouse:

What is at stake is clearly the whole theatrical illusion of theactress's doll-like status, an illusion in the sustaining of whichcriticsandaudiencewerealikecomplicit.(139)

Furthermore,Marshallwrites,inrelationtothecharacterofNoraHelmer:

[A]ctress and role are conjoined in a dynamic which can evenseemtoeffectaphysicaltransformationoftheactress.(139)

3 ThiswasnotthefirstIrishstaging.EdwardMartynhadpreviouslystagedtheplayinthePlayersClubin1903.SeeRitschel80.


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Inhisowntheatrework,Ibsenregularlycollaboratedwithactresses,

allowingthemtoengagewiththetextualaspectsoftheworkandthus,for

women,toexceedtheirroleaspurelyavisualspectacleforthefirsttime.

In his plays, Ibsen created roles that were not dependent on physical,

statuesque appearance. These physical attributes Marshall terms the

‘qualifications’forVictorianactressestogainsuccessinthe1880s.(141)At

theAbbey,Shiels’presentationofmarriageandgender roles inProfessor

Tim,asoutlinedabove,remainedmorecomprehensibletoanIrishcastand

audience.ButitisinthelightoftheseshiftsontheEnglishstagethatone

must consider Nora’s first appearance on the Abbey stage, and her

portrayalbyCrowe.

Crowehadalreadyplayedinanumberofproductionsonthemain

stagebutthepartofNorawashermostsignificantroletodate.The Irish

Independent thought it a ‘remarkable, if not very interesting, play’ that

demonstrated the harm caused by the ‘moral depravity, duplicity, and

secretintriguingofacleverandresourcefulwife’.(‘IbsenPlay’4)Crowe,it

wassaid, showed ‘muchability’ in ‘a ratherdifficultpart.’ (‘IbsenPlay’4)

TheIrishTimescriticconsideredherperformancetoshow‘genuinefeeling.’

(‘AbbeyTheatre’4)

OfplayingthecharacterofNora,Crowerecalledonlytheterrorand

awkwardness of her dance with the tambourine, which she accidentally

flung at the head of W. B. Yeats, who was sitting in the front row.

(Scrapbooks NLI Mss 25,489-523) The ‘hysteria’ she experienced on her

firstnight,theactressreasoned,helpedhercharacterization,particularlyin

her tarantella dance. She said, ‘Yet that very hysteria helped; it was in

character.’(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,489-523)

The termCrowe chose to describeNora’s character in this scene,

‘hysteria’, is telling.Themedicalconnotationssuggest thatsheconcurred

with the view that women’s ‘hysteria’ was an illness. In her study of

feminismandcomedy,ReginaBarrecahaswrittenoffemalehysteria:‘She

has seen the boundaries created in order to delineate the real from the

imaginary’, but Barreca notes that the hysterical woman ‘refuses to


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acknowledge what others construct as reality.’ (16) Crowe presented a

womanthatwouldnotacknowledgetherealityofherplaceasawomanin

thehousehold,asagainstherimaginativerealm.Thedancebecomes,then,

asymptomofadisorderratherthananinstantofpersonalliberation.

AccordingtoChristopherMurray,‘YeatswasopenlyhostiletoIbsen

andthemodernmovement inrealism.’(23-36)W.B.YeatshatedADoll's

House when he saw it in 1889 in London and resented the modern

educatedspeechthateliminatedstylisticfeatures.YetheadmiredCrowe’s

interpretationofthepart:hesaidsheplaysit‘young’,andthatindoingso

she‘transformstheplay’.(BurnhamandHogan143)

A young, naïve and hysterical Nora belied the threat of the

assertionof femalepower. IfNoradisplaysnothingbutchildish tantrums

that canbecastigatedandshutdownby ‘rational’male figures, then it’s

notfemaleliberationbutashamthatcanberidiculedanddismissed.Also,

iftheperformanceisstylistic,thenitmovesawayfromanykindofrealism

that could be construed as a social message. Rather than stressing the

validity and truth of Irishwomen’s oppression, Crowe’s interpretation of

Noraasinfantilisedandhystericalcolludedwiththemisogynyofthestate

andthetheatre’sdirectorate.

NoraofInTheShadowoftheGlen

ItisnocoincidencethatSynge’sfirstplayIntheShadowoftheGlen

alsohas a central female character calledNora. Its premiere,withMaire

NicShiubhlaighinthecentralroleofNoraBurke,tookplacein1903,mere

months after Martyn’s production of A Doll’s House. (Ritschel 80)With

identicalthemesof lovelessmarriageandfemaleindependence, itcanbe

readasadirectresponsetoIbsen’swork.

NelsonO’CeallaighRitschel argues thatwith In the Shadowof the

Glen ‘Synge advocated a social change for Ireland that exposed the

conservative,paternalisticattitudesof thosenationalistswhoobjectedto

hiswork.’ (85) Ritschel examines the critical and popular reaction to the

play in 1903 and asserts that, ‘Synge's Nora counters, even negates, the


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19th century Colleen tradition.’(88) Synge rootedNora (andmanyof his

other female characters) in pagan traditions, with pre-christian beliefs,

superstitionsandacelebrationofthenaturalworld.HealsomadeNoraa

strong, reflective woman who escapes the tyranny of her husband, in a

manneraCatholicwomancouldnot.WhenNoraleavesherhomewiththe

Tramp,thereisasensethatNoraisnotenteringanotherunionwithaman,

butissurrenderingherselftothenaturalworld:itsdangersanditsrewards.

TheTrampurgeshertoleavesaying,‘it'snotmyblatheryou'llbehearing

only,butyou'llbehearingtheheronscrying[…]butit'sfinesongsyou'llbe

hearingwhenthesungoesup…’(Synge94)

Muchof the criticaloutcryhaddissipatedby the timeCrowe first

playedthepartofNoraBurkeinDecember1925.Shewasthenlessthana

month married to fellow actor Peter Judge. (Hogan and O’Neill 248)

Crowe’smarriage toMcCormick arguably played a significant part in the

success of her career because audiences grew attached to watching

husbandandwifeperformtogether.Despitetheiruseofdifferentnames,

the relationship was well known and often publicized. In this way,

audiences felt an intimacy with the ‘real-life’ couple. They became

somethingofthe‘postercouple’oftheAbbeyPlayers,presentingadevout

Catholicunionwithaglamorousedge.Robinsoncontinuallyfavouredthem

andforthe1931tourtotheUS,BarryFitzgeraldnotedwithchagrinhow

the couple ‘had been heavily starred in the preliminary notices and

handbills.’ (O'Casey Rose 151) Fitzgerald adds that the other players,

himself included, thought it unfair; but, he adds, ‘we have been secretly

comforted by the fact that McCormick has failed to live up to the

reputationmadeinDublin.’(O'CaseyRose151)

Thecouplepresentedasequallydevotedtothestageandtoeach

other, living‘a lifetogetherofutterbliss.’ (DeBúrca114-115)Whenthey

appearedinNewYorkoverChristmasin1934,itwasreportedbytheNew

YorkWorld Telegraph that Crowe ‘kept open house today in herWhitby

Hotelapartmentwithhusband’, likeakindlymaternal figuredrawingher

theatrefamilyaroundher.(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,489-25,523)Writingin


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the Dublin Historical Record in 1989, Seámus de Búrca insisted: ‘If this

couplehadbeenEnglishorAmerican,theywouldhavebeenasfamousas

AlfredLuntandLynnFontaine,say.’(114-115)DeBúrcaalsoclaimedthat

afterMcCormick’sdeathin1947,Crowemadeonlyoneappearanceinthe

Abbey because ‘she died from a broken heart.’ (114-115) In fact, the

widow regularlyappearedon themain stageand in thePeacockTheatre

between 1947 and 1970, when she was over seventy years of age. De

Búrca holds to the narrative of the devoted Irish wife, unable to work

withoutherhusbandbyherside.

MinniePowellandMrsHendersoninTheShadowofaGunman

Although she did not appear in the 1923 premiere of Seán

O’Casey’sTheShadowofaGunman,Crowetookover thepartofMinnie

PowellinApril1924andcontinuedtoplayitinAbbeyTheatreproductions

for fifteen years. Again, it’s important here to consider the nature of

femalecharactersbeingpresented.

Minnie is a twenty-three-year-old Dublin woman, sharing a

tenementwithpoetDonalDavoren.Davoren,who’sapproximately thirty

yearsold,isthoughtbyhisneighbourstobeanIRAgunmanontherunand

he is enjoying the notoriety this rumour brings him.Minnie has a ‘well-

shaped figure’ and is ‘charmingly dressed’ when she calls to chat and

flatterhim.(O’Casey89) Itbecomesapparentthatshe isawarm-hearted

girl with a romantic interest in Davoren. Other characters in the play

dismissherasignorant;Seámuscallshera‘bitchthatthinksofnothin’but

jazzdances,fox-trots,picturetheatresan’dress.’(O’Casey109)Attheend

of the first act, Minnie is just a ‘flapper’. However, O’Casey’s female

charactersarerarelystraightforwardandinthesecondact,Minniethrows

offshallowconcernstorevealherbravery.Shehidesacaseofexplosives

tosaveDavorenandisarrestedwhenit’sdiscovered.Heractofdevotion

andloveforDavorenisconflatedwithromanticbeliefinnationalideals.

MayCraigfirstappearedinTheShadowofaGunmanintheminor

roleofMrsGrigson‘oneofthecave-dwellersofDublin,livingasshedoes


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in a tenementkitchen.’ (O’Casey113)However,Craigbecameknown for

playing Mrs Henderson. This kindly soul assures Davoren that she

understandsandrememberswhatit’sliketobeinlove.MrsHendersonis:

amassivewoman in everyway;massive head, arms, and body;massive voice and massive amount of self-confidence. She is amountainofgoodnature.(O’Casey96)

Mrs Henderson is also taken away by the Black and Tans, although it is

Minnie that is killed.Minnie is carried off, ‘shouting bravely, but a little

hysterically,“UptheRepublic!”’(O’Casey126)LikeNora’sdance,Powell’s

singing in O’Casey’s The Shadow of a Gunman demands hysteria. Again,

Crowe portrayed a passionate female as hysterical. Minnie is shot and

killedinanattempttoescapeherarrest.

O’Casey’sheroinecanbereadasasardonicreflectiononCathleen

niHoulihan,thepersonificationofIrelandfirstpresentedin1902.Insetting

the character of Cathleen alongside O’Casey’s Minnie Powell, one can

observesubtleshifts ingenderpolitics in Irelandbetweentheturnofthe

centuryandtheCivilWarof1922-23.Asawomanandanactress,Crowe

was pitched between the dangerous figure of the flapper and the

respectable orthodoxy of a Catholicmother pledged to her country. She

wasattheepicenteroftheseshiftsingenderpolitics.

Crowe trained and first appeared at the Abbey Theatre in the

shadowof republicanactivists suchasMaudGonneandHelenaMoloney

(another member of Inghinidhe who acted at the Abbey). Without the

powertochoosetherolessheplayed,shenonethelessretainedtheability

to choose her interpretation and influence how the female figure was

communicated to her audience. She was poised between the political

demonstratorsofthepast,whousedthestageasapoliticalplatformand

presentediconsratherthanwomen,andtheIrishactressesofthefuture,

whowerebeginningtousepsychologicaltechniquesandtoemphasisethe

distinctionbetween their personal lives and thoseof the characters they

portrayed.

MinniePowell’srepublicanism(inTheShadowofaGunman)isjust


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as ardent as Cathleen ni Houlihan’s, but it is farmore problematic in its

motivationand ideals.AftertheCivilWar, Irishwomanhoodcouldnotbe

as clearly demarcated as the figures of Mrs Gillane and Cathleen in

Cathleen ni Houlihan. Where Cathleen represented pure and noble

femininity,MrsGillane stood for selflessmaternal striving toprotectand

provide.ThecharacterofMinniePowellproblematisedthiseasydistinction.

O’Caseyshowedthatwomencouldembracetheirsexualitybuttheimpact

ontheirfatecouldbelife-threatening,metaphoricallyandotherwise.

CrowecametotheroleofCathleenniHoulihanafterappearingas

MinniePowell;sheknewthecontemporarycomplexitybeforethehistoric

myth.ThereisvirtuallynonewspapercoverageofCrowe’sperformanceas

Cathleen;muchofthecriticismfocusedonTheEmperorJones,whichwas

presentedthesamenight.ThismayreflectthatIrishaudienceshadgrown

wearyof theplay,or showthatCrowe failed todistinguishherself in the

part.The IrishTimesnotedthatCrowe ‘putnew life’ in thepart,but this

comment can be read as a statement of fact rather than a qualitative

assessmentofherinterpretation.(‘TheEmperorJones’)

In a study of what she terms the problem plays of the urban

repertoireintheAbbeyTheatre,ElizabethMannionclaims:

[T]heCathleenniHoulihantropeundergoesdramaticalterationsas she travels toward Dublin, the center of the revivalistmovement. The closer Cathleen gets to the environment thatelevated her to a stage-based, tangible figure, the more sheimplodes.(72)

It may also be that the reality of life for Irish women became more

distanced from the idealsofCathleenniHoulihan, and that the ‘tangible

figure’ of the Irish actress after the civilwar led to the implosion of the

dramatictrope.(Mannion72)Crowe,onecouldargue,hadanopportunity

tore-configurethisemblematicfigureaftersuchanimplosion.Thechoices

Crowemade in style and interpretation had the potential to impact the

representationofwomenonthestageoftheNationalTheatreforyearsto

come. She had a similar opportunity in 1923, with the figure of Nora

Helmer, but A Doll’s House was, for her and for the Abbey, a radical


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departure that didn’t yet fit into the narrative of the theatre. Thepublic

personae and reputations of Gonne and others that appeared in Irish

classicsprovidedCrowewithastyletoreject,ortoemulate.Herchoicesin

thedepictionofthiswifeandmother,andtheirwiderimpact,werecrucial.

ActingPersonaandStyleofPerformance

It’sclearfromhisautobiographythatRobinsonadoredCrowe,but

heractingwasn’tunanimouslypraised. (Robinson114)Holloway thought

her ‘fine inmanyparts’. (HoganandO’Neill 229)Newspaper criticswere

lesseffusive,oftendismissingherasaminorpartoftheensemble.When

the Company performed The Playboy of theWesternWorld in Belfast in

1934, Maureen Delaney was deemed ‘excellent’, May Craig ‘gave a

splendidperformance’,whileCrowewas‘good’.(‘AbbeyPlayersinBelfast’)

OnherappearanceinShaw’sCandidain1935,Hollowaydescribedhowshe

‘mothered her husband and the poet in the gentlest andmost feminine

way.’ (Hogan and O’Neill 49) The consensus from critics and Holloway’s

recordsappearstobethatCrowecharmedincomediesandhadadelicate

presence when presiding over a dinner table, but rarely rose to the

challengeofgreattragedy.

Physical appearance is the stock-in-trade of actors and of female

performersinparticular.Crowewassmallanddelicate,withgentlecurves

and dark curls. She presented a stark contrast to the statuesque Gonne

(whomeasuredoversixfoot)ortheplump,plainAllgood.Inphotosfrom

the 1930s, Crowe appears little older than the youngest actresses and is

often dwarfed by the men. There was an innocuous element to her

physicalpresencethatshecapitalisedonatvariouspointsinhercareer.

ReportsofCrowe’sperformancesdeemedhertobe‘amateurishin

movementandgesture’andcritics‘thoughthermusicalvoicemonotonous

–afaultwhichifanything,wastoincreaseovertheyears.’(Burnhamand

Hogan 92-3) Playwright and board member Brinsley MacNamara told

Holloway,‘ThereisagreatdiversityofopinionaboutMissCrowe'sacting;

someravedabout it,whileotherscan't seeanymerit in itatall.’ (Hogan


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andO’Neill 229)MacNamaraheld to the view thatRobinson's sobriquet,

‘Genius’,spoiledher.Hollowayrecordedtheirconversation:

‘She had a great facility for learning parts without letting theirmeaning sink intoher,’ [Mac] thinks, ‘thatwas fatal toherworkbeing ever great, and also her face was very expressionless.’(HoganandO’Neill229)

It may be that these suggestions of ‘monotonous’ and

‘expressionless’ are indicative of Crowe’s training in theAbbey School at

theturnofthecentury.WorkingwiththelyricalandpoeticdramaofYeats,

she practiced the still stature and melodious voice work then prized.

Writing on the performative imaging of Irish women in Cathleen in

Houlihan, Nelson Ritschel has suggested that, ‘the Fay [brothers] acting

style helped the text to create a fantasy image that a nationalistically

leaningaudiencewasabletoembrace.’(Ritschel90)Heexplainshowthis

representational style emphasized language and rhythm and was more

suitedtotheportrayalofmythic figuresor ‘types’. Itdidn’ttranslate into

urbancomediesandplaysclosertorealism.

Aspreviouslynoted,MaireNicShiubhlaigh,NorainInTheShadow

of the Glen, recalled how in rehearsals for the 1903 premiere Frank Fay

toldher:‘BethemouthpieceofNoraBurke,ratherthanNoraBurke.’(qtd

inRitschel90)Fay’sadvicesuggeststhatactresseswerecautionedagainst

embodying thesewomen, or indeedworkingwith them as psychological

characters.Instead,theywereaskedtoportrayafigureortype.

Crowemayhaveunconsciouslydefinedherselfagainsttheassertive,

outspoken politicians of Inghindhe na hEireann, but in establishing a

creativedistancebetweenherselfand thepart, she retaineda featureof

theirperformances.Shemaintainedtheirmodeofperforming:embodying

arespectablewomanwhoonlyeverpresentedtheactionsofindependent-

mindedfemalesintheprotectedspaceofthestage.Ashercareerandcraft

developed,shesuitedhermodeofperformanceandherpublicpersonato

thedemandsofthetime,fittingintothenarrativeofCatholicIreland.


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SeanO’Casey’sThePloughandtheStars

ChristopherMorashhas claimed, ‘Irishpolitics in the1920swasa

continuationbyothermeansoftheIrishCivilWar.’(AHistory163)Thecity

hadnotfullythrownoffthehushedterroroftheCivilWarwhenrehearsals

forO’Casey’splayThePloughandtheStarsstartedinJanuary1926.Inthe

actors’ account of the first production, the fracas in the theatre and the

threats of physical attacks and kidnapping, there is the atmosphere of

latentviolencefromthattraumaticperiod.Chapter5willdiscusshowRia

Mooneytracestherootofher‘professional’careertothisseismicmoment,

butothersinthecompanystruggledtoseparatetheirpersonal livesfrom

thepartstheywereaskedtoplay.Onlyafewmonthsmarried,thedevout

Judges quickly sided with Lennox Robinson against O’Casey. They were

perturbed more by the language and the blasphemous elements in the

script than by the anti-nationalist sentiment that others found so

objectionable.

In initial readings,CroweplayedMrsGogan,a residentof the top

floor of the tenement housewhere Jack andNora Clitheroe have set up

home. (HoganandBurnham285)MrsGoganhas lostherhusband toTB

and isnursinga consumptivedaughter,Mollser, aswell as thebaby that

she carries around in her arms. There is an elegance in O’Casey’s

description in thescriptofThePloughandtheStarsof the forty-year-old

woman: ‘Her heart is aflame with curiosity’. (137) But Mrs Gogan is an

uncouthcharwomanwhomocksNora’s idealsandaspirations. Insteadof

beingcaughtup inmaternalduties,MrsGoganprefers todistractherself

withgossip.Sheisknownasabusybodyandisoftentobefoundinthepub,

squabblingwithothers.Herlanguageiscoarseandoftenribald,anditwas

thisaspectofthecharacterthatCroweobjectedtomost.

According to the account of Gabriel Fallon, who played Captain

Brennan, the actress refused to say, ‘any kid, livin’ or dead, that Ginnie

Goganhadsince [hermarriage]wasgotbetween th’bordhersof th’Ten

Commandments.’ (89)Her objection, it appears,was to the allusion that

therewere childrennot born between such religious borders.When the


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actors confronted O’Casey with their objections in early January, Crowe

was staunch in her criticism of the language. O’Casey found this

objectionablebecause,ashepointedoutinalettertoRobinson:

Miss Crowe’s hesitationover part of the dialogueofMrsGoganseemstometobeinconsistentwhenIremembershewaseagerto play the central figure in ‘Nannie’s Night Out’, which was aslow(Godhelpus)and,possiblylower,thanthepartofMrsGogan.(HoganandBurnham285)

The premiere of O’Casey’s play Nannie’s Night Out had been held in

September1924;CrowelostoutontheleadingroletoSaraAllgood.

Yeats thought the actors’ objection to the dialogue inThe Plough

and the Stars ‘an aggravating comedy behind the scenes’, and when

Robinson asked Yeats for advice, they agreed that Crowewas not to be

told about O’Casey’s thoughts. Instead, the actresswas to be ‘given her

choiceofshirkingthislineorgivingupthepart.’(HoganandBurnham286)

Crowetooksomehourstothinkitoverandconsultherpriest.Thedecision

was taken to replace her with May Craig as Mrs Gogan. Or, as some

commentatorsdescribe,Crowe‘suggestedchangingpartswithMissCraig.’

(Hogan and Burnham 286) The level of power the actress wielded,

implicitly or explicitly, is ambiguous. Eliminating the loyal company

memberandRobinson’sprotégéwasnotanoption.Instead,O’Caseywas

tasked with penning a character more appropriate to the actress. The

result: the ‘womanfromRathmines,’adelightfullydiscordantnote in the

play.

InthethirdactofThePlough,a‘fashionablydressed,middle-aged,

stoutwoman’wandersintothechaosthathasbrokenoutinthecitycentre,

desperate to findherwayback tohermiddle-classsuburb.(O’Casey189)

ShetellsFluther,‘I’msodifferentfromothers…ThemomentIhearashot,

mylegsgivewayunderme–Icawn’tsit,I’mparalysed.’(O’Casey189)The

men are indifferent; she wanders off again. The character’s name (or,

rather,title)maybeareferencetoa1923comedybyM.Brennanentitled

The YoungMan from Rathmines. O’Casey gave Crowe the respectability

she demanded in this cameo role, but arguably also wrote a part that


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insultedhercowardiceandabilities.Heusedtheactressforhisownends:

todemonstrateadifferentsideofDublinandenlargehisdramaticcanvas.

Crowe acquiesced. There was no adjustment to her wage for the role

change.Shecontinuedto takehome£10aweek;MayCraigearned£4a

weekforplayingtheroleofMrsGogan.(BoundVolume4384:4)

Although self-effacing in public, certain records Crowe couldn’t

redact reveal a different side to her personality, and show a woman

unafraid tomakedemandsand fight forwhat shebelievedherdue. This

facet of her personality is hinted at in O’Casey’s comments about her

eagernesstoplayNannie,butisclearlysetoutinarchivedminutesofthe

boardmeetings. In February 1936, a boardmeetingwas held upstairs in

theAbbey,withErnestBlytheinthechairandFrankO’Connor,Higginsand

Dr.RichardHayesinattendance.Aftersomefinancialandpracticalissues,

itwasexplainedthatCrowewasappealingthecastinginThePlough,asshe

nolongerhadthepartofNora.Theminutesfromthemeetingrecorded:

On the basis of information at their disposal the Board hadselectedMissRichardsforthepartofNoraClitheroe,asshewasconsideredbetterthanMissCrowe.(MinuteBooksNLIAcc3961)

Ifbehindthescenes,therewassomedebateaboutCrowe’sactingtalent,

theactressstillarrangedahearingfromtheboardandpresentedherselfto

puthercase.Shethentemporarilywithdrewtoallowprivatediscussionon

thematter.Minutesfor14Februaryweretypedup:

MrHiggins said it appeared thatMissRichardsused the theatrewhen it suitedher and that under circumstances such as that itwasunfairtotheestablishedplayersthatworkshouldbegiventoothers. It also appeared thatMiss Richardswas anxious to playthe part owing to the fact that a casting director of a filmcompanywaslikelytoseetheplayduringtheweek,andthatshehadcanvassedwiththisinview.(MinuteBooksNLIAcc3961)

TheSecretaryrecorded:

After some discussion it was decided on the motion of MrO'ConnorsecondedbyMrHigginsthatMissCroweberestoredtothepart. ItwasthenexplainedtoMissCrowethatshehadbeenrestoredtothepartbecauseMissRichardshadcanvassedfor it,andcanvassingbyPlayerswasnotallowed.(MinuteBooksNLIAcc3961)


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There is noevidence thatRichards canvassed toplayNora, although she

had been lauded for her performance in the premiere. Rather, Crowe

appearstohaveknownofthecastingdirector’svisitandwasnotprepared

tomissachancesousedherinfluence.Herdirectappealtotheboardwas

successful and shewas recast,without anymentionofheropposition to

theplayadecadeearlier.Richards’responseisnotrecorded;‘MissCrowe

thankedtheBoardandwithdrew.’(MinuteBooksNLIAcc3961)

This incident is extraordinarynot just for itsoutcome,but for the

manner in which the board justify the decision and commit it to the

historical record. There is no evidence that Richards campaigned for the

part, but there’s a suggestion that the board felt her ambition and

confidenceasignofpotentialinsurrection.TheyprizeCrowe’sloyaltyand

devotion to the theatre (an ‘established player’), as well as her chaste

public persona. They may also have feared that in refusing Crowe’s

demandstheyriskedlosingherhusband,F.J.McCormick.Theextentofthe

Abbey’sinvestmentinthecouplebecameclearinnegotiationsforthefilm

of The Plough and the Stars.All of these possibilities are set out in the

minutebooks.Crowe’sage,personaandassumedcachetgavehernotjust

asenseofsuperioritybutapowerthatmanagementwouldnotchallenge.

TheHollywoodFilmofThePloughandtheStars

Crowe’sdeterminationtoberecast in the1936productionofThe

Ploughand the Starsdid reapbenefits. In February of that year, a letter

fromaLondonagentofRKO(Radio-Keith-Orpheum)Pictures,MissReissa,

was read aloud at a boardmeeting. (RKOPictureswas anAmerican film

productionanddistributioncompany.)MissReissahadcometoDublinand

discussedtermswiththeAbbeyCompanyfortheirtravellingtoHollywood

toappearinafilmversionofO’Casey’splay.Thesalariesofferedwere:Mr

Fitzgerald US$ 750; Mr McCormick and Miss Crowe at a joint salary of

US$900;MrShieldsUS$500.Alltheseamountswereperweekoffilming,

withalloftheactorsguaranteedsixweeksworkandtheirreturnpassages

byboatpaid.(MinuteBooksNLIAcc3961)Inaddition,RKOofferedafeeto


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the theatre of US$ 750, for the use of the theatre’s name and as

compensationfortheplayers’absence.WalterStarkiewasthechairofthe

meeting, but Robinson dissented. He insisted that at least five thousand

dollarsshouldberequested incompensation. (FrazierHollywoodIrish82)

Eventually,Huntnegotiatedwiththeactors,whoagreedthat10%oftheir

salarieswouldgototheAbbeyforlossoftheirservices.

ThejointweeklysalaryofFJMcCormickandhiswifeforthisperiod

offilmingwouldtodaybeworthapproximatelyUS$15,000or€14,000.It

was a huge financial boon for temporary work. The following month,

O’CaseysentalettertoJohnFord.Headvised:

Ishouldn’trecommendyoutochooseMissCroweforthepartof‘BessieBurgess.’ Shewouldn't look thepart, and inmyopinion,couldn'tpossiblyputthefeelingandearnestnessinthepartthatitneeds.Oneoftheactressesinthe[A]bbeyisaMissCraigwhosename seems not to be have been mentioned. I feel sure shewouldplaythisbetterthanMissCrowe,ormakeafineMrsGogan.[...]Idon'tseeMissCroweasasuccessinthispart.(O’CaseyLilyMss)

It’s not clear whether O’Casey’s opinion of her acting was truthful, or

whetherhesimplywishedtoremainloyaltotheactorsthathadsupported

himduring the initial fracas. Itmayhavebeensomethingofboth. Inany

case,despitetheplaywright’sadvice,FordkeptCroweintheroleofBessie

Burgess,andcastUnaO’ConnorasMrsGogan.

In theautumn, theplayers returned toDublinandhad some free

timebeforeactingresumedattheAbbey.HollowaypaidavisittoCrowe’s

homeinRathmines.There,hehadteainthegardenwiththeactressand

hersister.CrowewasnotenamouredofHollywood,dislikingthewomen’s

extravagant habits. Holloway described her account of the lifestyle and,

althoughlengthy,itdeservesquotinginfull:

EileenspokeofJohnFord,theproducerofthefilm,andhisgreatkindness to them, and of the hospitality of Digges and hischarming, gracious wife, and of Una O'Connor and her greatkindness to them. ‘But, ohmy! How she talksofherself andofhersuccesses.Sheneverceases.Ithasbecomeanobsessionwithher. She also spends a great deal ofmoney on dresses,’ Eileenadded. […]Eileenshowedmethe ‘stills’ for the film,ThePloughand the Stars. She spokeof theups anddownsof filmplayers’


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livesandmentionedthatmanywhotookpartinthecrowdswerestarsofformertimes.Thefilmfameofheroesandheroineswasvery brief indeed. Those who played character parts were allright;theyheldonformanyyears.Allsaveoneortwoofthefilmstarswerenice to them.Shewas taken toa firstnightof a filmwhenallthestarsattended,andthewholeplacewasaflamewithexcitement. It was Una O'Connor took them. She afterwardsheardthatticketswere27/6each.(HoganandO’NeillVolume260)

Unliketheotheractresses,Crowewasnot takenwiththeenticementsof

Hollywoodandthesalariesofferedtheretoaccompanythelavishlifestyle.

Sheremainedacutelyconsciousoffinancialmatters.

AtChristmasthatyear, thecensor’soffice inDublinheldaprivate

screeningof themovie for theAbbeyactors involved.Hollowayrecorded

generaldisappointment,withtheconsensusbeingthatitwasasuccessful,

ifsentimental,filmbutitdidn’tcapturethecharactersofO’Casey’swriting.

(HoganandO’NeillVolume263)

Adrian Frazier, who analyzes the details of the film and how it

contrasts with the play, notes, ‘If McCormick shows off the best of the

Abbey style, [Barbara] Stanwyck’s performance [as Nora Clitheroe]

demonstrateswhatHollywoodhadandtheIrishtheatredidnot:theself-

conscious controlled erotics of star-power.’ (Hollywood Irish 87) Crowe

neverdisplayedsucheroticism.Sheconsistentlyunderplayedhersexuality,

unless using her femininity to emphasise a Catholic purity. Putting her

foray intoHollywoodmoviesbehindher,Crowereturnedtorehearsalsat

the Abbey, where her virtuous persona ensured her popularity not just

withtheboardbutalsowithmanyoftheaudienceofthetime.

TheComediesofLennoxRobinson:TheFar-OffHillsandChurchStreet

Robinson’s affection for Crowe is inextricably linked to her

contribution to his playwriting career. A summary of the pertinent plots

and Crowe’s role in a number of Robinson’s hugely popular comedies

revealtheplaywright’sconceptofdrama,anddemonstrateshowCrowe’s

stagepersonacontributedtohisparticularnotionoftheatricalmagic.


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Forthe1928premiereofRobinson’sdomesticcomedyTheFar-Off

Hills,Croweplayedthepartof thesensibleeldestdaughter in theClancy

family,Marian.(McCormickwascastasherailingfather.)Marian’sdressis

‘markedlyplainanddark’,andshehasbeenprevented fromfulfillingher

dreamand joining the conventby familyobligations: hermother’s death

lefther responsible forher invalid fatherandyoungersiblings. (Robinson

TheFar-OffHills1)Crowecontinuedtoplaythepartof in31subsequent

productions(withthe last in1943).4TheyouthfulanticsofPetandDucky

(playedbyO’ConnorandMulhern) in thisplayaredetailed inChapters3

and4.And,asRobinson’sbiographerobserves:

thoughMarianappears tobe thecentral figure,her sisters stealthe limelight from her, especially in the bedroom scene of thesecond act, the first of its kind on the Abbey stage, when theydominate the play as they conspire to encourage their father'swedding.(O’Neill148)

Marianchastiseshersisters for reading ‘romanticalnovels’and talkingof

nothing butmarriage. (Robinson 52)However,when her father’s second

marriage to neighbour Susie Tynan is confirmedMarian takes a husband

forherself.Herresponsibleactionsandmoralrectitudemakeheradullbut

importantcharacter,notleastinhowshecanseparatereal-lifefromfiction.

In the opening lines of The Far-Off Hills, Marian is ‘directing

operations’,ashersisterstidytheroomfortheirfather.(Robinson1)This

stage direction is a telling description of Crowe’s role, in and outside of

Robinson’s dramas. Robinson continually played with notions of ‘reality’

and ‘theatre’, sending up the acting profession as often as he mined

parochialvillagelifefordrama.

ChurchStreet,from1934,wasoneofhismostexperimentalworks.

At the centre of this drama is frustrated writer Hugh (played by Arthur

Shields)whoiscoaxedbacktocreativeproductionbyAuntMoll(playedby

Crowe).Theplay is set in thedrawingroomof theNationalBank,Knock.

4Whilethesewerenotstrictly‘revivals’oftheproduction,itwasafeatureoftheAbbeytointerfereaslittleaspossiblewithsuchclassicandpopularhits.Castingchangesmayhavebeenrequired,butlittleelsewouldbealtered.


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Robinson described Moll in Church Street as ‘a little old woman, over

seventy,plainlybutnoteccentricallydressed.’(261)Sheisoftenforgotten

andignored;sheasksforlittlebuthasmuchwisdom.Molladvises:

[T]here’scomedyandtragedytrailingtheirskirtsthroughthemudofChurchStreetifyou’donlytheeyestoseethem.(Robinson262)

SheurgesHughtoobservethosearoundhim,andtousehisimagination:

Ofcourseyou’dhavetoselect,choosewhatyou’dtakeandwhatyou’dleaveaside.[…]You’dhaveto–sortofshapeyourmaterial,justalittle,averylittlewouldbeenough.(Robinson269)

Molldoesn’tdictate;shethoughtfullyadvisesand,later,admonishesHugh:

ButGodAlmighty,boy,that’syourjob.[…]Asadramatist.Toputsomeshape,somestageshape,onreallife.(Robinson270)

In the first half of the twentieth century, the founding and

managingdirectorsoftheAbbeyTheatredefinedtheirartisticaestheticin

oppositiontoconventionalrealism,andyetsuchrealismwasaforcethat

couldnotbeeradicated.AsMorashandRichardsexplain:

What evolved on the Abbey stage, then, was a curious kind ofhybrid realism, one of whose defining features was its explicit(and often vehement) renunciation of any connection to theconceptual foundations of realism (much less naturalism) asmodern,urbanforms.(MappingIrishTheatre49)

Syngeopenlyopposedrealism,whileRobinsonwasaproponentof

this formwithout directly advocatingmodernism.As ChristopherMurray

observesinhisintroductiontotheeditedcollection:‘oneoftheeffectsof

Robinson’s method is to force on his audience a fresh consideration of

whatrealityis.’(Robinson49)Theplaywrightproposesaversionofreality,

or truth, but is always teasing and playing with notions of the type of

reality an audience expects. His hybrid realism or stage ‘shape’ is

somethingunique;itisnottobeconfusedwiththeshapeofsocialreality

inIreland.(Robinson269)

ForMorashandRichards,Robinson’snotionofputtingstageshape

on real life echoes the French Marxist Henri Lefebvre’s notion of


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‘representational space’, a theory explored in the Irish context by the

authors of Mapping Irish Theatre. (7) Completing the triad of space,

Lefebvrepositsalongsideperceived(spatialpractice)andconceivedspace

(spaceofrepresentation),thisrepresentationalspace.Coded,oftenheavy

with symbolism and metonymy, representational space can realize the

social imaginary within a separate sphere. It has a force that is only

unleashed when the perceived space of the spectators and the

representedspaceofthewriterandperformerscometogether. Itcanbe

passively experienced by an audience and does not directly, or overtly,

impactonperceivedspaceorsocialreality.

Insuchaliminalspaceonthestage,aspacethatmirroredbutwas

entirely separate from ‘reality’, women could gain and yield power that

wasnot ‘truthful’ in the Irishcontext.Forexample,Crowe’sperformance

ofNoraHelmer,then,wasanimaginativeandentertainingconstructforan

audiencetoobserveandcommenton.Thearchivaltracesandevidenceof

her performance suggest that shedid not embody a liberatedwoman in

the play’s closingmoments, but represented a young, hystericalwoman.

Therefore the performance never posed an actual threat to social order.

Similarly,inChurchStreetandTheFar-OffHillsCrowestoodasasymbolof

the boundary between ‘theatre’ and ‘real’ and how one could negotiate

theknownworldandthespectreofgreenerhills.Spectatorscouldobserve

herbehaviour,commentonanddiscusshermotivationsandthepossible

outcomes of her action, at a safe distance. But this illusion of ‘safety’

conceals that such explorations are heavily coded with long-standing

beliefs about Irish women, femininity, and how it could or should be

expressed. This style of acting from the 1930s can be examined in the

contextof the trainingprovided for actors at theAbbeyTheatreand the

methodsusedattheAbbeyTheatresinceitsinception.


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ActingMethodsandTrainingattheAbbeyTheatre

IntheearlydecadesoftheNationalTheatre,FrankandWilliamFay

trained the Abbey actors in deportment and elocution. To discover a

‘characteristically Irish’ style of performance, Fay encouragedhis charges

(includingSaraAllgoodandMáireNicShiubhlaigh)toemulateFrenchstars

suchasBenoît-ConstantCoquelin (Coquelin theElder).5Derived fromthe

French Conservatoire and André Antoine’s company, the Théâtre Libre,

their stylepromoted restraintandkept the focuson the languageof the

text.(Frazier59)LiketheAbbeyTheatre,theThéâtreLibreoriginatedasa

companyof idealistic amateurs. In their acting style, they set themselves

againstthemelodramaticand‘busy’styleofperformingthenprevalenton

theEnglishstage.

Inhiswritingsonthetheoryofacting,ConstantinStanislavskyalso

usedFay’sexampleof thegreatCoquelin theElder.Stanislavskyadopted

the term Coquelin himself used for his art: ‘representation’. (Carnicke

2865) The theatre of ‘representation’ occupies the penultimate rung in

Stanislavsky’s hierarchy of acting styles. Such theatre places the actor at

the creative nexus of theatrical production, and thus values the actor as

muchasStanislavskydoes,althoughthereareparticular issues. (Carnicke

2883)Inthismodeofperforming,theactorstrivestorevealtheinnerlife

of the character and to communicate genuine emotion, by selecting

specific details. Stanislavsky says of the characters created by

representationalactors:

The spectator immediately sees that these are not just ordinarypeoplewhomwemeet in life, butpersonages,whomwe see inpaintingsandaboutwhomwereadinbooks.(Carnicke2924)

Thus,theyare‘types’;theactors’performancesarereproducibleworksof

art. Suchwork can give rise to great heights of virtuosity. However, this

modealsocreatestheriskthat thepersonalityandcharismaof theactor

maydetractfromtheperformance.Inextremecases,thelevelofemphasis

onthepersonoftheactor(or‘star’)mayentirelyobscurethecharacter.


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Inrepresentation,Carnickeexplains,‘theactorjugglesbotha“first

self” (the artist) and a “second self” (the canvas); in acting, the first self

shapes the second.’ (2873) In the Irish context of the 1930s, this

‘representation’ of typeswhile retaining thepresenceof theperformer’s

ownpersonality on stagewas crucial tomaintaining respectability in the

eyes of society.With ‘representation’, the distinction between actor and

character is maintained by the performer and acknowledged by the

audiencethroughout.Thisacceptancebytheaudienceofthetwo‘selves’

waskeytothetheatricalexperienceofvisitingtheAbbey inthe1930s. It

wasfosteredbythefamiliaritybetweentheaudiencesandtheperformers,

much like they were watching people they knew personally perform

privately in their ownhome. Suchamodeofworking allowedwomen in

particular an opportunity to present certain behaviour deemed

unacceptable off stage, without any besmirching of their personal

reputation. Thus, the acting style of ‘representation’ gained particular

importanceforwomenperformingonstageintherepressiveatmosphere

of the Free State. When younger actresses, notably Ria Mooney,

experimentedwithmorepsychologicalmodesofworking and immersion

intocharacter,thishadconsequencesfortheirreputation.

This notion of a theatrical ‘representational’ space for women to

emotefully,to‘play’withideasofchoiceandexperimentwithliberation,

without ever embracing it or posing a threat to social order, is most

usefully explored through a specific example. The work of one of

Robinson’s protégés, Teresa Deevy, serves to exemplify this dynamic

particularlywell.

5MáireNicShiubhlaighqtd.inFallon12.


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TeresaDeevyandKatieRoche

You'renottakingpartintheatricalsnow.

(DeevyKatieRoche63)

GivenCrowe’scareerdemandshitherto,itisworthconsideringthat

whenDeevy’s full-length playKatie Rochewas programmed, Crowemay

havecanvasedfortheleadrole.RiaMooneyhadplayedmanyofDeevy’s

heroines previously, but this time shewas passed over by Robinson and

castastheagingspinsterAmeliaGregg.Crowewascastastheyoungbride,

playingoppositeherreal-lifehusband(McCormick)asStanislausGregg.

AtthesameboardmeetingatwhichEileenCrowewasgrantedthe

role of Nora Clitheroe, the directors noted that playwright TeresaDeevy

was not happy that the production of Katie Roche had been postponed

untilafterLent.(MinuteBooksNLIAcc3961)Deevy(whoseplaysarerich

withdetailofCatholicobservances)feltthatthisperiodofabstinenceand

penancewasnotagoodtimetoopen.Theboardoverruledhercomplaints

andkepttotheiroriginalschedule.

GivenapreviousdisappointingexperienceatthefirstnightofThe

King of Spain’s Daughter, Deevy was anxious about this full-length

production.Ratherthanwaituntilthepremiere,shetravelledtoDublinin

March 1936 to spend a few days in rehearsalwith the Abbey Company.

There, she was struck by the industry and friendliness of the cast, and

although she lamented that Robinsonwas not producing it, she thought

HughHuntveryprofessional.Whenshesawtheproduction,sheconfided

toFlorenceHackett:

I liked theirway of doing ‘Katie Roche’. […]McCormick - as thehusband-wassplendid.AndtheywereallsoeagertohaveitjustasIhadwantedit.(DeevyTCDMss10722/15)

AstheviolenthusbandStanislausGregg,McCormickhadherfullapproval.

There is no record of her feelings on Crowe’s performance, and no

indicationthattheplaywrightfeltthelossofMooneyinthecentralrole.

Deevy’stextisrootedinhercontemporarysociety,wheredomestic


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arrangements were subject to certain ideological pressures. While

exploring these pressures, the production was clear in its statement on

socialmores. Unlike Ibsen’s Nora, Katie is a product of disadvantage: of

illegitimacyandpoverty.Theproductofaneroticdalliance,Katiehaswild

bloodinherveinsandisafreespirit.Herillegitimatestatusalsomarksher

asadangerousthreattothecommunitystatusquo.Workingasadomestic

servanthassustainedher,andthussheisexpectedtoviewtheproposalof

marriage from a respectable hard-workingman as both liberation and a

reward. Cathy Leeney has observed, ‘Deevy dramatizes marriage, very

often, as a possibility for transformation, through the other.’ (162)

However, while Leeney argues this transformation is an allegory for

political change related to Ireland’s colonial position, themessageof the

playcanbereadmoresimply.

Katie Roche explores the same themes as The King of Spain’s

Daughterinprotractedform.IttracesKatie’slifefromconsiderationofthe

idea of marriage, to the reality of an alliance with Stanislaus Gregg and

finally to her realization that she has traded one form of servitude for

another.She isencircledbyabusivemen,fromtheviolentReubentothe

quietpersecutionofMichaelMaguireandthecondescensionofStan.

The second act of Katie Roche opens with the couple in married

bliss,sittingbyaroaringfireandadmiringStan’swork.Katietellshim,‘Iam

theproudwomanthisnight.Iknownowforsureyou’regreat.’(Deevy44)

She is his ‘littlewife’who consistently seeks his approbation. (Deevy 45)

ButwhenKatie sharesadrinkwithMichaeland insists itwasa romantic

gestureStanwarnsheraboutherbehaviourwiththeadmonition, ‘You're

nottakingpartintheatricalsnow.’(Deevy63)Hernotionsofromanceand

personalfulfillmentarebanishedtotherealmoftheatrics.Suchdisplaysof

emotionareshowntobelonginthefantasticalspaceofthestage;theyare

notpartofrespectableIrishfemininity.

Deevyshowsthenewwifestrugglewithsociety’sexpectations,as

wellaswithherownhopesanddesiresformarriage.Buttheplay’sending,

whileechoingthetriumphantdepartureofIbsen’sNora, isa‘whitewash’,


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inthewordsoftheatredirector,JudyFriel.(‘RehearsingKatieRoche’117-

125)Thespiritof independence, imaginationandresilienceKatiedisplays

atearlierpointsisquashedandtheplaywrightdoesacompleteturnaround.

With thesupportof thestoic spinsterAmelia,Katieopts forcompromise

and submission. Thus, the same actress that walked out of marriage

thirteen years earlier inADoll’s House resigns herself to the power and

condescension of her husband and accepts she must ‘make it grand’.

(Deevy113)

Crowewasthirty-eightyearsofagewhensheplayedthe‘notquite

twenty’heroineofKatieRoche. (Deevy8)Shehadplayednumerous lead

roles, but critics had commented on her lack of power and ‘inability to

dominate’onthestage. (CraigUCDMssLA28/219) In thespringof1937,

Croweappeared in JunoandThePaycockat theArtsTheatre,Cambridge

where the criticwas complimentary about the cast, but remarked: ‘Miss

Crowe acted well, but without sufficient power.’ (Gownsman CraigUCD

Mss LA28/219) Her small, delicate physicality made for a naïve and

unthreatening Katie, occasionally vivacious or sullen. With such an

interpretation, Katie is never dangerous; her lurches for power and

independence are histrionic performances of a type that belong in

melodrama.

Critics attending the New York production in late 1937 show a

perceptivereadingoftheplayandofCrowe’sperformance.RichardWatts

Junior, in his columnThe Theaters, quickly recognized that the character

was meant to be ‘a sort of Irish Hedda Gabler’. (Scrapbooks NLI Mss

25,511-23) But he asserted that ‘[Deevy] is never able to present her

knowledgeofthewomaninthedramaticterms’andcastigatedtheplayfor

‘vagueness, obscurity andableak kindofdullness.’ (ScrapbooksNLIMss.

25,511-23) Watts admitted that Crowe ‘brings to the part the lovely,

haunting voice that is so effective in Irish poetic plays,’ but went on to

assertthat,tohisregret,‘psychologicalcharacterizationisnotoneofMiss

Crowe'sgreatestgifts.’(ScrapbooksNLIMss.25,511-23)

Brooks Atkinson of The New York Times described how as Katie


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Roche,Crowe‘actstheoutlineofapartwithoutthephysicaloremotional

energyof a headlong young lady’. (‘ThePlay’ 17) In fact, Crowe rejected

psychologicalcharacterizationtogivean‘outline’,orinFay’sterms,tobea

‘mouthpiece.’ Crowe suggested rather than embodied the emotional

energy of a rebellious woman. She demonstrated how such behaviour

might look,andtheplayshowedhow itwouldbebeatendown. In these

productions,Deevy’splaywasnotacelebrationoffemaleliberation;itwas

amoralanddidactictaleforIrishwomen.

Iwill argue in chapter five that RiaMooney strove to inhabit the

romantic idealism of Deevy’s heroines and also knew the reality of the

harshtreatmentofsingleIrishwomen.Thistime,whenKatieRocheended,

a real-life husband and wife took their bows together, presenting

themselvesasthefictionalreunitedcouple.Asarguedhere,EileenCrowe

neverinhabitedhercharacters.ShewasasymboloftheloyalCatholicIrish

wifestandingalongsideherhusbandasKatieRoche,andtheembodiment

ofthatpositionasMrsJudge,orEileenCrowetheactress.

ThePlayboyoftheWesternWorld

In1937,W.B.YeatsputRiaMooneyintothecentralroleofPegeen

Mike in J.M. Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World. This surprised

many;notleastCrowe,whohadbeenplayingthepartsince1925.(Shewas

initiallycastbyLennoxRobinson.)Crowe’sperformanceofthepartwasin

markedcontrasttootherdepictionsofthesheebeen-owner’sdaughter.In

NewYorkin1937,MooneywasillandCrowetemporarilyreprisedherrole.

One(unknown)newspaperdescribedherperformance:

Miss Eileen Crowe was a capable and homely Pegeen, but shespoke all her passages of sentiment in a maudlin over-pitchedtone of voice; this certainly brought out the weakness in thecharacter, the sentimentality that invested her Playboy with ahalooffalseromance,thatinfuriatedherwhenshediscoveredhisdeceit,andthat finallymadehercryout foramanwhohadnotexactly justified her affection. ‘O my grief...’ […] Miss Croweoverdidthesepassages,andhertonewasslightlyoutofcontrol.(ShieldsT13/A/560)


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As the enduring nature of the play has demonstrated, Synge’s female

characters are complex. According to the newspaper quoted, however,

Crowe’s interpretation focusedonPegeen’sweaknesses, her sentimental

and homely qualities. Her small frame belied the idea of a ‘fine, hardy’

womanthatcouldwrestlesheep.Therewasarealsenseofdangerather

being left alone in the shebeenover night. (Synge 102) These choices to

underscorePegeen’svulnerabilitiesareasvalidasanyinterpretationofthe

role,butaretellingofCrowe’ssensibilities.

It isnotablethatCrowewascast intherolefortheAmericantour

thatbeganin1934.PriortotheCompany’sdeparturethatyear,therewas

controversyovertheinclusionofSynge’splayintherepertoirebecauseof

protests from IrishAmericans about its propriety. This datedback to the

controversyinAmericain1910-11,whencertainactorswerearrested,and

to the consequent fears of the Irish government that such sentiments

mightbere-ignited.AsLionelPilkingtonhasdescribed,matterscametoa

head in 1933when the government decided the Abbey’s American tour

‘wastobedenouncedforitshumiliatingrepresentationsofIreland.’(115)

After a period of tension, the government capitulated but the

repertoireanddetailsof followingtoursdisplayanewsensitivity to Irish-

American relations by the board of directors. By choosing a homely and

sentimentalPegeen,withadeferentialpresence, thedirectorspositioned

Synge’s Playboy as a historical, mythical piece with little potential for

offence.By1937,withsuccessassured,itwastimetore-envisiontherole.

Inthiskeycastingdecision,YeatsallowedMooneytakearadicallydifferent

interpretationfromCrowe’straditionalperformanceofanIrishcolleen.

FinancialMatters

With the proposed introduction by the Irish government of the

Children’s Allowance in 1943 came a robust debate about paying this

money (for each third and subsequent child) directly tomothers. But an

awarenessof the responsibilitiesbornebywomendidn’t translate into a

political acknowledgment of their role. Fears that such payments would


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isolatefathersandleadtothenationalizationofmothersandchildrenwon

out.Thefather’splaceasheadoftheIrishfamilyunitwasunderlinedwhen

the paymentswere awarded to him. This decision is significant precisely

because,asCaitrionaCleardeducedfromherwidespreadinvestigations,‘it

isnotablethat inavarietyof locationsandhouseholdeconomies[...] the

womanwasseenasthepersonwhocontrolledvitalresources.’(187)

Therewasaclearcontradictionbetweenthesocial realityandthe

nationalideal,whichonemustbearinmindwhenconsideringthelivesof

individualwomen.Piecing together the fragmentsofCrowe’s life,money

recursasapre-occupation,bothwithinandoutsideofhermarriage.The

materialfactsofhercareerofferausefulcasestudytoshowtheeconomic

realitiesforAbbeyactresses,andhowtheseintersectedwithgenderroles

moregenerally.

In1925,CrowewashiredbyLadyGregoryatasalaryof£10aweek.

(Murphy13)Herhusband,F.J.McCormick,Crowediscovered,wasearning

£5aweek. Inone interview,sherecordedherdisgustatdiscoveringthat

her earnings were higher than her husband, echoing Nora Helmer’s

sentiments about the humiliation experienced by her husband. (Mikhail

182)AccordingtoactorPatLaffan,asJudgelaydyinginaDublinhospital

years later,manager ErnestBlythe insisted that hiswagesbe reduced to

sick pay. His wife intercepted the envelopes and prised them open,

insertingthedifferencetoprotectherhusbanddiscoveringhispaypacket

wasreduced.Crowecouldneveraccepttheroleofmajorwage-earner in

thefamily;shebelievedthiswasaroleforthemaleheadofthehousehold

andthoughtherhusband’stalentswereworthmorethanherown.

AsurveyofthefinancialrecordsoftheAbbeyTheatrefrom1923to

1927showsthatthedifferentialinwagesextendedthroughthecompany.

(BoundVolume4384:4)Theaccountsshowthat in1923,F.J.McCormick

wasearning£415daweek,MayCraig£3aweekandEileenCrowe£2a

week. In comparison, Sara Allgood was taking home £12 10d. These

salaries seem commensurate with the actors’ years of service and

experience.(BoundVolume4384:4)InJuly1924,whenCrowewascastin


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GeorgeShiels’TheRetrievers,herweeklywagewas increased to£4. The

salaries of McCormick and Craig didn’t change. In August 1925, Crowe

earned£5aweekforappearinginPlayboyoftheWesternWorldasPegeen

Mikeandbytheendofthemonth,herwagesweredoubled.Shewasnow

earning the same salary as the Abbey’s star Sara Allgood, £10 a week.

McCormick was earning £5 10d and Craig was taking home £3 a week.

(BoundVolume4384:4)

Evenafter thedebacleoverThePloughand the Stars in February

1926,Croweearned£10aweekforherbriefappearanceas ‘theWoman

fromRathmines’.Craigtookonthe largerroleofMrsGoganwithawage

increaseofonly£1,to£4aweek.McCormickwasstillon£510d.(Bound

Volume4384:4)Theremayhavebeenaninterventionduringthatyear,for

bythetimeCroweplayedNoraHelmerinADoll’sHouseinDecember1926

herwageswerereducedto£710d.Asheron-stagehusband,McCormick

was finally earningmore: £8 aweek. (BoundVolume4384: 4)While she

played an independent woman on stage, the typical earning pattern for

Irishgenderroleswaseventuallyrestoredintheirreal-lifemarriage.

Crowe’spreoccupationwithearningcontinuedafterherhusband’s

death,andshecarefullynegotiatedfeesforoccasionalfilmwork.Manyof

the Abbey Company sought leave to appear in films as the business of

making films in Ireland expanded; this was far more lucrative if

undemandingwork. AtelegraminthepapersofJohnFord,dated6June

1951,includesthefollowingmessage:

ATREQUESTOURCLIENTEILEENCROWESINCEYESTERDAYHAVEREPEATEDLY TRIED WITHOUT SUCCESS TO CONTACT YOU TODISCUSS MISS CROWES SALARY TELEPHONE GROSVENOR 3080.(ParkertoFordLilyMss)

Theoutcomeofthenegotiationsisnotrecorded,butForddidspeakwith

Croweand the followingyear sheappeared inhis filmTheQuietManas

vicar’swife,MrsElizabethPlayfair.

Crowewasalsoinvolvedwithpaynegotiationsforradiobroadcasts

oftheAbbeyTheatrerepertoiremadefromRadioEireann.In1954,Equity


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(the Irish actors’ union) approached Blythe to discuss arrangements for

remuneration. The players requested a flat payment of £20 each, which

Blytheconsideredexcessiveandheelectedinsteadtodividethegroupof

actorsby insistingthatallplayers (regardlessof thesizeofpart) received

£10. According to BarryMonahan, the first to objectwere Eileen Crowe

and Harry Brogan, because they ‘as senior members of the company,

wouldhavepreferredpaymentproportionatetoweeklysalary.’(Monahan

184)Withinweeks,thenotionofflatpaymentswasdroppedbytheunion.

By the early 1950s, Crowe and Craig (along with actors Michael

Dolan,EricGormanandHarryBrogan)hadexperiencedmanychanges in

the Abbey. They were now surrounded by a whole host of young

newcomers. Craig’s presence and her generosity still impressed. Actor

Vincent Dowling recalled appearing with her and Michael Dolan and

describedthem:

Alwaysthesame,yetalwaysfresh;theminimumofmovement;asif for the first time; never taking away from the other actor.(Dowling198)

The older generation clung to some of their traditional ways. As one

example,VincentDowlingandothersledacampaigntoalloweachactorto

see the whole script. But Dowling soon discovered that the ‘old guard’

were re-typing their scripts to include only their own part or ‘side’.

(Dowling 158) There was increasing dissatisfaction over conditions and

salary levels, and a Players’ Council was established to negotiate with

management.(Dowling162)

Asa vocalmemberof thenewly-establishedcouncil,Dowlingwas

awareoftheenduringissueofthedifferentialinpaytermsbetweenCraig

and Crowe. When elder Company members refused to give their salary

detailsfornegotiationswithEquityandthetheatremanagement,Dowling

arranged a ‘private ballot box’ where they could anonymously provide

their years of service and terms of pay. Itwas an exercise in politeness;

giventhesizeofthecompany,detailscouldbeeasilymatchedtoplayers.

Dowling’smemoryisthatCrowewasearningtwelvepoundsweeklywhile


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Craigwasearningsevenpounds.6(Dowling163)Atasubsequentmeeting,

BlythedismissedtheirargumentstatingthatCraigwas‘reallyretired’and

givingher‘smallpartsfromtimetotimewascharity’.(Dowling245)

Itmightbeexpectedthatasmaturewomenwithawealthofshared

experience, Craig and Crowe would be friends, or at least allies in their

opinions and demands. However, all accounts suggest that Craig and

Crowedidnotgetalong.On tour, theyhadseparatedressing roomsand

didn’tspeaktoeachotherunlessonstage.(Laffan)Themostlikelycauseof

rancouristhedisparityinearnings.Dowlingrecalls:

MayCraig,after47yearswiththeCompany,hadsevenpoundsaweek.EileenCrowehadmaybetwelve.Whilesherichlydeservedtobeinthetopechelon,itwasbecauseshewasthewidowofthegreat‘F.J.’thatBlythedeignedtoputherthere.(Dowling163)

Inhismemoryofthematerialfactsofherlife,DowlingrevealsthatCrowe’s

talentandhersocialroleaswifeandthenwidowtoadistinguishedactor

remainedentangled.

CraighadjoinedthecompanyoveradecadebeforeCroweandhad

performed as many lead roles. There’s no suggestion that she lacked

moneyor sufferedanydeprivationas a result of thispaydiscrepancy. In

fact,itmayhavebeenfeltthatCraig’sinheritancefromherhusbandmeant

shedidn’tneedtoearn.But thedisparity insultedherprofessional talent

and likely led to a rift. Both women were character actresses, and had

gainedtheirearlyexperienceworkingwithactorstaughtdirectlybySynge

and Yeats. Yet, while they retained the Catholic faith, on closer

examinationtheirvaluesarenotablydistinct.

6Laterinthesamechapter(244)Dowlingsaysthat,tohisrecollection,EileenCrowewasearningnineteenpounds,nottwelve.


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MayCraig–Background

In notes on her own life prepared for a lecture or other public

discussion,MayCraigrecalledthepoemAMemorybyBritishpoetL.A.G.

Strong.(‘Reminiscence’CraigUCDLA28/238)Theopeninglinesare:

AMemorybyl.A.G.Strong

WhenIwasashighasthat,Isawapoetinhishat.IthinkthepoetmusthavesmiledAtsuchasolemn,gazingchild.

ChoosingthisdittytocaptureherchildhoodencounterwithSynge

suggests a creative mind with a sense of humour, which Craig showed

herselftohavethroughoutherworkinglife.Shewas,likeCrowe,adevout

Catholic who followed the Church’s teachings and observances. Lennox

Robinson notes in his memoir how Craig told him that he was in her

prayers,afterhelosthisjobwiththeCarnegieLibrary.(CurtainUp136)It’s

notclearwhethershewasprayingforhiscareer,orforhissoul.(Robinson

had written a tale about a girl falling pregnant and been sacked for

publicationofthestory,whichwasdeemedsalacious.)Craigwasdiscreet

enough to ensure her meaning was opaque. In addition to her faith,

repeated challenges in her life made Craig a stoic and compassionate

presenceintheAbbeyCompany.

Itwasapriest (namedEugeneMcCarthy) that introducedCraig to

thetwodominatinglovesofherlife:theAbbeyTheatreandherhusband.

Whenshewasbarelyeighteen, thepriestand family friendhadcalled to

the house to seeMrs Craig.May arrived home from school, and Father

McCarthyaskedifshewouldtakeasilentroleinaplaybeingstagedatthe

Abbey Theatre. The teenager accompaniedhim the followingmorning at

11am,whereshewatchedarehearsalofThePlayboyoftheWesternWorld

fromthestalls.

Overcome by the strangeness and beauty, Craig started to cry

silently towards the end of the performance. J.M. Syngewas also in the


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auditorium,watching, andhe took the sorrow in hermournful eyes as a

compliment. She was soon on stage in the silent role of Honor Blake, a

‘little laying pullet’ in her hands,with instructions not to look out at the

audienceortouseherhandstoomuch.(Synge117)Itwouldbenineyears

before she appeared on the Abbey stage again although she attended

acting classes. In October 1916 (when Craig was twenty-seven) a

prominentactresswasunabletofulfillanengagement inGeorgeBernard

Shaw’sArmsandtheMan.Asshewasfamiliarwiththepart fromscenes

learnt in the Abbey School, Craig was asked to step in. Thus, her acting

careerbegan.

Thatsameyear,CraigwasintheoriginalcastofLennoxRobinson’s

TheWhiteHeadedBoyasJaneGeoghegan.Shewouldcontinuetoplaythis

part for 34 subsequent productions.7One of the sixGeoghegan children,

Jane in The White Headed Boy is a ‘nice quiet girl’, long promised to

DonoghBrosnan. (Robinson67)Liketheothersisters,shepanderstoher

brother Denis and ‘knows how to humour him’ but beneath the patient

façade is a growingdissatisfaction that gradually reveals itself. (Robinson

76)Theplaywrightnotesinthedirectionsatonepoint,‘Youwouldn’tthink

JANE could be so bitter.’ (Robinson 78) Jane demands that there are

changes, asserting that she can’t wait forever for marriage. Craig was

already establishing herself as an actress with subtle, but expressive

features,capableofusingmodulatedrestrainttoempowerheremotional

climaxes.

Itwas inthehouseofFatherEugeneMcCarthythatCraigshewas

introduced to Vincent Power-Fardy, who had been born in America, of

Wexford-bornparents.His fatherwasa journalistwhoworked inAlbany,

butfollowingtheearlydeathsofbothparentsheandhistwosisterswere

sentbacktoIreland.Whilehissisterswerebroughtupbyamaternalaunt,

VincentwasoldenoughtojoinCraigGardnerandheembarkedonacareer

as an accountant and auditor, with specific responsibilities for the Irish


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Sweepstakes. Alongwith his financial qualifications, he tried his hand at

playwriting. Craig’s papers lovingly preserve three programmes for

productions of his plays in the Empire Theatre in Belfast. In 1930,while

rehearsingforMrsGroganandtheFerret,Craigjotteddownonthebackof

her script bus times from D’Olier Street and addresses. (Craig UCD

LA28/226) Between rehearsals, she was busy making arrangements and

looking for a house; she and Power-Fardy were now married with a

growingfamily.

Craig continued to perform until 1968, playing in a total of 915

productionswiththeAbbeyCompany.Thisdoesnotincludeherfilmwork,

nordoes itaccountforanymaternity leavewhileshehadfivechildrenin

quicksuccession.Reviewingthemeta-datafromtheAbbeyTheatreDigital

Archive, it becomes apparent that she was a character actress, often

playingsignificantroleswithoutappearinginleadingparts.(AbbeyTheatre

Database)SheappearedinCathleenNiHoulihan,forinstance,innineteen

productionsbutonlyplayed theeponymousheroineonce.Thiswasona

Sundayevening inFebruary1941, fora specialmemorialperformanceof

worksbyW.B.Yeats.InThePlayboyoftheWesternWorld,withwhichshe

beganhercareerasHonorBlake,Craigappearedasoneofthevillagegirls

twenty-six times,without ever playingWidowQuin or PegeenMike.Her

mostfrequentroleswereasMrsScallyinShiels’ProfessorTim,Janeinthe

Robinson’sTheWhiteHeadedBoy(34times)andElleninRobinson’sother

popular comedyTheFar-OffHills (32 times). Thepart taken fromCrowe,

Mrs Gogan in The Plough and the Stars, she played 31 times. In 25

productionsofO’Casey’sShadowofaGunmansheplayedMrsHenderson.

Craig displayed an impressive range, from Irish servants to old

English ladies. The Irish Times noted her blossoming in 1930 when she

appearedasex-schoolmistress,MrsScally,inProfessorTim:

Oneactresswhoisveryoftenmiscastoroverlooked,MissCraig,isheretheperfectdomineeringwife.Foralongperiodinthethirdact she gives growing anger a force that it has rarely seen on

7Asnotedpreviously,thesewerenotstrictly‘revivals’oftheproduction,buttheAbbeyTheatretendedtointerfereaslittleaspossiblewithclassicorpopularhits.


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stage.(CraigUCDMssLA28/116)

The San Francisco News deemed her a ‘Lady of All Ages’ in April

1935forherskills.(CraigUCDMssLA28/116)ManyoftheAmericancritics

were struck by howmuch younger and more glamorous she looked off

stage,whenshehadremovedtheheavygreasepaintandkohlwrinkles.An

audience inCork inOctober1935were ‘thrilled throughand through’by

her ‘sheer humanness and realism’; this being a striking comparison to

Crowe’slyricismandlackofpsychologicalcharacterization.(CraigUCDMss

LA28/116)

TheWordsUpontheWindowPane,W.B.Yeats’one-actplayabout

asupernaturalséanceinanIrishboardinghouse,premieredinNovember

1930 with both Craig and Crowe in the cast. Craig was the Dublin-born

mediumthathasbeenlivinginLondonbutreturnstospreadthespiritual

movementinIreland.Sheisdescribedas‘Apoorwomanwiththesoulof

an apostle.’ (Yeats 156) Crowe was Mrs Mallet, the widow that comes

seekingtoconnectwithherhusbandfromtheotherworld.Theplayisfull

ofsubtlesuggestionsofthemercenaryobjectivesofspiritualmediumsand

other skeptical visitors. The climax comes with Mrs Henderson’s

‘possession’ by a number of spirits as her visitors observe with bated

breath. These include Lulu, a six-year-old girl, alongwith Jonathan Swift,

andtwoofhisromanticinterests,VanessaandStella.

As Mrs Henderson, the actress must shift deftly between the

characters,voicingtheirarguments,whilethemediumremains‘asleep’in

her chair. After the séance, sceptic John Corbet tells her she is an

‘accomplishedactressandscholar’.(Yeats170)Heinsiststhat,althoughhe

remains to be convinced of supernatural powers, ‘I have been deeply

movedbywhat I haveheard.’ (Yeats170) In case theaudiencehadany

questionsabouttheveracityofher‘performance’,Yeatsleavesthemwith

theimageofMrsHendersonstrugglingtocomebacktorealityandprepare

someteaforherself.Aloneonthestage,MayCraigmoved‘aimlesslyabout

thestageandthen,lettingthesaucerfallandbreak,speaksinSwift’svoice.


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“PerishthedayonwhichIwasborn!”’(Yeats172)

It’sapowerfulendingandthepartofMrsHendersondemandsof

an actress a stately presence and ferocious intensity. Reviewing the first

productionfortheIrishIndependenton18November,D.S.saidthatitwas

a‘wonderfulpersonaltriumph’forCraig.Hecontinued:‘Herplayingofthis

part is a remarkably fine piece of restrained, emotional acting.’ (‘The

Words’)Asoneof thefewoccasionsonwhichCraigheldthecentral role

onstage,shedisplayedherversatilityandmajesticpresence.Itwasarole

she repeated in eleven productions over the years, in the USA and at

home.

In1931,CraigspentherfirstChristmasawayfromheryoungfamily

and for much of the following decade, she travelled with the Abbey

Company to theUSeachyear fromSeptember to July.UnlikeCroweand

McCormick,whowerereliantontheirtouringincometoraisetheirfamily,

Craig had a comfortable lifestyle due to her husband’s position. Yet her

careeronthestageremainedcrucialtoher.Whileshewasaway,Power-

FardywasinDublinwiththechildren.Shewasshockedandhurttoreadin

the US papers while travelling on the train between venues that the

journalists had learnt that she had lost a sixth child during pregnancy.

(‘Reminiscence’CraigUCDMss LA28/240)However, she talkedopenly to

USnewspapersaboutbalancinganactingcareerandfamilylife.Shesaid:

The Irish actress never has to face the problem of a home or acareer ... We don't worry which one comes first, because theyblendtogether…Thereisnoconsciousplacingofeitherhomeorcareerabovetheother...(BostonCraigUCDMssLA28)

Craig spoke in general terms, but it could be argued her circumstances

were unique. Her adoration for her husband is evident as she describes

how,‘Heunderstandsmyinterestinmyprofessionalworkandencourages

meinit.’(SteiglerCraigUCDMssLA28/219/1)InDetroit,shesaid:

I consider [my husband’s] wishes before anything else. If youdon't consider each other and if you don't love each otherenough, marriage is left holding the bag. … My husband neverforceshiswillonme.Heconsidersmecapableofmakingupmyownmindandheisadarling.Knowwhy?He'sanAmerican!


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(WarfelCraigUCDMssLA28/231)

Craig enjoyed travelling, bringing presents home to her children,

alongwithtalesof‘cherryblossomtimeinWashington’andpartieswhere

shemet the US President andMrs Roosevelt; George Gershwin and the

author of themusicalPorgy and Bess,DuBose Heyward. (‘Reminiscence’

CraigUCDMssLA28/240)Hernotesaboutonepartyread:

Millionaire had big plantation and invited players out to it on aSunday. Lake in grounds.Moonanenormousorange in the sky.Colouredworkerscameandsatcarryingtorchessingingspirituals.An unforgettable experience. (‘Reminiscence’ Craig UCD MssLA28/240)Craig was grateful to be married to an American man, who

accepted their unconventional arrangement. Less than fourmonths after

speakingpublicallyofher ‘darling’husband,Craig foundherselfawidow.

With startling intensity,Craig’sprofessional andpersonal lifeoverlapped,

andeventshadthepotentialtotestherdevotiontothetheatre.

TheWidow–MargaretGillanbyBrinsleyMacNamara

In thesummerof1933,MayCraigplayedthe title role inBrinsley

MacNamara’s new playMargaret Gillan.As the curtain rose, shewas in

place, seatedbehinda table ladenwithpaper.Thestagedirectionsshow

thatGillan’sparlourispart-home,part-office,part-extensionoftheshopat

the end of the unseen corridor stage left. It is well-furnished, if old-

fashioned and tending towards shabby. A large portrait of Mr Gillan

(recently deceased) is prominent among the other family pictures. The

stagedirectionsread:

MargaretGillanislookingoversomeaccountbooksspreadoutonthe table before her. On the table too are various papers andsheavesofbillsonwirefiles.She isbusyandapparentlyworriedby her calculations. She is still a handsome woman of aboutthirty-seven.(MacNamara9)

Craigwasforty-four,butshewasstillahandsomewoman.Inphotos,she

standsaheadtallerthanCrowe;sheshowedoffherheight,standingwith

shouldersbackandchinhigh.Sheworeherdarkhair tightaroundround


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cheeks and her eyes were blue and ‘sad in repose’. (Craig UCD Mss

LA28/219) There were a dozen curtain calls at one performance of

MargaretGillan.(‘AbbeyTheatre’)

Therewas,perhaps,nomore fitting leading ladytoplay thegrief-

strickenMargaret who has been struck by tragedy. Craig’s husband had

been laid to rest on the 30th June, less than three weeks before the

opening night. At forty-one, Power-Fardy died at his home on Clonliffe

Road, onDublin’s northside. (‘Auditor Laid’ CraigUCDMss LA 219/4)He

hadtakenillathisdeskthatmorning,twoweeksaftergreetinghiswifeat

theboatonherreturnfromaUStour.(‘ActingWith’)BrinsleyMacNamara

attended the funeral, along with many of the company. (‘Auditor Laid’

Craig UCD Mss LA 219/4) They stood in the church and shared their

condolences with May and the five Power-Fardy children: Reggie,

Raymond, Edna, Vera and Una. The production of Margaret Gillan

proceededasplanned.

Late in the first act, Mrs Gillan is joined by her long-time

housekeeper, Ellen Ledwidge. MacNamara describes her as ‘about the

sameageasMargaret,butlooksolder.’(17)MrsGillanwantstoorderher

to ‘hurry up something nice for tea this evening,’ but Ellen likes to give

advice. (17) Ellen was played by Eileen Crowe, whowas ten years older

than Craig and not used to playing lesser roles. The character has a

practical,slightlycondescendingmannertowardsherboss.Shesays:

Ah, itwas a pity, a great pity the time before,when you didn'tmarryJohnBriody,buttookPeterGillan,andhesuchalotolderthanyoutoo.(MacNamara17)

MrsGillanwantsnoneofherprattle,butEllencontinues:Likeachildyouwere,forIsawitall.AndIsawitallafter.AndI'mseeing it still. The way a thing like that goes on and on.(MacNamara17)

These doyennes of the Abbey Company during the 1930s shared many

experiences, personally and professionally, yet there is no evidence they

supported each other off stage. They were radically different in

performancestyleandinapproachtoatheatricalcareer.


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After her husband’s death, Craig bought a house in Booterstown

andher sisterMadge came to livewithher tohelp raise the children so

that Craig could continue with the Abbey Company. In the heap of

yellowing papers that University College Dublin are guarding in their

archives,thereisadescriptionoftheforty-four-year-oldwidowattendinga

firstnightattheGateTheatrelessthanayearafterherhusband’sdeath,

accompanied by her sixteen-year-old son. The social columnist for the

Dublin Evening Mail describes him as ‘very manly’, standing erect and

gallantlybyhismother,intheplaceofhisfather.(CraigUCDMssLA219/1)

Puttinggriefbehindherandkeepingherchildrenclose,Craigcontinuedto

perform.

The Evening Mail encountered Reggie again in September 1936,

whenCraigtookadvantageofamildSundayafternoontothrowagarden

party.Sheservedcocktails,mixedtoaspecialrecipeshehadpickedupin

America,andherdaughtershandedaroundplatesof ‘dainties’. Inoneof

the drawing rooms, music was playing while members of the Abbey

Companymixedwiththeguestsofhonour,visitingAmericanfriends,inthe

garden. (Craig UCDMss LA 219/1) It was an elegant and sociable affair,

muchbefittingitshost.Craigrefusedtobeseenasthetragicwidow,orthe

struggling actress andmother. She continually presented herself to Irish

society(andtheworld)asadignified,glamorousperformeroffthestage,

tobeadmiredandrespected.

MotherandMartyr:CroweandCraiginO’Casey’sJunoandthePaycock

As previously described, the concluding scene of Deevy’s Katie

RocheechoesNora Helmer’s departure from hermarriage at the end of

Ibsen’sADoll’sHouse.ItwasnottheonlyIrishplayintheAbbeyrepertoire

to replicate the final notes (albeit in a different tone) of the Norwegian

modernist drama. In his 1924 play Juno and the Paycock, Sean O’Casey

created the quintessential mother of Irish drama: Mrs Boyle. In this

installmentofhisDublintrilogy,O’Caseyusedthecomplicatedideologyof

the mythic Roman goddess Juno to explore Irish femininity and


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motherhoodwithinthecontextofthenationstateinpost-1916Ireland.As

both Crowe and Craig began to age and to take over the roles of Irish

mothers, it isuseful toconsiderthematernalmodelsontheAbbeystage

from the late 1920s and to ask how these particular actresses re-

configuredtherolesoverthefollowingdecades.

Withinter-relatedrolesinfertilityandwar,thegoddessJunowasa

symbolofstrength inchildbirth,marriageandnationalwar.Transplanted

tothetumultuousyearsoftheIrishcivilwar,O’Casey’sJunoisatoughIrish

mother,fightingforherfamily’ssurvival.Attheopeningoftheplay,Juno

describes her lot: ‘I killin’ meself workin’, an’ he sthruttin’ about from

mornin’tillnightlikeapaycock.’(O’Casey10)Attheendoftheplay,sheis

worn down by poverty and grief, but chooses an independent life. She

instructsherdaughter, ‘Letyour father furrage forhimselfnow; […]we’ll

worktogetherforthesakeofthebaby.’(O’Casey71)Theironyofthisfinal

scene,incontrasttoIbsen’s,isthatthefecklessCaptainBoylehasnoidea

thathiswifehasleftwithherdaughter,tobringuphergrandchildwithout

anymalefigures.

Inthecastforthefirstproduction,SaraAllgoodpresidedoverthe

familywhileEileenCroweplayedtheroleofMaryBoyle, Juno’sdaughter

whobecomespregnantoutofwedlock.ButbyMarch1926,Allgoodhad

left forHollywoodandasthepresidingmatriarchofthecompany,Crowe

tookovertherole.Shewouldplaythepartin37productions,withherlast

appearance as Juno in 1957 taking place at the Queen’s Theatre on

HawkinsStreet,duringtheAbbeyCompany’ssojournthereafterthefirein

thetheatre.(Atthattime,PhilipO’Flynnplayedherhusbandandshewas

directedbyRiaMooney.)

Commentators have largely agreed that motherhood ‘constitutes

themostsignificantelementinJuno’scharacterization’,althoughscholars

differ on how they read and interpret the material in regard to her

representationofmotherhood.(Keaton85-97)BerniceSchrankseesJuno’s

‘doctrineoffreewill’astheantithesisofBoyle’s‘deterministicworldview’

andargues that thesedialecticalpolaritiesstructure theplay,making ita


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performanceaboutJuno’sprivatetriumphunderoppression.(Schrank439

–454)Others, includingKrause,believe Juno isO’Casey’sexampleof the

universalmother,arealisticandcompassionatewoman.(68-99)

Rather than choose to deify or to destroy the character, Maria

Keaton examines the script and Mrs Boyle’s character development to

revealthe‘formationofatypeofmatriarchalideology’.(86)Inherreading,

Juno isneithergoddessnorvillain. She isadissentingvoice thatexposes

thehollownatureofnationalismandisan‘agentinherowneducation’as

shecomestoanunderstandingofhowtofacethefuture.(Keaton87)

If Juno’s children and husband are caught up in the intellectual

ideasofnationalismandthelabourmovement,herconcernsarepractical

andfinancial.Throughouttheaction,shefeedsherhusbandandurgestea

onherson.Earlyon,sheremarkstoMary:

Yis; an' when I go into oul' Murphy's tomorrow, an' he gets toknowthat,insteado'payin'all,I'mgoin'toborrymore,what'llhesaywhen I tell himaprinciple's aprinciple?What'llwedo if herefusestogiveusanymoreontick?(O’Casey8)

Juno’sconcernforherfamily’swelfareisadmirable,yetitblindshertothe

experiences of those outside the family unit. Her callous remarks about

MrsTancred’slossofherson,forexample,(‘Inwan’way,shedeservesall

shegot’)jarwithherprotectivenessforherownoffspring.(O’Casey47)

The tragedy of O’Casey’s play is that, for all her stoicism and

commonsense,Junocannotsaveherfamilyfromruin.Shefailstostopher

husband’s profligate ways and when their inheritance transpires to be

invalid,theyareplungedagainintopoverty.HersonJohnny’sbetrayalofa

neighbourleadshimtoadeaththatisnotheroic,butisovershadowedby

shameofhisbehaviour. Junofailstomeetthenational idealofamother

whomaintainsmoralorderandfinancialstability,despiteherefforts.

O’Casey never allows easy interpretation of the motives and

emotions of his characters and all of the female parts in Juno and the

Paycockarecomplexanddemandingofactresses.Comingaftertheadored

starSaraAllgood,Crowehadaparticularbattletowinoveraudiences. In


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November1927LadyGregoryattendedaperformanceandnoted,‘AtJuno

lasteveningawonderfulhouseanditwentaswellaseverinspiteofMiss

Crowe,apoorsubstituteforSally.’(MurphyJournals217)Thesubstitution

did not bother the general public: Gregory went to seven performances

thatweek, and recorded ‘crammed houses’ for Junowith ‘last night the

longest queue I have ever seen there, a pity somany had to be turned

away.’(MurphyJournals217)

At the same time, critics again often drew attention to Crowe’s

dainty presence and one in particular found that her portrayal of the

battle-worn mother destroyed the impact of the final scene with a

desertedBoyleandJoxer.Ofthe1937productioninCambridge,thiscritic

describedhow: ‘Theastonishing lastdrunk scene [… ]missed fire in the

presentproductionowingtoMissCrowe’sinabilitytomakehermonologue

convincing.’(Gownsman Craig UCD Mss LA28/219-3) The other women

weremore successful, in his eyes. He said of AideenO’Connor, asMary

Boyle:‘Thecharacterbecomesmorecomplexinthecourseoftheplay,and

Miss O'Connor showed a full understanding of every aspect of it.’

(GownsmanCraigUCDMssLA28/219-3)

In the figure of neighbor Mrs Tancred, O’Casey depicts Irish

motherhood in a different guise. Juno is working and striving for her

childrenfromtheopeningmoments;fromherfirstentry,MrsTancredisa

figure of grief, broken by the loss of her child. She enters ‘a very old

woman–obviouslyshakenbythedeathofherson’andcontinuestorelive

thesceneofhisdeath.(O’Casey45)Craigfrequentlyplayedthispartanda

critic said she ‘made theepisodeofMrsTancredverymovingand spoke

beautifully.’(GownsmanCraigUCDMssLA28/219-3)

Iftheyinitiallycomeintoconflictovertheirsons’involvementinthe

civilwar,ultimatelytheplayforgesabondbetweenbothofthesemothers,

showingthatanessentialhumanitycanunitewomen.Anoteofhoperises

fromJuno’srepetitionofMrsTancred’sprayer,andhersubsequentescape

with her daughter, determined to raiseMary’s childwith ‘twomothers’.

(O’Casey71)Offstage,thecontrastingpersonalitiesofthesetworeal-life


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mothers never allowed for such easy union. On stage, the polarities of

mature femininity they embodied and presented to the Irish public

enrichedandenlivenedtheAbbeyTheatreCompanyfordecades.

Crowe and Craig devoted their lives to the Irish stage. They

continued to perform through pregnancies, bereavements, their own

illnessandthatoftheirchildren,perhapsforfinancialreasonsaswellasfor

their own fulfillment. They gained from theirwork resilience, strengthof

character andmind that saw themboth intoold age. Craig continued to

performuntil1968;shediedfouryearslater.Croweperformedforthelast

timeonthestageofthePeacockin1970anddiedin1978.

MayCraigcameto theAbbeyTheatreasa sensitive, seriouschild

andmatured into a stately presence on the stage, a glamorous if tragic

figurethatwaslovedonthestreetsofDublinasmuchasshewasadmired

on the stage. Crowewas at the epicenter of shifts in the staging of Irish

femininityonthenationalstage.Hercareerbroughtherfromtheportrayal

ofmodernwomanNoraHelmer toSynge’s lonelyNoraandeventually to

thepartofNoraClitheroeinThePloughandtheStars.Onecommentator

hasobservedhow,O’Casey’sNorais‘weakandfacesbacktotheprevious

century's helpless Colleens.’ (Ritschel 163) Crowewas familiar with such

colleensandhowtheyhadbeenrepresentedonthe Irishstagesince the

turn of the century. She experimented with Ibsen’s ‘new women’ but

ultimately succumbed to the ideological pressure (or chose) topresent a

particularlyIrishformoffemininitythatwaschaste,obedientanddiscrete.

WhenshedemandedtheroleofNoraClitheroein1936,Crowewas

choosing to present aweak,melodramatic heroine in furtherance of her

owncareerandmaterialgain.Thisisacuriouslyparadoxicalpositionfora

womantooccupy,whileit’sentirelycomprehensibleasapragmaticchoice

for a working actress. Furthermore, the material facts recorded in the

archiveprovethattheAbbeyTheatre,withitscontentiouspositioninthe

apparatus of the Irish Free State, valued the chaste, demure wife and

mother figuremore highly than the ambitious young artist (Richards) or

therichversatilityofanaccomplishedcharacteractress(suchasMayCraig).


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Conclusion

The development of any artistic career is the product of many

factors:training,dedication,chanceandambitionbutit isalsomarkedby

personalideals.It’sdifficulttomeasuretheextenttowhichthecareersof

Eileen Crowe andMay Craigwere ultimately shaped by institutional and

societalpressure,buttheiridealsbroughtthemtowheretheywereatthe

end of the 1950s. They were by then actresses of esteem performing

regularly, but they were also respectable womenwith orthodoxmiddle-

classfamiliesandfinancialstability.

Inthefollowingchapters,Iwilldetailthelifestoriesofthreeother

womenwhoemergedfromthesametraditionattheAbbey,buttookvery

different routes. In theconclusion, Iwill returnto issuesof longevityand

success.However,it’snotusefultodirectlycomparethesewomen.Rather,

toconsiderallfiveofthelifestoriesasonenarrativeisbothfascinatingand

necessary to a full understanding of the status and position of an Irish

actressintheNationalTheatreofthe1930s.

Chapter3:AideenO’Connor(1913–1950) CiaraO’Dowd

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Chapter3:AideenO’Connor(1913–1950)

Introduction

Asstatedbefore,thisthesisbuildsontheworkofGaleandStokes

in The Cambridge Companion to the Actress, in aiming to expose ‘the

construction of the actress’. (2) The chapters examine the factors that

come tobearon thepersonal idealsof anyactress: familial, societal and

industrypressuresthatmustbenegotiatedendlesslytomakeacareerasa

performer. If Crowe’s biography demonstrates the development of a

respectableIrishperformer,AideenO’Connor’slifeshowsasingle-minded

devotion to acting, but also illustrates how off-stage behaviour came to

determinethefateofcertainIrishactresses.

A photograph of Aideen (Una Mary) O’Connor was taken in the

greenroomoftheAbbeyTheatrebeforeshewentontothemainstagefor

thefirsttimein1933.(ShieldsT13/B/130)Inthepicture,shebarelyraises

hereyestothecamera,asshesinksintothecornerofaflowerycouch.Her

hairispinnedbacktorevealanelfinfaceandonthewallbehindherhead

isaphotographoftheAbbeyPlayersonarecentAmericantour.Inherlap,

her right hand grips the fingers of her left; both hands hover above the

swathes of gingham that make up the too-large costume. To my eyes,

there’sadetermination inher faceaswell asananxiety. Shehas theair

not of someone who doesn’t want to be there, but of someone who is

terrifiedbecauseshesobadlywantstobethere.

O’Connorhadgreyeyes,abuttonnoseandhairof‘acoppercolour

…amassoftinyringlets’.(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511-23)Shewasfivefoot

twoandahalf inchestallandofslightbuild(weighingapproximately106

pounds). (ShieldsT13/A/469) ShewasaCatholic girl, livingathomewith

her fatherandworkingasasecretaryatPolikoffs’clothing factoryduring

the day. OnWednesday 6th September 1933 she turned twenty and the

followingMonday,shemadeher firstprofessionalappearance inBrinsley

MacNamara’sMargaretGillan.ShewasreplacingtheactressKittyCurling,

whomshehadseenperformasEstherGillanonemonthearlier.


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‘UnaMary’wasawareoftheactressUnaO’Connor,borninBelfast

and a member of the Abbey Company from 1912. The latter left for

Hollywood in the 1920s, but her name remained known in Dublin. To

differentiateherself,UnaMarychosethenameAideen.Thenamecomes

fromIrishlegendsofFionnMcCoolandmeans‘fire’.Ithasconnotationsof

jealousy and passion. For a few years, she would be Una at home in

RanelaghandAideeninthetheatre.Gradually,Unawaslostentirely.

MacNamara’s play centres on the relationship between amother

and a daughter: a recently widowedwoman is dismayedwhen the only

man she ever loved asks for her daughter’s hand inmarriage. The script

was familiar to O’Connor from classes and performances in the Abbey

School.Margaret Gillan is a play full of repressed passions, showing a

woman struggling with aging, with financial and practical realities, along

withthedeathofherowndreamsandaburningjealousyofherdaughter’s

youth and beauty. May Craig played the title role. Tentatively entering

Margaret’sGillansittingroomlateinthefirstact,AideenO’Connorraised

herheadandasked, ‘Didyouwantme,mother?’ (MacNamara12) In the

tellingofanylifestory,amotherisagoodplacetobegin.

FamilyBackground

I traced the letters on the screen of the Irish Census of 1911

(publicallyavailableontheInternet)withmyfinger.IcomparedtheFswith

theCs,onein‘O’Connor’andtheotherin‘RomanCatholic’,denotingthe

religion of the household. The genealogist from the National Library

believes that the name on the Enumerator’s Form is ‘Flora Crowley

O’Connor’.Ileantowards‘ClaraCrowleyO’Connor’.It’snotpossibletobe

definite. But in this tracing, this guessing, I am again aware that I am

inventing someone in ‘Clara’, or obliterating somebody by the name of

‘Flora’. Such conundrums and decisions are an intrinsic part of archival

research. I cannot be certain of thiswoman’s name, but there are other

documentedfactsthatcanbepiecedtogether.


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MrsFlora-ClaraCrowleyO’Connorwastwenty-twoyearsoldwhen

the Census Collector called to the door of 56 Hollybank Avenue on the

south side of Dublin city. He canvassed the entire ‘Avenue’, which is a

grand title for theneat cul de sacof terraced, red-brickedhouses in this

long-establishedsuburb.Number56wasconsidereda largehouse (three

bedroomsandanoutsideprivy)foracouplewithasingledomesticservant.

Another Catholic family lived on one side; on the other side were

Methodists. (Census1911)Thegirl, fromCorkCity,hadbeenmarried for

less than a year to Vincent De Paul O’Connor, who worked at the

Mercantile Office in Dublin Port. It was April 1911. It was spring. IfMrs

O’Connorwasalreadyexpectingherfirstdaughter,Eileen,thispregnancy

wasn’t recorded. The Census heralded the start of something: the

O’Connorfamilyproper.

At 9.40am on the 26th August 1913 the trams stopped running,

leavingidlethefiftymilesoftrackthatlinkedthecentreofDublinwiththe

suburbs of Clontarf, Rathmines, Blackrock and Kingstown (now Dun

Laoghaire). (Yeates 1) The absence of trams and bells announcing their

arrivalleftthestreetsquiet.Fourdayslater,riotingbrokeoutinRingsend

(aworking-classareaclosetotheport)andthedisturbancesspreadrapidly

tootherworking-classdistricts.An industrialdisputeoverworkers’ rights

tounionizebegantounravelandsomeofthecity’semployersthreatened

alockout.

On the first Saturday of September, the Irish Catholic newspaper

describedeventsonthestreetsofthecapitalas‘Dublin'sPeril,’sayingthat

‘most self-respecting and educated men and women’ were ‘heartily

ashamed’ of the rioting anddisputes spillingout fromvarious industries.

(Yeates 131)Many believed an unbridled class war was on the verge of

breaking out. At the same time, according to Padraig Yeates, Irish

nationalists(suchasVincentO’Connor)opposedtheLockoutandtheinflux

of goods from overseas it would encourage. (‘The Dublin’ 31-36) The

weatherwasmildforautumnandthecityre-assumedarelaxed,weekend

airasthethreatofviolenceremainedataremove.ASundayIndependent


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journalistobservedthat‘theusualharmonyandgoodhumourprevailedin

every quarter, the police were not obtrusively visible in any quarter.’

(Yeates134-6)

That same Saturday, 6th September, VincentO’Connor learnt that

his secondchildwasanotherdaughter.Anyparentwould fear for sucha

child, born into a city threatening to descend into lawlessness. From his

deskinDublinPort,hecouldseethemenonthedockscollectingtounload

the ships arriving with food supplies and (as the crisis developed) boats

leaving for Liverpoolwhere childrenwere promised Catholic homeswith

food and schooling. Later, official documents would claim that Mr

O’ConnorwastheSuperintendentoftheMercantileMarineOffice.(Shields

T13/A/465)Itisanunlikelytitle,giventhathewasanIrishCatholicworking

in the civil service at a time when promotions or leadership roles were

denied tomanyofhis faith.Hewasa lower-middle-classman striving to

raise a young family in a city under siege from industrial disputes, from

povertyandfromendemicdiseases.

AideenO’Connorwasborninthemidstofthe1913Lockout.Bythe

endofthelastquarterof1913,infantmortalitywouldhaverisenbyalmost

50%.(Yeates‘TheDublin’31-36)Flora-Clarawouldhaveanotherdaughter

within two years but she didn’t survive to see her children grow. It’s

tempting to say that O’Connor was born with the defiant energy of the

Lockout in the air; themalevolent despair that found its way into every

nook of the city in the dark winter of 1913 shaped her personality. It’s

temptingtosaythis,butit’satheoryIcan’tproveorsupportwithevidence.

Asmuchas I’d likethe ideaof thisshaping forceto linger in thereader’s

mind,itwassimplyamoment:inthelifeofthecityandforO’Connor.

TheLockoutdidhappenbut thecitymovedon,with thewidower

Vincent O’Connor bringing up his daughters as middle-class respectable

womenalone.Hewas an Irish speaker, but in theDominicanConvent in

Donnybrook where she attended school, his daughter learnt to speak

French,toplaytennisandtocomposeelegantbusinessletters.Intheearly

1930s,WilliamFayoftheAbbeyTheatrewastakingafternoonsawayfrom


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Marlborough Street to coach young convent girls around Dublin in

elocutionandShakespeare.(Finlay97)IfheincludedMuckrossCollegeon

his weekly rounds, O’Connor came under his watchful eye. She liked

attention,thismiddlechildwhoconsideredherselftheplainsister.(Shields

T13/A/436)ShefoundoutabouttheeveningclassesintheAbbey,evenas

theMuckrossnunseducatedherforajobinanofficewithprospectsanda

steadywage.Polikoffs’FactorywasanachievementforO’Connor,ajobin

the office above the factory floor where men and women stitched and

sewed all day. But she already had her eye on a different life, and was

taking the tram into the city a few evenings a week to be tutored by

LennoxRobinsonandM.J.DolaninclassesattheAbbeyTheatre.

Dolankeptoneofhisadjudicators’sheets:atypedsheetofnames

on which they made handwritten notes as they auditioned scores of

hopefulperformers for theAbbeySchoolofActingonthePeacockstage.

O’Connor’s notes are not recorded but otherswere consideredwith the

followingobservations:

MissRoseO'SheaIdon'tthinkso:weakanduninteresting.EleanorO'ConnellAnxious&nervous.Notbadvoiceinreading.Recitation:Gesturebadandnotsogoodinreading:-enunciation.NoraO'NealeMadesenseofwhatshewasreading.Robust:goodstrongvoice.Clearenunciation(often)DramaticsenseRecit[ation]:flexibilityandwordpaintinggood.Faceexpression.(AdjudicationsNLIMss22,556)

There ismuchemphasisonvoiceandrecitation,onthestrengthofvoice

and enunciation. Little else is revealed about the qualities they required

fromstudents.

In April 1933, O’Connor received her certificate in acting from

Robinsonatasmallgraduationceremony.(ShieldsT13/A/445)Athomeon

Hollybank Avenue, her sister Eileen was already taking the position of

motherfigure,ofmoralandreligiousguardian.Onemorning,VincentPaul

O’Connornoticedapostcardaddressedtohismiddledaughterinthepost.


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Hewaspresented inwritingwitha formal indicationofherhardwork in

theeveningclasses.Hecouldsimplyturnitovertoseethetypedrequest

for‘Una’tocalltothetheatreassoonaspossibletoseeMrArthurShields.

Hewrote‘Gon-eiríant-áidhleat.Daidí,’inpencilacrossthecard,towish

her luck in Irish. (Shields T13/A/446) Soon after that meeting O’Connor

begantoprepareforherfirstprofessionalappearance.

Her siblings,EileenandMaeveO’Connor,were ‘notAbbey-goers’.

(ShieldsT13/A/155(15))Therewasonefriendandmentorwhocelebrated

O’Connor’severyperformance,althoughshecouldrarelytraveltoDublin.

Sr. Mary Monica Hanrahan (whose real name was Martha) was born in

CorkCityandjoinedtheSistersofMercyconventinCobhsixmonthsafter

O’Connor was born. (Cosgrave) Hanrahan was then eighteen and it’s

possibleshewasafriendorrelativeofMrsO’Connor(alsofromCorkcity),

who stayed in touchwith the childrenofherdead friend. Living close to

O’Connor’sfamily inthecentreofCobhandteachingatthelocalprimary

school,HanrahantookprideinO’Connor’sworkandgrowingfame.

According to an email from the Congregational Archivist for the

Sisters of Mercy, Marianne Cosgrave, this ‘handsome’ woman was

‘cultured,graciousandladylike.’Shespokewitha‘fineaccent’andtaught

speechanddrama toallher students.(Cosgrave)Aswell as the standard

elocution and verse-speaking lessons, Mary Monica encouraged her

students to produce their own plays, tableaux and sketches. (Cosgrave)

However she felt aboutO’Connor’s future decisions, SisterMaryMonica

lovedherlikeamother.

Afterasix-nightrunofMargaretGillan,O’Connorreturnedtowork

atPolikoffs’factoryandattendedrehearsalsinthetheatreintheevenings.

Two weeks later, she had a small part in The Plough and the Stars as

Mollser,afifteen-year-oldteenagerwholookslittlemorethantenbecause

consumptionhas‘shrivelledherup.Sheispitifullyworn,walksfeebly,and

frequently coughs’. (O’Casey 179) She subsequently played Delia, the

young sweetheart of Denis, the doctor-to-be, in Robinson’s hit The

WhiteheadedBoy.Withlittlestagetime,O’Connorhadtheopportunityto


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watchtheothers,toreadplaysclosely,andtolearntechniqueandhabits

nottaughtinanactingclass.

AttheendofherfirstyearwiththeAbbeyCompany,O’Connorwas

cast asHelena in Robinson’s comedy about a theatre company visiting a

smallIrishvillageentitledDramaAtInish.Afteritsuproariousfirstnightat

thetheatretheyearbefore,Robinsonmadeaspeechexplainingtheplay:

Iwantedtoconfoundthecritics. It's reallyanabsurdplaybasedonanimpossiblesituation.Thecriticswouldhavedescribeditassuch,soyouseeIamsayingitbeforethem.(O’Neill149)

There’sanoteofself-pityanddesperationbeneaththeeloquence.

Robinson’s alcoholism had reached dire conditions. Playwright Teresa

Deevy,thenaprotégéofRobinson,saidathistimethatshe‘feltlikecrying

when[she]sawhim’becausehewas‘verybad’.(DeevyTCDMss10722/5)

Robinson was growing rapidly thinner, more morose, and increasingly

unreliable.Muchof thecastknewthisplaywell,andcouldcopewithhis

erratic attendance at rehearsals. Arthur Shieldswas designatedAssistant

Directortohelpthecastlearnthemeta-theatricaljokes.

Unlikethe ingénuepartsshehadplayedtodate,Helena inDrama

at Inish was a soubrette, a ‘neat little servant’ unused to the ways of

theatricalpeople.(Robinson201)Inthefirstact,shevoicestheshockofan

Irishgirlatthesleepingarrangementsforthecoupleleadingthetheatrical

troupe.Lizzieexplainsthatshe’skeepingadoubleroomforMrdelaMare

andMissConstantia;thesalaciousideaalarmsherservant:

Helena: (shocked)Mr---andMissConstantia!Glory,miss!Lizzie: It'squiteall right,Helena.Actresses theyare -- I

mean,she'sanactressandsoishe--Imean,he'san actor and so is -- well, anyhow, they’remanandwife these years and years.O’Hara or somenamelikethatIbelievetheyarereally.

Helena: Isee,Miss.(Robinson202)

The servant obediently swallows her shock at theways of theatrical life.

She took it all in, saying little but learning the secrets of the clandestine

arrangements,muchasO’Connorwasdoingbackstage.


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Despite her apparent naivety, Helena in Drama At Inish has a

troubling secret: a baby that she gave birth to out of wedlock and that

subsequentlydied.StillsfromtheproductionshowafrenziedHelena,her

armsaroundtheneckofastartledman.Herfaceisn’tvisible;thecontext

forthephysicalsituationisnotcleartothoseunfamiliarwiththeplot.The

manisthehonest,good-lookingMichael,the‘Boots’ inthehotel;hewas

played by the Assistant Director, Arthur Shields. Helena’s problems are

neatly resolvedwhen she disappears off to the church for awedding to

fellow servant,Michael. Respectability was restored as O’Connor tucked

her arm into the tall, reedy figure with the sensitive face and gentle

manner. O’Connor was already fond of the kind and fatherly figure of

Shields,whoenjoyedhertalentasheofferedadviceandthebenefitofhis

experience.Theybowedandleftthestagetogether.

ForO’Connor, thenegotiationofhersocialandtheatrical lifewith

her job inPolikoffs’andas thedaughterofaCatholicwidowerwouldbe

harder to resolve than Helena’s wedding resolves the plot of Drama at

Inish.Butalready,herstronganddeterminedpersonalitywasshapingthe

lifethatshewanted.

TheAmericanTourof1934-1935

The same month that O’Connor played Helena, whispers began

backstage about an upcoming tour of America and themembers of the

Company to be included. O’Connor wanted the adventure, but was

practical-minded enough to consider the impact of leaving Ireland. She

negotiated conditions with the Abbey management, or was assisted in

doingso,andherweeklywagewasincreasedto£310swhensheresolved

togiveupherjobtogoonthetour.(ShieldsT13/A/117)Theveteranactor

William O’Gorman agreed to Mr O’Connor’s request that he be an

unofficial ‘chaperone’toO’Connoronhertravels,regularlysendingnotes

backtoconfirmthathisdaughterwas‘ashappyaswhenshewasathome

andunchanged’.(ShieldsT13/A/117)Shehadsetinmotionherdreamsof

lifeasafull-timeactress.


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It was publicly announced that the Abbey was transporting

‘fourteenplayers,threestagehandswiththenecessaryscenery,costumes

andproperty’ to theUnited States andCanada. (Shields T13/A/106(1))A

pressreleasefromFredW.Jordangivenon17August1934statedthatthis

would be ‘one of the largest theatrical tours on record’. (Shields

T13/A/108(1))AsassistantproduceroftheAbbeyCompany,ArthurShields

was in charge of the company, while the American producer Mr Elbert

Wickes was granted ‘personal charge’ throughout the tour. (Shields

T13/A/108(1)) After arriving in Boston in October 1934, the company

wouldspendNovemberinCanadianandeasterncitiesincludingMontreal,

Toronto, Ohio and Detroit before appearing on Broadway. The return

journey took them to San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis and St. Paul

beforefinishinginBostoninearlyJune1935.

O’Connor joined the company in Westland Row train station in

Dublin,wheretheytookthetraintoBelfastandthenaboattoLiverpool.

Their liner, theScythia, sailed fromthere,withonehundredandseventy

sevenpassengersonboard.FrolieMulhernandAideenO’Connor,already

firmfriends,becameaffectionatelyknownas‘thebabies’ofthecompany.

(ShieldsT13/A/437)Manyofthecompanyalreadyknewthisjourneywith

itsboredomandoccasionalboutsofseasickness.ForO’Connor, itwasall

new: the glamourofdressing fordinner in theevening, thedancing, the

drinking and the sun bathing on deck. At dinner, the actors spotted the

British toffeemagnate,SirHaroldMackintosh,andhiswife. (‘Scythia’13)

Galesheldbackdockingforanentiredaybuttheyeventuallymanagedto

dockinEastBostonasdarknessfellonanautumnevening.(‘Scythia’13)

The Cincinnati Post mentioned on 15 December 1934 that while

therewasa‘crusadeagainstsalaciousstageplayslaunchedbytheCatholic

Church in New York’, the Abbey Players were one of only four theatre

companiestobeputona ‘white list’bytheChurch. (ScrapbooksNLIMss

25,511-23) This ‘white list’ confirmed they provided respectable

entertainment and the endorsement bolstered both the prestige of the

company and audience numbers. Recalling their tour two years earlier


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when ‘through the fog of that ominous period the actors from Dublin

playedon’,TheSundayTribuneinChicagoinDecember1934declaredthe

Abbey Company to be ‘heroes of [the] bank panic period’ and urged

theatre-goersnottomissachancetoseeaperformance.(ScrapbooksNLI

Mss25,511-23)

As for any touring theatre group, resilience was a feature of the

company,andO’Connorwasgettinga trueexperienceof the touring life

and its demands. Therewere long anduncomfortable train journeys and

sometimesdisappointinghouses aswell as enthusiastic reviews. In some

cities,notablytheCassTheatreinDetroit,theaudienceswere‘regrettably

small’. (ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511-23)TheirvisittotheHarrisTheatre in

Chicagowasmore successful,with the run extended from twoweeks to

three.PlayingminorrolessuchastheyounggirlHonorBlakeinSynge’sThe

Playboyof theWesternWorld,O’Connorbegan tohoneher acting craft.

Whiledoingso,shewasalsolearningtheartofpresentingherselfoffstage.

AgainstthematuretalentandsophisticationofmanyoftheAbbey

players,O’Connorsparkledlikea‘childofnature’straightfromthemistof

Yeats’CelticIreland.(ShieldsT13/A/437)Orrather,thenewspaperarticles

suggestthisCelticcolleenrolewasimposedonherbytheAmericanpress

who described her this way and, noting its publicity value, O’Connor

embraced it. (ShieldsT13/A/437)Aphotographerconvincedher to sit for

anartexhibition,andhetookphotographsofherincharacterwithouteven

‘a bit of lipstick’. (Shields T13/A/437) She complained to her sisters of

wearinessfromthedemand‘tobe“nice”and“sweet”toeveryoneImeet.’

(Shields T13/A/437) Yet she obligingly told journalists stories of fairies in

thebogsofConnemaraand:

shetalkedreverentlyofWilliamButlerYeats…anddescribedhimasa SOhandsomegentlemanwith snowwhitehair,one lockofhairwhichisalwaysdrippingoverhisforehead…(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511-23)

On 22 January 1935, the Detroit Times featured a head-and-

shoulders shot of O’Connor with the caption: ‘Hollywood already has its


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collectiveeyeonthisnewandbright-eyedcolleenfromtheAbbeyPlayers’.

(Scrapbooks NLI Mss 25,511-23) Judy O’Grady, social columnist of the

Detroit News, caught her sweet and innocent persona eloquently in the

same month. After having tea with the Company, O’Grady wrote of

O’Connoron24thJanuary:

HerblueeyessparkledasshetalkedoftheAmericanimpressions… she wore a sparkling afternoon frock that exactly matchedthose dancing eyes, too, she talked of tea in Ireland which iscomposed of homemade cake and heavily buttered scones(pronounced scons) … she talked of how Irish girls walked somuchmorethanweAmericans,butadmittedthattherewasn’tacityinIrelandwhereonecouldn’tberightoutinthecountryafterwalkingfortenminutes…(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511-23)

Early in the new year, theDetroit Press deemedO’Connor, along

with Frolie Mulhern, to be ‘mere novices’ alongside the rest of the

establishedcompany.(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511-23)Someofthepapers

recalled Kate Curling, the Abbey actress who had left the Company and

IrelandtomarryanAmericanbusinessman;yetO’Connorwasbeginningto

makeanimpression.Whiletheylackedtheexperienceoftheotheractors,

theChicagoHeraldpronouncedboth she and FrolieMulhern to be ‘pert

andcapable’.(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511-23)

SincetheirarrivalinNewYorkinNovember,O’ConnorandMulhern

had been playing frolicking teenagers in Robinson’s comedy The Far-Off

Hillstothedelightofaudiences.BythetimetheyarrivedinSanFrancisco

in the spring, they had added American touches to the set of the girls’

bedroomthatopenedthesecondact. In the ‘simple,pretty room’where

the twobedsare ‘sideby side, theirends towards theaudience’ there is

therefractionofthehotelbedroomsO’ConnorandMulhernsharedwhile

on tour. (Robinson 33) On the walls of the set, posters of American

heartthrob RamonNavarro now hung alongside the holy pictures. (Craig

UCDMssLA28/116)Thegirlsweremadeupinshadow,rougeandlipstick,

which they preferred to bring from Ireland. (Craig UCD Mss LA28/116)

Ducky,playedbyO’Connor,wastheseventeen-year-oldeldersisterwhois

reading in bed while sixteen-year-old Pet (Mulhern) brushes her hair by


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candlelight.Amidgirlygossip,theyaresecretlytryingtoplottheirfather’s

secondmarriage.

‘Allthissillywait-till-you’re-askedbusiness,’DuckygrumblesinThe

Far-Off Hills about women awaiting an engagement, while Pet bemoans

theshapeofhernose.(Robinson33)Eventually,Petblowsoutthecandle,

kicksoffherslippersandmakesforbed.Duckyisquicktoask,‘Haveyou

said your prayers?’ Pet tartly responds, ‘Mind your own business.’

(Robinson34)Asthesisterssettledowntosleep,whisperingtoeachother

inthedarknessandrecallingtheeventsoftheday,thereisanoutbreakof

gigglesandtheycannotconceal their laughter.Thestagedirectionsread:

‘They both laugh until the beds shake.’ (Robinson 35) A similar sense of

youthfulexuberancemarkedMulhernandO’Connor’s friendshipon their

first American tour. Newspapers of the period contain not only play

reviewsbutgossipcolumnspackedwithdescriptionsofcocktailpartiesand

dinnersbeingheldinhonouroftheIrishplayers.

WhileherchaperoneO’Gormanmayhaveseenheras‘unchanged’,

the press attention and the glamour clearly began to alter O’Connor’s

perception of all that she could achieve in her stage career. (Shields

T13/A/436) She wrote home to ‘My Dear Daddy’, and joked, ‘It will be

funnytogohomeandsettledownastheleastgood-lookingofthefamily’.

(ShieldsT13/A/436)Theletterstoherfatherarepoliteandinnocent;sheis

thechildofnatureandthegirloftheCeltictwilightthatwasadarlingto

the US press. To her sisters, O’Connor revealed more of the private

changesinthisnaïveCatholicgirl.

Bythespringof1935,theCompanyhadarrivedontheWestCoast

to glorious sunshine. O’Connor believed that she had grown taller, and

gainedsevenpounds,althoughsheretained‘apaleface’with ‘hollows in

the cheeks’ from all the hard work. (Shields T13/A/437) When not

performing, shopping and socializing took much of her attention and

energy. Despite the innocence of her press interviews, shewasmeeting

anddatingAmericanmen.Afteradalliancewitha‘concertandradio’tenor

called Alban Knox in Chicago, she met a divorced man called Bob. This


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mysterious man, with an unknown surname, was the first serious

relationship of her life. Bob planned to visit Dublin for the horse show,

aftershereturnedtoDublin.Shewasrelievedthathersistersdidn'tabhor

theideaofhim,saying‘I’mgladyoubothdon'thaveafitattheideaofa

divorcedman,itcheersmeup.’(ShieldsT13/A/437)

O’Connorwasalsobeingexposedtomodernideasaboutfemininity,

in various guises.As she commiseratedwithelder sister Eileen,whowas

sufferingfrommenstrualpains,shescornedIrishideasandadvisedher:

I’vegivenupthatsillyold-fashionedideaandbath[e]thesameasusual,it’smuchmorehygienicandallthe[docto]r’sheretellyouto. [Y]ou feelmuch better too after a bath with plenty of bathsaltsandaruboverwithEaudeCologne,justyoutryit.(ShieldsT13/A/437)

Some of the actors arranged to see a production by Eva Le

GallienneduringtheirstayinChicago.O’Connorwas‘crazyabouther’and

correspondedwiththeactress/directorbriefly,entertainingtheideathatif

she were sacked by the Abbey Theatre she would approach Miss Le

Galliennefora job.(ShieldsT13/A/437)LeGallienne’sworkprofferedthe

role model of an independent professional career for a woman in the

theatre.O’Connor’s suggestion that she couldeasily be ‘sacked’ suggests

sheknewthatherpositionwiththeAbbeywasprecarious,oratleastwas

dependentonherbehaving inaparticular,obedientmanner.Thiswasto

proveprescientintheyearstocome.

Forallhersophistication,O’Connorremaineddevotedtohersisters,

leavingherself ‘financiallyembarrassed’byspendingherearningsongifts

for them and clothes for herself in Los Angeles. She sent letters packed

withtheminutiaeofHollywood–whichactorhadsaidwhat toher,how

shyMaureenO’Harawas,thecolourofthe‘bathingsuit’shehadbought.

(ShieldsT13/A/437)InMarch1935,shewrotehomefromSanFrancisco:

This city is glorious. I am typing this at an open window ofmybedroom,Froliehas just left the room likeayounghurricane tohaveherhairdone,andwhenshecomesbackwearegoingtodoa bit of shopping, a movie and dinner somewhere before theshow.(ShieldsT13/A/437)


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The‘babies’werebecomingaccustomedtothelifeofaprofessional

actress, albeitwith the family support from the rest of theCompany.As

wellasthefriendlychaperoningofO’Gorman,ArthurShieldsandhiswife

Bazie (known asMac) acted in loco parentis to the young charges.Mac

fussed over them when they were sick; she dosed O’Connor with

painkillers for period cramps and gave advice on future contracts and

salaries. But for the most part, Mulhern and O’Connor were firm allies,

shoppinganddancing,discussingworkandtheirdreamsforthefuture.

AtheropenwindowintheSirFrancisDrakeHotel,O’Connormade

adecisionaboutthetrajectoryofher life.RanelaghandPolikoffs’ factory

belonged to a dull and distant world. Yet, she had also turned down

opportunities in the Hollywood film industry. What she wanted was

nothingmore than for theAbbeyCompany to keepheronpermanently.

She declared, ‘I shall stick to the stage for good or evil now’. (Shields

T13/A/437)IfUnaMary,self-consciousnoviceandingénue,leftforherfirst

professional tour that September, it was Aideen O’Connor, ambitious

younglady,thatdisembarkedfromthetraininWestlandRowinJune1935.

BetweentheTours

O’ConnorspentthemonthsafterherreturnfromtheUnitedStates

writingtohernewfriendsinChicagoandgettingusedtolifeasafull-time

actress.Thetheatreclosedfortheusualsummerbreakandforadditional

renovations,butArthurShieldswasbusycastingeighteenactorsforanew

play and finding places to rehearse while the theatre was inaccessible.

ThereisnorecordthatherAmericanbeauBobdidarriveinDublinforthe

horseshowinAugust.Anoceanlaybetweenthemandhemayhavecited

businessreasons,orO’Connorlostinterestandtoldhimnottocome;but

thisisspeculation.Inanycase,theearlyweeksofAugustwerepackedwith

workandshehadlittletimetomournhisabsence.

ThemaineventsofHorseShowWeekwereheldduringthedayin

theRoyalDublinSociety,alargegreenspaceonDublin’ssouthside.Abbey


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management annually arranged social outings for the Company, bringing

the actors and boardmembers towatch the equestrian events. (Higgins

NLI Mss 27,897(2)) If the days were full of porter and laughter, the

eveningsofHorseShowWeekbroughttheCompanypromptlybacktothe

theatre. The events of the week attracted wealthy, often sophisticated

visitorstoDublin,andtheRDSwascloseenoughtoraiseattendanceatthe

theatreintheevening.Therepertoirewasalwayscarefullychosenforthe

influx, and in 1935 the board of directors decided to use the event to

coincidewiththepremiereofTheSilverTassiebySeanO’Casey.

Early on Monday 12 August 1935, ‘HOUSE FULL’ notices were

displayed on the exterior of the theatre. The first-night invited audience

wouldincludetheAmerican,FrenchandGermanministerswiththeirwives,

ConsulforSwedenandtheNetherlands,theEarlandCountessofLongford,

Senator and Mrs Blythe, as well as a host of literary and theatrical

celebrities.(ShieldsT13/A/560)Theplaywrighthimselfdidnotattend.

Seven years after the Abbey Theatre had rejected his script,

O’CaseyandYeatshadmanagedatentativereconciliation.Findinghimself

ill in London, Yeats invited O’Casey to visit him for dinner, where they

seemedtoovercometheirdifferencesonTheSilverTassie.Theycontinued

to correspond by letter, and at some point Yeats asked O’Casey for

permission to stagehis 1934playWithin TheGates.AtO’Casey’s urging,

Yeats got permission to present both plays, although it seemed his only

interest was inWithin The Gates, and this play was put into rehearsal

immediately.However,BrinsleyMacNamara,nowadirectorandadevout

Roman Catholic, took exception to Within The Gates and stopped

rehearsals.He was nomore in favour of The Silver Tassie, but failed to

prevent its opening the new season.8The Protestant Arthur Shields was

askedtodirect.Hehadtheadvantageofbeingabletodiscusstheplaywith

hisbrother,BarryFitzgerald,whohadaleadroleintheLondonpremiere.

8 Therearevariousversionsofeventsatthistime.ThisreflectstheaccountbyChristopherMurrayinhisbiographySeanO’Casey:WriteratWork.242


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Thiscontroversyovertheplayelectrifiedtheatmosphereforthose

arriving at the theatre thatnight, andmade for ahighdegreeof anxiety

backstage.O’ConnorhadhadherfirsttasteofsuccessandfameintheUS,

but such scandal was a new experience.Michael Scott’s newly-designed

theatrelobbyandmodernizedauditorium,asdescribedinthenewspaper

columns,added to the senseofanticipation.Theblackandgoldhallway,

whereportraitsofthetheatre’sstarshadhunginsemi-darkness,hadbeen

replaced. Now there was a bright, spacious lobby where the celebrities

could more comfortably mingle. In the auditorium, there were new

cushionedseatsandtheorchestra,underthedirectionofDr.Larchet,was

warming up to play. As permission had been granted by the directorate

afteryearsofasmokingban,manyoftheaudiencecouldenjoythenovelty

ofsmokingthroughouttheperformance.(ShieldsT13/A/560)

O’ConnorhadactedforArthurShieldsonnumerousoccasions,but

hercastingasJessieTaiteinthisproductionsuggestshewasbeginningto

look at her in a different light. The part, though minor, represented a

significantchangefromtheyoungingénueshehadplayedontheAmerican

tours. Jessie is theyoungwoman in lovewithHarryHeegan,a successful

footballer and handsome hero, at the opening of the play. Later, when

Harry returnsmaimed fromWorldWar 1, he finds Jessie in the arms of

another man. One of the newspapers described the character as ‘a

mindlesslittleminx’.(ShieldsT13/A/560)O’Caseyintroducesthecharacter

inthescriptofTheSilverTassie:

Jessieistwenty-twoorso,responsivetoalltheanimalimpulsesoflife.Everdancingaround,inandbetweentheworld,thefleshandthe devil. She would be happy climbing with a boy among theheatheronHowthHill,andcouldplayballwithyoungmenontheswardsofthePhoenixPark.Shegivesherfavourtotheprominentandpopular.(38-39)Inoriginalnotesforthisplay,JessieTaitewas‘Sara’,andwasayear

younger, at twenty-one. (Berg V6 39) The final line of the published

description is more tame and circumspect than O’Casey’s vision of the

character.(HehadhopedSarawouldbeplayedbyShelahRichards.)Inhis


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notebooks,O’Caseyrecordedhow‘Sara’ lovedplayingwiththeboys,and

whenonecaughtherinhisarms:

she recognizes in the struggle thepleasuresof this youngman'sdesire for her. [A]nd she thrills when she sees their lightningglances at the frills and [things] she shows in the ardour of theexpression.(BergV639)

This isaconfidentwoman,hersexualitybringingpowersofmanipulation

and desire. Later in The Silver Tassie, at the local dance, two observers

describeherallure:

Simon: And Jessie’s looking as if she was tired of hermaidenhood,too.

MrsForan: Thethinthreadsholdin’herdressupsidlin’downover her shoulders, an’ her catchin’ them upagainat the tailendof thesecondbefore itwastoolate.(O’Casey95)

Onherveryfirstentrancetothestageabystandercomments,‘lookatthe

shamefulwayshe’sshowingherlegs’.(O’Casey38)Withherappearanceas

Jessie,O’Connorsteppedoutontothestageasasexualised Irishwoman,

andportrayedadangertoherrespectableCatholiccommunity.

WhileRosieRedmondpartly triggeredtheupsetabout themorals

ofThePloughandTheStars,objectionstoJessieTaiteandhermoralswere

almost lost in thegreater furoreaboutotheraspectsofTheSilverTassie.

ThecharacterofJessieisintricatelydrawn;sheisbothmorecomplexand

nuanced than Rosie. Both support themselves with their sexuality, but

Jessiedoessoincovertways.SheadoresHarryforhisathleticprowess,his

medalsandpopularity.Shehasgoodworkinthewarammunitionsfactory,

andhasbeensquirrelingawayeverypenny inhersavingsbooktosecure

her independence. She remains unperturbed by Mrs Heegan’s feelings

abouther.Whenherchildhoodsweetheartcomesbackfromthetrenches

paralysed,Jessiethrowshimoverforhisbestfriendandbetterprospects.

In O’Casey’s indictment of violence and war, the men are

irreparably damaged; the women fare better. They use both their

intelligence and femininity to forge a different life for themselves. Jessie

isn’tafraidtodisplayhersexualityandtoenjoyit.Sheearnsherfinancial


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independenceandseizeshappiness forherself,despitehowsocietyturns

onherforit.Inoneofthefinalscenesoftheplay,JessieTaitestandsher

groundbeforetheseventeencharactersataparty,feelingtheirfullscorn

butdemanding the right tomakeherowndecisions. Inplaying thispart,

O’Connor experienced the sensations of public humiliation. It was an

insight intohowlifecouldbeforaCatholicwomanintheIrishFreeState

thatdaredtocrosscertainsocietalboundaries.

Bycurtain fall thatMonday, thecastknewtheproductionwasan

abjectfailure.Thereviewerfromthe Irish Independentexpresseddistress

thatsomeofthecountry’sbestperformershadbeenforcedtotakeparts

in such an ‘epileptic fit of cleverness’. (Shields T13/A/560)The play was

pronounced a ‘vigorousmedley of lust and hatred and vulgarity’ by the

Church,adescriptionwhich,according toO’Casey, terrified theatre-goers

whohadprocuredtickets forthesold-outrunbutwouldn’tattend. (Rose

51)Many never saw it; it closed after six performances and was hastily

replaced by Shaw’s play John Bull’s Other Island. ‘M.B.’ reported that

‘Arthur’sShields’sproductionwaswithoutfault’,but itwastobethe last

playhedirectedattheAbbeyTheatre.(ShieldsT13/A/560)

FollowingTheSilverTassiedebacle,itwasbacktobusinessforthe

Abbey Company. They toured to the CorkOperaHouse inOctober 1935

staging Autumn Fire by T.C. Murray (which is set in Cork) and the old

reliableDrama at Inish. O’Connor now took on secretarial duties in the

theatrewhenshewasn’trehearsing–actingasanadministrativeassistant

tonewly-appointedmanagerHughHunt.(HollowayNLIMss1969)Thiswas

financial necessity for O’Connor as well as serving the theatre; she no

longer had a day job. Hunt appreciated her work; later events suggest

otherdirectorsobjectedtohavinganactressprivytoadministrativeaffairs.

AtthebeginningofAugust1936,HuntgaveO’Connorpermissionto

gotoLondonbrieflyforanaudition,buttheotherdirectorssubsequently

decided O’Connor’s excursion was insubordination. On 14th August, the

board‘consideredthepositionofMissA.O’Connorinrelationtotheoffice

work and decided that her services be dispensed with.’ (Minute Books


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3558)However,theirchosenreplacement(MissAnnClery)refusedtotake

thepost‘owingtothecircumstancesunderwhichMissO’Connorhadlost

the position.’ (Minute Books 3558) Frank O’Connor then demanded a

statementfromMissO’Connor,‘astoherbehaviour.’O’Connoracquiesced,

andherletterwasreadatameetingon1September1936.Init,shestated

that she went to London briefly with Hunt’s permission and under the

impression that shewasnot required the followingweek. (MinuteBooks

3558) Ostensibly, the board accepted this explanation and restoredMss

O’Connortoherposition,butby11thSeptembershehadbeenreplacedby

EricRobinson,abrotherofLennox.(MinuteBooks3558)

HigginssaidatonemeetingthatMissO’Connorwasnot‘sufficiently

efficient’ but Ann Clery’sminuted response suggests that for the board,

O’Connor’sreal felonywasdaringtoconsideracareerforherselfoutside

oftheAbbey.(MinuteBooks3558)Atthispoint,O’Connorwasfightingfor

greater recognition in the Company and the London audition was an

opportunity to show her potential. According to Laurie Shields, itwas in

1936 that Arthur Shields and O’Connor began their affair. (Shields

T13/A/512)Thus, itmayalsohavebeenthatthedirectorswereawareof

herpersonallifeand,tocompoundthis,herappearanceasJessieTaitewas

impacting her reputation. Where Eileen Crowe insisted on ‘being the

mouthpiece’, on presenting rather than embodying women viewed as

unsavoury and immoral, O’Connor was being seen to embody them, on

andoffstage.Herremovalfromthepositionwastobeherfirstexperience

ofdealingwiththeAbbeydirectorateeffectivelypunishingherforhowshe

behavedoutsideofherappearancesonthestage.

By August 1936, Holloway was recording that ‘bombshells still

continue to be exploding’. (NLI Mss 1971 342) The administration staff

werein‘amildpanic’atthere-structuringthatwastakingplace,asaresult

ofalong-standingconflictontheboardbetweenFrankO’ConnorandF.R.

Higgins.(HollowayNLIMss1971342)O’ConnorandHigginswerevyingto

succeed Yeats, and on Higgins’ appointment as managing director,

O’Connorwaseffectivelypushedoutofthetheatre.(Matthews145)


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The Company left behind the chaos for an engagement at the

Grand Opera House in Belfast. There, they showed their affection for

O’Caseybyre-stagingJunoandthePaycockandThePloughandtheStars,

along with Drama at Inish. O’Connor, however, was reconsidering her

circumstances.Shehadbeenre-castinThePloughandtheStarsasfifteen-

year-old Mollser: possibly a cautionary demotion by the directorate.

Againstthisbackground,newspapersinBelfastbrokethenewsthatAideen

O’Connor was to leave the Abbey Company to grace the London stage.

(Shields T13/A/560) With no public comment by Abbey Theatre

management,sheleftforLondonshortlyafterherreturnfromBelfast.

OntheLondonStage

On the stage of the Embassy theatre in Hampstead, London in

November1936,duringanewplayentitledTheDominantSex,acharacter

gave a heartfelt rendition of The Londonderry Air in Irish. Afterwards,

journalists speculated about the scene. One was adamant that the tune

was sung by an invisible substitute in thewings, not by the actress that

playedthepart,O’Connor.(ShieldsT13/A/560)OtherspraisedO’Connor’s

vocaltalent.

Reading through theatre reviews,one seesonly refractionsof the

real performer, much like watching actors through glasses belonging to

somebodyelse.Thisimageofthejournalistscraningtheirnecks,tryingto

get a proper sighting of this woman in the wings, is the only image

available of O’Connor at this time, a shadowy figure with a crystal-clear

voice,awomanstillexploringandrevealinghertalents,preparingtostep

outontotheworldstage.

WhenthenewspapersannouncedO’Connor’sdepartureforLondon,

themovewasnotasurprisetoher familyandcolleagues,whohadbeen

awareof the prospect. Itwas said that the playwrightMichael Eganhad

come to Dublin specifically looking for an Irish accent and had seen

O’Connorperform.After her Londonaudition,O’Connor agreedwithher


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familythatshewouldplaythepartandthenreturntoDublinforChristmas.

(ShieldsT13/A/560)

There are press cuttings, but no letters or diaries detailing her

emotions as she left for London and set up temporary home there. It’s

possiblethatO’Connoronlywantedtobroadenherhorizonswhileearning

some money. There is no evidence she saw it as a permanent move,

although her prospects at the Abbey were being diminished. Given the

datesprovidedbyLaurieShields,bynowO’Connor’saffairwithShieldshad

begun by this time. (Shields T13/A/512) Nonetheless, O’Connor left for

Londonalone,tofocusonhercraftandonherfuture.

Egan’splayTheDominantSexopenedon23November1936.Setin

astudioinChelsea,theplaycentresonabohemianartist,MauriceHolmes,

who is trying to choose a wife from a trio of female types. As Sheila,

O’Connor played the convent-educated daughter ofMr Holmes’s butler,

whoisonherfirsttriptoLondon.Onceagain,sheplaysthewide-eyedand

demurecolleen.Thereviewsoftheplayitselfaremixed,buttheyallnote

herstagepresence.OneoftheLondonpaperssaid:

MissAideenO’Connor,theyoungAbbeyactress,whosefirstpartinLondonthisis,madeeverybodyfeelhercharmandadmirehergrace and the deftness of her art. She has moreover obviouslymuchtalentthatisstilllatent.Herpersonalityiswinningandherpowerwillgrowwithhertechnique,whichisalreadyremarkableforsuchayoungactress.(ShieldsT13/A/560)

There were rumours of a West End transfer but, as promised,

O’ConnorcamehometospendChristmaswithherfamily.Shehadkeptup

todatewith friends inDublin. ReviewsofWind from theWest, inwhich

bothMulhernandShieldsappeared,made theirway toher lodgingsand

she glued them into her scrapbook, alongside her own reviews. (Shields

T13/A/560)Londonofferedopportunities,butshewasdrawnbacktothe

comfortandstabilityoftheAbbeyTheatre.ShehadalsobeencastinPaul

VincentCarroll’splay,ShadowandSubstance,duetoopeninJanuary1937.


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Audiencesandactorsalikewereclamouring to see thenewscript

by the tubby, bespectacled Carroll. Advance notices of the play declared

thatitwouldbecontroversial.CriticssaidofCarroll:

NotsinceO’Caseyhastherebeenanauthorwhogavesuchvitalcharacters to the Abbey stage andwhomoved themwith sucheffect.(ShieldsT13/A/560)

Despitethepredictionsforscandal,ShadowandSubstanceprovedahuge

andpopularhit.Theproductionwasdeemedtobe‘Themostremarkable

playproducedattheAbbeyformanyyears.’(ShieldsT13/A/560)

Shadow and Substance is set in County Louth, in the home of an

elderlycanon.CanonSkerrittfindshimselfoutofharmonywithtwoyoung

curatesandanagnosticschoolmasteroverthedeclarationsofayounggirl

whoinsistsshehasbeenvisitedbytheVirginMary.Hequestionshisown

judgmentwhen confrontedwith themystic servant, playedby a sixteen-

year-oldfromtheAbbeySchool,PhyllisRyan.Shieldstookthepivotalrole

ofCanonThomasSkerritt, andO’Connorplayedhisnieceandnamesake,

ThomasinaConcannon.

Production photographs show the tall Frenchwindows of the set

and imposing Sacred Heart ideograph over the heads of O’Connor and

Shields.Shehasherheadcockedinasmile;hisblackrobesswisharound

his feet and his face is startled as if disarmed by her attitude. (Shields

T13/B/202)O’ConnorandShieldsdevelopedaclosefriendshipwithCarroll

overthecourseofrehearsals.ForCarroll, theurbane, intellectualSkerritt

wasacalculatedattempttobringDeanJonathanSwiftbacktolifeandto

‘throwhim into themodernmental turmoil in Ireland’. (Doyle 30)While

much of the press focuses on the mesmeric performance of the young

PhyllisRyan,itwasalsoheldtobeShields’sstrongestperformanceonthe

Abbeystage.MostofthecommentsonO’Connor’sperformancefocuson

thecharacter’sbehaviour.Shewasagainsteppingintotherolesofyoung

Irishwomenandherdepictionof such figureswasbeingwatched for its

expressionofIrishfemininity.


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ThomasinaConcannonisdescribedinCarroll’stextas‘a“bunty”girl

ofabouttwenty-two’with‘fullanimalspirits,aroundfatface,alldimples

andgiven togiggling laughter’. (9-10) She tries thepatienceofheruncle

with her antics, including reading a novel entitled Love’s Purple Passion,

and then leaving it under his pillow. For Robinson, Thomasina was the

epitome of a type of Irish female increasingly seen around Dublin. This

female typewas forRobinsonan ‘unfaceableproblem’.(The IrishTheatre

209)Robinsonexplains:

the perfect type for all time of the desperate and, tome, quiteunfaceableproblemofthecountry-girlwhohasbecomewhatweintheGaelicLeaguecall‘Anglicised’,whattheWestBritonwouldequally unfairly call ‘Americanised’, what her own neighbourswould, I fancy, call simply foolish and what in actual fact isunendurablycheapened,tedious,andembarrassing…(TheIrishTheatre209)

To imbue such a role with a sense of sincerity, without becoming a

simperingfoolthatdisguststheaudience,requiredadelicatebalance.

The cast tramped through the January sleet and flurries of snow

eacheveningtoperforminShadowandSubstance.O’ConnorandMulhern

wereagainsharingadressingroom,butthistimetheyhadbeenjoinedby

newcomer Phyllis Ryan. Ryan disliked the arrangement, feeling

uncomfortable with the women’s conspiratorial whispering. She was

convinced that ‘They felt theywerebeingpushedoutby thenewarrival

andtheirattitudenaturally lackedwarmth.’ (Ryan74)O’Connorhadlittle

timeorpatiencefornicetieswithgirls;Ryanwascorrectinherassumption

thattheirroleswerethreatenedbythearrivalofayounger,moreinnocent

girl.ButO’ConnorworkedhardunderHunt’sexpertguidanceandimbued

theroleofThomasinawithavibrancythatdelightedtheaudiences.Oneof

thenewspapersprovidesapreciousdescriptionofherphysicalstyle:

Aideen O’Connor’s rendering of the canon’s niece, the onlyperson not afraid of him, was outstanding not merely for herpricelessgiggle,butfortheuseof[her]bodytosuggestagawky‘flapper’ whose mind, clothes, coiffure, and voice were all of apiecewithherpassionforbullseyes–herbestperformanceforalongtime.(ShieldsT13/A/560)


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O’Connor now had the skill and confidence to move effortlessly

fromdemureservantinDramaAtInishtoflirtatiousflapper.Thechainof

adjectivesdescribingherperformancessincetheAmericantourof1934/35

track the emergence of a particular style. The newspapers (previously

quoted) describe her as ‘pert’, talk of her ‘grace’ and of her ‘deft’

technique.Shewaspreciseinherphysicality,eachgestureconsideredand

deliberate.Despitehersmallframe,shecouldcommandastage.Herrange

wasgrowing,aswereherconfidenceandambition.O’Connorwasthriving

under thediscipline imposedbyHunt and the gentle attentionofArthur

Shields.Butdespite(orbecauseof)herexpandingrange,partsavailablefor

her in the Abbey Company were diminishing. However, there remained

somerolesintheIrishclassicsthatcouldchallengeher.

Amoreself-assuredO’ConnorfoundherselfontheboattoEngland

inFebruary1937,but this timeMulhernandShieldswere travellingwith

herastheCompanysetoutfortheCambridgeArtsFestival.Hunthadcast

herasMaryBoyleinJunoandthePaycock,whereshe’dplaythedaughter

ofJuno(EileenCrowe).Shewasreadyforthechallenge,andthereviewer

forTheCambridgeGownsmanwasimpressedbyherinterpretation,calling

it ‘freshandsensitive’.Hesaid, ‘Thecharacterbecomesmorecomplex in

thecourseoftheplay,andMissO'Connorshowedafullunderstandingof

every aspect of it.’ (Craig UCDMss LA28/219) O’Connor continued to be

deferentialtotheotheractors:‘Shedidnotletitobtrudemelodramatically

ontheotherphasesoftheaction.’(CraigUCDMssLA28/219)

If shewas courteous to her elders on stage, off stage the ‘pretty

juvenile actress’ was playing a more dangerous game. (Ryan 74)On the

Cambridge trip, it was impossible to hide her romantic relationshipwith

Shields. Given the Catholic morals of the other actors along with their

friendshipwithBazieMagee,itwasonlyamatteroftimebeforetheaffair

waspublicknowledge.

Genevieve (Bazie)Magee, who Shields hadmarried in Chelsea in

1920, was ‘quick-witted, reasoned like a man, [was] sharp-tongued and

quicktempered.’Shewas‘morementallyawarethanotherwomenofher


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day, or perhaps it was just a case of beingmore outspoken thanmost.’

(Shields T13/A/512) Magee was a reasonably talented actress, despite

havingnotraining,andwasapractical,maternalfigureduringthe1934/35

tourofAmerica.ButMageehada‘capaciousimagination’.(JohnstonTCD

Mss10066/165)PlaywrightDenisJohnstonrecalledhow,whenMageehad

visitors,shesimply‘talksandtalksandtalks’untilherownmind‘beginsto

stagger at the conclusions reached.’ (Johnston TCD Mss 10066/165)

Johnston recognized when her ‘dangerous’ behaviour began to lose her

friends. He described her as having ‘a Pirandellesque mind completely

divorcedfromanyrelationtoreality.’(JohnstonTCDMss10066/165)

Bythe1930s, thispropensityto losetouchwithrealitywastaking

over Magee’s life. A tendency to manic moods was exacerbated by her

drinkinghabit.Shewasperforminglessandless.Thecouplehadmovedto

theseasidevillageofSandymount, toahousewithagardenwhere their

son Adam played and Shields grew vegetables. Yet Shields was finding

livingwithMagee‘impossible.’(Saddlemyer460)AideenO’Connor,forher

youthandbeauty, resembledMagee inherquick temper andoutspoken

nature. She was independent and increasingly ambitious, yet nothing

preparedherforthefalloutfromthisromanticattachment.

TheAbbeygreenroom,withitspackedbookshelvesandstove,its

wornfurnitureandfriendlyghosts,hadbecomesomethingofahomeaway

fromhomeforO’Connor.Shehadtakenrefugethereoneevening in late

February1937whenthedoorswungopentorevealanirateBazieMagee

(Shields).Mageehadonce featuredasamaternalandaffectionate figure

to O’Connor. (T13/A/436) Now, Magee slapped her across the face. It

transpired that a ‘concerned’ Company member sent a letter to Magee

with the details of her husband’s affair. (Saddlemyer 460)O’Connorwas

shamedinfrontofhercolleagues;Shields’reputationwasunaffected.

Thescandaldidnotendthere,forO’Connorfledhometodiscover

that an identical letter had been sent to her father. Vincent O’Connor

pitilessly told her to leave the house and she spent two weeks in Cork

beforedaringtoreturntoRanelagh.W.B.Yeatsrefusedtotellhiswifehow


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hediscoveredallofthedetails,althoughAnneYeatsandmanyoftheother

actorshadseentheeventsthathad‘reducedMissO’Connortosuchtears.’

(Saddlemyer460)

O’Connor remained resolute in her devotion to Shields, but she

would never forgive the interfering Company member or forget the

humiliation of Magee’s attack. With fellow actress Frolie Mulhern and

AbbeyscenicdesignersAnneYeatsandTaniaMosiewitch,O’Connorfound

asmallcircleoffriendstosupporther,butthesenseofignominylingered.

TaniaMoseiwitch, a designerwho had arrived at the Abbeywith

Hunt theweeksafterTheSilverTassiedebacle,occupied thepaint room.

Thiswasat the farendof thecorridorbackstageat theAbbey, ‘past the

greenroom,pastthewardroberoom,pastthedressing-rooms.’(Treanor)If

respite was needed from the green room, O’Connor andMulhern could

comehere,toaroom‘nobiggerthanadrawingroom’andmuseoutthe

solewindowontothelanewaybehind.Itwasprivate,ifonlybecauseofthe

pungent smell of size in the air and the crowded untidiness of flats and

tools and all the paint-splattered paraphernalia of scene designers.

(Treanor) Happy to have company while she worked, Moseiwitch kept

there, ‘an aluminium kettle, a blue jug, a yellow teapot, a small pot of

raspberryjam,andacupandsaucerthatdon'tmatchonanorangetray.’

(Treanor)ItwasaplacewhereO’Connorcouldseeksupportandlaughter

outofearshotofthegreenroomandtheoffices,butshewaslearningto

becarefulwhomshetrustedwithdetailsofherpersonallife.

AnneYeatssupportedO’Connorandvisitedherfamilyhome.There,

Yeats could barely hide her horror at the state of the house, which she

describedtohermotherashaving‘filthykitchen,generaldilapidationand

breakage everywhere.’ (Saddlemyer 460) George Yeats lamented that

‘thereseemstobenofemaleofanysortincharge,’asifthiswastheroot

ofO’Connor’sproblems.(Saddlemyer460)

There is a much-told O’Connor family anecdote that before the

actressleftHollybankAvenueforgood,BazieMageearrivedtobangonthe

door of No. 56 and shout insults. O’Connor cowered upstairs, while her


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quick-witted sister Maeve talked down an inebriated Bazie, eventually

coaxing her awaywith the enticement of a drink in Ranelagh. (Christine

Shields)Thefollowingmonth,VincentO’Connor’sragehadn’tsubsidedand

O’Connor packed her bags. Shewent temporarily toHowth,whereHunt

offeredrefuge inhiscottage.Moseiwitchwasalsostayingtherebuttheir

stay was cut short when the landlady noticed that two unchaperoned

women were staying in the house and complained to the Vicar.

(Saddlemyer461)O’ConnorleftforCorkandthentoauditionintheUK.

Arthur Shields kept thin pocket diaries formost of his life, noting

appointments, rehearsal times, productiondates.Anoteon6April 1937

reads, ‘Marriage16years’. (ShieldsT13/A/372(1))On the followingpage,

dated12thofApril,isthenote,‘Aideenhome’.(ShieldsT13/A/372(1))9The

nextfewmonthspassedintantrumsanddespair,inrowsandtears.

For O’Connor, her promotion into female roles demonstrating a

more overt and liberated sexuality had coalesced dangerously with

developments in her personal life. She no longer wanted to be playing

naïveteenagegirlsbutherreputationoff-stagehadbeentarnishedand,in

Dublinsociety,thisaffectedtheadultpartsshewasofferedaswellasher

other duties in the theatre.Officially at least, the affairwith Shieldswas

nowended.ThiswastheonlycourseofactionthatwouldallowO’Connor

totraveltotheUSwiththeAbbeyCompanyagaininSeptember1937.

TheAmericanTourof1937/38

O’Connor,MooneyandMulhernarewalkingthedeckslikeRussianpeasantswithkerchiefsovertheirheads.Delaneyissittingreadingwithsunglasses.CraigandCroweareintheircabins,nottoowell.(HigginsNLIMss27,883(7))

ThewindwaspickingupovertheAtlantic,andthemembersofthe

travelling Abbey Company were doing their best to avoid nausea. They

spent the afternoonwatching the horse racing,withwoodenhorses and

mockbookies, on thedeck, and thendressed for a ‘carnival’ dinner. The

9 Diaryreferstorealname,‘Una’.Allreferencesherealteredto‘Aideen’forclarity.


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tableswerestrewnwithballoons,buglesandlutes.Thewomenworethe

headdresses of Indian chiefs. (Higgins NLI Mss 27,883(7)) O’Connor,

MulhernandMooneysattogetherforthemeal,separatefromtheelders

ofthecompanyandperhapsrelievedtobeawayfromthestiffmannersof

HigginsandthesmalltalkofMaureenDelanyandEileenCrowe.Together,

the youngwomen drank and ate, and dancedwhen themeal was over.

(HigginsNLIMss27,883(7))

The adulterous relationship between Shields and O’Connor was

officially over, after the public shaming of O’Connor. On board the ship,

Shields used the gym, the library and he played cards with Higgins.

O’Connor shared a cabin withMulhern.When storms whipped up, they

huddled in their beds. One particularly choppy night, Mooney and F.R.

Higginscalledtoseethem,posingas‘DoctorHigginsandNurseMooney’.

(HigginsNLIMss27,883(7))Mulhernwas‘staringasifhereyeswouldnext

come up’ and O’Connor had ‘gone [as] white’ as May Higgins’ pet cat.

(HigginsNLIMss27,883(7))ItwasbecomingapparenttoO’Connorthatthe

bond between Mooney and Higgins was more than professional. The

carnivalnightsandlongdaysofwalkingthedecks(withmomentsofshark

spotting) became tiresome for theCompany.Allwere glad at theendof

Septemberwhen calm conditions created theperfect afternoon for their

4pmarrivalintotheportofNewYork.(HigginsNLIMss27,883(7))

The tour began on Broadway. Higgins commanded two rooms on

thetwelfthstoreyoftheEdisonHotel,justoffTimesSquareonWest47th

street. O’Connor and the otherswere escorted by bellboys to rooms on

anotherfloor.Thebedroomsweresmallandsomeofthemdark.Eachhad

a mahogany desk and a bathroom with an American-style ‘tub’. Sash

windowsopenedontothestreetandthenoiseoftraffic,crowdsoftourists

andtheoccasionalwailofasirencreatedaconstantbasslineofnoise.At

thetopoftwenty-twostoreyswasaroofgarden,withabreathtakingview

of thesurroundingskyscrapersandriver. (HigginsNLIMss27,883(7))The

hotelwasdecoratedinArtDecostyle,reminiscentofRadioCityMusicHall,


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withangularlines,gold,deepredsandbluesrunningthroughthelobbyto

therestaurant,whereguestswereescortedupshallowstepstotheirseats.

Hostedandfetedbylocalsocialites,thewomentooktodiningout

aftertheshowanddancinguntiltheearlyhours.Giddily,O’Connorwrote

tohersistersofhowtheyperformedonSaturdaynightandthendancedall

night. On leaving the nightclub, she andMulhern realised there was no

senseingoinghomebeforetheSundaysermonandtheywentstraightto

four am mass. (Shields T13/A/428) O’Connor was enamoured with one

particular dance: the ‘Big Apple’. She found it ‘really intricate and quite

mad’.(ShieldsT13/A/428)The‘BigApple’crazehadsweptacrossthecity.

The dancesO’Connor learnt inNew Yorkwere strikingly different

fromtheposturesshehadbeentaughtattheAbbeyschool.The‘BigApple’

wasinnovativebecauseitwasforblacksandwhites,menandwomen,to

dance together. The dance involved hand-holding in friendly circles,

imitatingfarmanimalsandmovinginmoresultryways.A‘Caller’cuedthe

moves just before they began. The steps ranged from the sophisticated

and sexual to the totallyabsurd. Itwasmost famouslyperformedby the

LindyHoppers,buteverybodyeverywherewasencouraged to join in.On

the dance floor of theseNew York nightclubs, theAbbey actresseswere

cosmopolitan women, holding hands and keeping time with a world of

people from diverse backgrounds. The significance of their presence in

suchplacesisonlyfullyunderstoodinthecontextofIreland’ssocialhistory

ofthe1930s.

DanceHallsandLiminality

By the 1930s, the number of Irish women emigrating was at its

greatest for decades; the women far outnumbered the male emigrants.

There were a myriad of causes: lack of marriage opportunities, lack of

employmentopportunities,horrendouslivingconditions,endemicdiseases

andpoverty.Thesepracticalsocialproblemswerematchedbysomething

the Catholic Church viewed as treacherous. In the Catholic Bulletin in

October1936,onecommentatorwroteof:


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thegeneralwaveofimmorality[…]whichseemsalreadytohavequenchedinsomanysoulseverysenseofmodestyanddignity,conscienceandresponsibility.(BulletinVolXXVI)Thechiefsourcesofsuchimmoralitywerethedarkness,motorcars

anddancing.Notalldancing,butparticular formsofdancing. InaLenten

Pastoralin1924,CardinalLoguemadeaspeechsaying:‘Irishdancesdonot

makedegenerates.’ (Smyth51-54)Traditional Irishceilídanceshadstrict,

rigidpostures,whichmaintaineddecorumandkeptthegendersfarapart.

Unlike thebarbarous, sultrymovementsbroughtonby jazzmusic. In the

CatholicBulletinMcGlinchyexplained:

Manyofthemodernkindsofdancearesuchaswouldoffendthemoral senseof a decentpagan. Theydeliberately pander to thelower instincts,andareproximateoccasionsof sinsof the flesh.(BulletinVolXXIV)

Itgoesfurther:If the circumstances mean […] the form of dance is likely toarouse passion and lead to sin, it iswrong….Oh, for a generalrevival of our grand old Irish dances! Dances and dancing ascarried on at the present time are, generally speaking, adangerousoccasionofsinfortheyoung.(BulletinVolXXIV)

TerrifiedcommunitiestooktothestreetsbeforethesecondWorldWarto

outlawthepaganmusic theyassociatedwithasavagenature.TheGaelic

League,championingtheIrishlanguageandmusic,wereattheforefrontof

the campaign. At themain anti-jazz rally in County Leitrim, a letter was

readoutfromCardinalMcRory,wherehedidhisbesttodistancehimself

fromtheevilactivity:‘Iknownothingaboutjazzdancing.’Althoughhedid

understandthattheywere‘suggestiveanddemoralizing.’(Smyth51-54)

In1935ThePublicDanceHallsActmadeitimpossibleforadanceto

be held in Irelandwithout the sanction of the clergy, the police and the

judiciary. Inasurveyof thisparticular legislation in1938,aDublinSenior

Justicespokeofhowa‘nervousandoverwroughtgeneration’bornduring

theGreatWarhadaninsatiablecraving‘tomultiplymeansofexcitement.’

(‘Survey’ 4) Suchwanton craving led to thepopularityof bettinghouses,

picture houses and public dancing. In response to the pressure from the


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Churchandfromthepublic,legislationwasenactedtoensurethelicensing,

supervisionandcontrolofdancehalls.

WhentheAbbeyactressesarrivedinNewYorkandlearnttodance

theBigApple,theyweretransgressingsocialboundariesclearlyestablished

at home. In America, they found their rhythm and joined in, as equals.

They were included, even if their moves were ridiculous. They could be

sexualbeings,withoutbeingdangerousorevil. Like theBigApple ‘Caller’

cueingthemoves,anythingcouldhappennext.Whathadcomebeforeand

was to happen next was irrelevant; it was about the ‘now’. They were

neitherherenorthere,outoftimeandoutofplace.Dancingofferednotso

mucha ‘release’,nora ‘liberation’, fromtheir lives(although itmayhave

beenthattoo)but,mostofall,itwasaliminalspace.

Indescribingitas‘liminal’,IaminvokingVictorTurner'sconceptof

liminality,whichhasbeendescribedbyShannonJacksonas‘anin-between

statewithin ritual structures inwhich individuals and groups temporarily

lacked definition and inscription.’(Jackson 161) The liminal has been

theorizedasanaporiawithinacceptedpatternsofbehaviour.ForTurner,

liminalitycanbe‘partlydescribedasastageofreflection.’ (Mahdi14)He

asserted that betwixt and between as the participants were, a liminal

breakallowedthemtoexperiencea‘subjunctivemood’inwhichtheymay

expressdesires,hypotheses,suppositions,possibilities:itmayormightbe

so.ThedanceflooroftheNewYorknightclubswasaspaceofpossibilities

fortheseIrishwomen.Theycouldexpressandexploreafemininity,atype

ofphysicalityandanassertionoftheirsexuality,notpermissibleinIreland.

In thewider fieldofperformance studies, ‘liminality’hasarguably

been overused as a means of describing performance and theatre that

providesspaceoutofquotidianlifeandsocialrealitytoexploreandeven

transgress established boundaries. For the Abbey Theatre actresses, the

performance space of the national theatrewas never truly ‘liminal’. As I

haveexploredfullyinChapter2,inrelationtothecareerofEileenCrowe,

there the stage spacewas heavily coded in Irish social terms. The dance

floors of the New York night clubs they attended, however, arguably


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provided liminal spaces for personal expression and for reflection.

O’Connor,andsomeofhercolleagues,begantoexpandtheirsenseofself

aswomenandtheirambitionsasperformers.

TheUSTourContinues

O’Connorwasn’tcastintheplayopeningthetour,KatieRoche.The

failureandremovalofDeevy’splayfromtherepertorywasnolosstoher;

itshastyreplacementbroughtO’ConnorontotheBroadwaystagesooner

than expected. But by the endofNovember 1937,O’Connorwasweary,

runningshortofmoneyandtryingtosettleintosomekindofroutine.She

took aweek of early nights (avoiding night clubs) and spent time in her

room writing home to catch up on her sister’s wedding plans. The rain

outsidewashorrendous,butherhotel roomwassohot fromthecentral

heatingthatshesleptwithnocoverson.(ShieldsT13/A/439)

AtChristmas,O’Connorsenthersistersstockings.Norwerefriends

athomeforgotten:abookonVanGogh(includingthirtyplatesofhiswork)

by Walter Pach was dispatched back to Anne Yeats, an expensive gift.

(Saddlemyer 511)O’Connor preferred being on the road: itwas cheaper

andmorefunthanlongstaysinonecity.(ShieldsT13/A/439)Besides,New

YorkwasonlythefirsttasteofthewondersthatAmericacouldbring.

Businessarrangementsforthetourwerebeingmadeandunmade

on another floor of the hotel. Shortly after they arrived in Chicago, the

actorslearntthatGrisman(theinitialproducer)waspullingout,leavingthe

WestCoaststageoftheirtourindangerofbeingabandoned.Theywereall

stayingintheHotelSherman,asixteen-hundredroomhotellocatedinthe

centreofthetheatredistrict.Italsohousedavibrantnightclubfamousfor

its jazzmusic and a restaurant called The College Inn.While the players

continuedtoperform,HigginsflewbacktoNewYorktoenternegotiations

withanotherproducerandtheactorswereonedgefor twodays.Unless

thebusinessissueswereresolved,theywouldbesenthomewithoutdelay.

When a telegram from Higgins announced that they should prepare to

leave for San Francisco, the Company celebrated all night. (Saddlemyer


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544)Management of the tour on theWest Coast had been taken up by

AmericanproducerElbertWickes.

IntheUS,itwasnowobservedthat,‘TheAbbeyTheatreplayersare

as standardas thenationallyadvertisedbrandsof cigarette’. (Scrapbooks

NLI Mss 25,511-23) While the actors were feted and fed off stage by

audiences, the critics were wearying of the performance style. The

Company now played to meet expectations. Audiences were allowed to

dictate shows from the repertory, and actors, in their individual

performances,wentoutoftheirwaytopleaseintheanticipatedmanner.

(Grene and Morash 44) Popular success had come, some felt, at the

expenseofartisticideals.

HeadinghisarticlefiledfromPittsburghErinGoBlah,GeorgeJean

Nathan attacked the histrionic acting style he sawon stage. Actorswere

playinglinespurelyforcomedyandconsciouslyplayingthe‘Irishness’the

audiencescametolaughat.NathanrememberedhowtheAbbeyTheatre

hadoncebeenoneof the finestactingorganizations in theworld; itwas

nowa‘caricatureofitsformerself.’(GreneandMorash44)Irishelements

of the scripts were ‘accentuated in theatrical delivery or consciously

stylisedforthembytheIrishperformers.’(Monahan100)

O’Connor, as the female ingénue, watched as other Company

members mugged at and bantered with the audience, often reducing

serious plays to farce. Performing each night became a riotous and

hilariousgame,agamethatcouldcontinueafterwardsinthegreenroom

orinthenightclub.Thecarefulpitchingoftragicdialogueanddeftphysical

characterization thatO’Connorhaddeveloped inLondonandunderHunt

was being eroded by the ‘improvised self-mocking, meta-theatrical,

exaggeratedperformance style.’ (Monahan100)Her craftwasalsobeing

erodedbyexhaustion.

OntheirfinalSaturdaynightintheGrandOperaHouseinChicago,

theCompanyplayedThePlayboyoftheWesternWorldwithTheRisingof

the Moon before packing up the sets, props, costumes and their own

belongingstogostraighttothetrainstation.Thetrainwasheldforthem,


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and they collapsed into sleep once they’d settled into their sleeper

carriages.TheyarrivedinSaintLouisforabriefstintthenextdayat7.30am.

ItwasaSunday,buttheywereperformingthatnight.(ShieldsT13/A/441)

St. Louis was dreary and damp. The performances were poorly

attended and there were flurries of snow to contend with. A doctor

prescribedliverextractforO’Connor’sstomachanddismissedthedoctors

in New York, who had diagnosed something more serious. Before they

knewit,theywerebackonthetrainheadingforthewestcoast.O’Connor

always found it difficult to sleep on the trains and now she was also

contendingwithstomachpains.Ononejourney,sheremembered:

I didn't sleepall lastnight. It is a very rocky routeand the trainswayedandswervedandbangedandclatteredandstoppedwitha jerk and startedagain. Itwas impossible to sleep. Frolie cameintomyberthandwegiggledand lookedoutof thewindowforhoursuntilBossheardusandorderedustogotosleep.Thenwewerecalledat5.30thismorningforcustomsinspections.(ShieldsT13/A/440)

Shields had given O’Connor responsibility for costumes. They had to be

unpacked and re-packed for customs checks and again for the dressing

rooms.

O’ConnorawokeatsixaminthewildsofColorado.Shecouldlook

outherwindowwithoutmovingfromherpillowandnoted:

Itwasglorious.Weweregoingthroughprairielands,thesunwasjust up and the whole thing looked like a technicolour movie.(ShieldsT13/A/441)

After an early breakfast in the dining carriage with Ria Mooney,

Boss (Arthur) Shields, Elbert Wickes and Maureen Delaney, she settled

downtowritelettersuntiltheyreachedastopwheretheycouldalightfor

someairandexercise.ShecapturestheCompanyintheiridlehours:

…inthedistancearetheRockieswithsnow-coveredtops.Oh,Boytheylookgrand.TheCo.areinvariousattitudesaroundthecoach.Frolieiswritingletters,Joeiswanderingabout,Austinditto,Bossiscleaninghistypewriter,thestagehandsareinahuddlewithElbert.Eileenisstillinbedwhiletheothersareinthedinerhavingbreakfast.(ShieldsT13/A/441)


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Therewere unscheduled stops,when landslides blocked the train

lines,andbreaks in ‘depots’. If thetrainpulledupunexpectedly,someof

the actors got out to climb around and take photographs, passing time

until theblockagewascleared.Atdepots, theyrushedouttobuysweets

andmagazines, or towalk around.One photograph shows the Company

hangingaroundonaplatform. (ShieldsT13/B/326-27)Thesun is shining;

JoeLinnanesitsontheedgeoftheplatformwithMulhernononesideand

O’Connorontheother.O’Connor isdemure,her legsneatlyfoldedunder

hertooneside.Mulhernsitswithherlegsapart,feetonthesleepers.She

wears dark sunglasses and is laughing or telling a joke. Shields sits at a

politedistancefromO’Connor.MayCraig,MaureenDelaneyandsomeof

themenstandaroundbehindthem,asifthey’repacing,eagertogetgoing.

ThefamilynatureofthisAbbeyCompanyisperhapsnevercapturedmore

eloquentlythanintheseimagesof‘downtime’.

Duringthistime,O’Connor’s lettersstarttodisplayacontentment

that eluded her in Ireland. In San Francisco, she found serenity. The

harbour reminded her of Cobh, and after the fog and snow of St. Louis,

everythingradiatedwiththeWestCoastsunlight.Herstomachcrampshad

settled;adoctorhaddiagnosedapulledmuscleandprovidedmedication.

TheyarrivedinTheNewOlympicHotellateatnightandshewokethenext

morning to streams of sunlight coming through her window and the

prospectofaweek’srestbeforetheyperformedagain.(ShieldsT13/A/441)

MulhernandMooneywereoccupiedelsewhere,asO’Connorrefers

to‘theboysandmyself’inherjauntstothebeachandthecountryside,or

exploringthecity.(ShieldsT13/A/442)ArthurShieldswasneverfaraway.

Theother ‘boys’were JoeLinnaneandAustinMeldon.They tookacable

cartoFisherman’sWharf,wanderedaroundChinatownandfordinnerhad

chicken chowmeinaswell as coldporkwithginger and fried rice. There

werecocktails,aswellasChinesewineandtea.Goingtoseethecartoon

SnowWhiteand the SevenDwarves for the first time,O’Connorwas the

beautyatthecentreofthiscircleofcharmingactors.


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Accordingto intimate letterssenttohersisters,at this timethere

was no relationship with Shields. A black and white photo of that time

showsO’ConnorwithShieldsandanother (unidentified)manoutside the

MandarinTheatreinSanFrancisco.(ShieldsT13/B/320)O’Connor’sarmis

tuckedcomfortably intoShields’.Heistall, imposingandclearlyolder;he

was seventeenyearsherelder. It is theonlyphotograph from that tour

that shows them as a couple. There are press shots forDrama at Inish

(ShieldsT13/B/303)andforShadowandSubstance(ShieldsT13/B/202)but

thephotographoftheMandarinTheatreistheonlyoneinthearchivethat

showsthemtogetheroutofcostume.O’Connortoldhersisterthatshewas

contemplatingmarriage to a responsible lawyer that offered a luxurious

life.ThisBostonlawyerwascalledMadisonandshesaid:

I’m not in love with him. However, my last love affair was sodisastrous toall concerned thatpossibly I cangetalongwithoutlovethistime.(ShieldsT13/A/442)

Offstage,O’Connoradoptedacasual,comfortablelook,wearing

slacksuitswithsandalsandanklesocks.Shedescribedone‘nattygetup’:

Iwearmy new slack suit,which consists of a very fineworstedmaterial in purpley navy, the slacks are beautifully fitting andhaveaconcealedzipperdowntheside,apleatinthebackandabuttonedbreastpocket.Thepantsbuttononthetop. It'sacuteidea and they're awfully comfy. I'm wearing a red cowboyhandkerchiefroundmyneckandredanklesocks(nostockingsorgirdleetc)andredandgreenandbluesandalsanddittoribboninmyhair.(ShieldsT13/A/441)

Onemorning,shegotupearlyandwentouttobuyanadornment

forherroom.Thensheretreatedtheretowritelettersandenjoytheview:

ThismorningIwentoutandboughtbluebells,hyacinths,daffodilsandmarigolds–4 largebowls full for75c.Myroomhastwobigwindowsandthesunpoursin.Icanlookrightacrossthebayfromwhere I'm sitting now. There are ships passing all the time.(ShieldsT13/A/442)

Theemotionalturmoilandpublicshameofthepreviousspringwasbehind

her;shewasanactressconsideringalifeinBostonmarriedtoalawyer.


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FromtherelaxedsunshineofSanFrancisco,theCompanytravelled

by train to the dry heat and glamour of downtown Los Angeles. With

Wickesnowatthehelm,theonedarkcloudthathungoverthemwasthe

illhealthofactorP.J.(Paddy)Carolan.CarolanwassufferingfromTB.Ashis

conditionworsened,hebegantodrinkheavily.O’Connortoldhersister:

Paddyisallrightwhenhe’ssoberbutattimesit’sbeengrim.It’sawfully hard on Dossie and Boss who have to do his work. I’mafraidhe’squitehopeless–nothingseemstohaveanyeffectonhim.(ShieldsT13/A/440)By the time they checked into the Hotel Clarke in downtown Los

Angeles, itwasevident thatCarolanwasnotgoing to recover– fromhis

lungconditionoralcoholism.Hissurrogatefamilyralliedaroundandallof

the actors contributed what they could afford to pay for a special train

compartment sohecould travelhomecomfortably.Theyagreed tokeep

this private until his family were notified and arrangements made.

O’Connor thenwrote to her sister to say, ‘We did allwe could for him’.

(ShieldsT13/A/444)TheCompanywavedoff the thin,dejectedmanwith

realgrief,butsatisfiedtheyhaddonealltheycouldtostophimdrinkingto

the point of inebriation. O’Connor watched, it seems, with

incomprehension. Her youth and vitality made her feel invincible in the

faceofsuchastrugglewithalcohol.

O’Connortookeveryavailableopportunitytosunbatheontheroof

of theHotelClarke. In theevenings, therewereparties inHollywood.On

consecutive nights in April, the Abbey Company visited RKO and

Paramountstudios.Theyhadalreadybeenhostedat20thCenturyFox.All

of the actresses were offered screen tests and promised work, but

O’Connor wasn’t as naïve as on earlier tours. She guarded against

disappointment.Itwascleartoherhowallofthestudioswere‘retrenching

like hell’ and doubted if her screen test would materialise. (Shields

T13/A/439)Awaretherewasastrongpossibilitythat‘whenthetourwillbe

over they just lose interest’, she determined to finish the tour and then

return toLondon to look forwork. (ShieldsT13/A/439)Lyingon thesun-


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drenched hotel roof, recovering from another party, O’Connor was

consideringBoston,HollywoodandLondon–butnotDublin.Therewasno

futureforherthere,professionallyorpersonally, itseemed.Yetshetook

theboatbackwith theCompany,bringingwithhera small trousseau for

hersisterEileen’sJunewedding.

AnEmergencyApproaches

Bytheendofthe1937/38tour,O’Connorhaddecided,‘Ishalltake

a room somewhere in Dublin if Daddy wishes to keep up his attitude

towards me.’ (Shields T13/A/444) Her father was furious with what he

thoughtofasunseemlybehaviour:herrelationshipwithanolder,married

andprotestantman.Higginshadalsotakenagainsttheactress,mainly, it

appears, for her off-stage behaviour. In the preparations for the Abbey

FestivalscheduledforAugust,shewascastonlyinasmallroleinTheWell

oftheSaintsbyJ.M.Synge.Afteryearsofgrowingexposureandpopularity,

O’Connorwasreturnedtotheunspeakingchorus.

CoincidingwithHorseShowWeek,thetwelve-dayAbbeyFestivalin

1938 presented seventeen plays to an audience drawn from America,

BritainandtheContinentaswellas Ireland.Duringtheday,theGresham

HotelonO’ConnellStreethostedlecturesonthetheatreanditsdramatists,

alongwith exhibitions andmanuscripts on view. The Spectator journalist

visitingfromtheUKwassoboredthathedidn’tstaytoseeShieldsreprise

his roleasChristy inPlayboyof theWesternWorld,whichconcluded the

programme.(Dent15)HewenttotheGaietyinstead.Dentalsodescribed

thepremièreofPurgatoryas‘anunsmilingsymbolicalfragmentthatgives

usparricideandfilicidecheekbyjowl.’(15)

NeithertheSpectator journalistnortheAbbeydirectorateseemed

toknoworunderstandthemeaningofYeats’play.Atanopenlectureon

theworkofW.B.Yeats intheGreshamHotelonaWednesdayafternoon,

theactressShelahRichardsstoodupintheaudience.ThelecturerwasF.R.

HigginsandaReverendConnolly (HeadofEnglishatBostonCollege)had

asked a question from the back of the room about the symbolism of


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Purgatory.Robinson, thechairman,deemed itanunfairquestiontopose

to Higgins; Richards disagreed. According to the Evening Herald, she

pointedout,‘Hehadputhisquestionwithgreatcourtesyandsincerity,and

ashegenuinelydesiredinformation,heshouldbeanswered.’(‘Whatdoes

itmean?’)Higginsdidnotgiveananswer,eitherastowhatYeatsmeantor

whathehimselfthoughtthepiecetomean.

Given the presence of many members of the Company, it’s

probably thatO’Connorwaspresentat thatdebate. InwatchingRichards

confront Higgins, she saw an established professional actress take on a

manwhomshedetestedbuthadtobeseentoobey.ButRichardswasalso

challenging the obscurity of Yeats’ work, and her social standing meant

that she had the power to speak out in a way O’Connor was denied. If

O’ConnordidwishtoemulatetheconfidenceofShelahRichards,shewas

acutelyawareoftheclassdifference.WhereO’Connorhadbeenforcedto

writealettertotheboardapologisingforbehaviourdeemedinsubordinate

(andlosthersecretarialpost),Richardscouldhavehersay,leavethehotel

anddriveherselfhomeinhersportscartoherlargehouseinGreystones.

Richardswouldgoontobecomeasuccessfultheatreandradioproducer,

yetshealreadyspoke likesomebodywith influence.Shehadmoney,and

she had social status both from her wealthy Protestant background (of

anglo-Irish ascendancy) and through her marriage to barrister and

playwright Denis Johnston. Richards herself once wrote, ‘We were born

respectable. We can't be anything else.’ (Johnston TCD Mss

10066/287/2649)Middle-classwomensuchasO’Connor,withoutfinancial

independence or a family name deemed respectable, were at a distinct

disadvantageinpowerrelations.

Duringthefestival,anactresscalledJosephineFitzGeraldfromthe

secondcompany(whichperformedwhilethemaincompanywereontour)

played the role of Mary Doul in Synge’s play The Well of the Saints.

O’Connor appeared in a minor role; the bit-part was a step back in her

career. She would soon be considered too old for the juvenile parts for

whichshe’dbecomeknown.Herperformancestyle,too,hadbeeneffected


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(and arguably affected) by the farcical posturing adopted to please

American crowds. Yet,Mulhern and theotherwomen continued in their

careersmuchasbefore;obstacleswerebeingputinthewayofO’Connor’s

progression.

TwomonthsaftertheAugustfestival,O’Connor’sroleinTheFar-Off

Hillswasgiven tonewcomerPhyllisRyan.MulhernandRyannowplayed

outthebedroomscenethathadbeenO’Connor’spreserveforsolong.Her

best friendperformedwith thenewstarlet,whileO’Connorwaitedtobe

cast. Both she and Shields were excluded by Higgins from a trip to

Cambridge in April 1939. Furious, O’Connor told an American friend,

producer Eddie Choate: ‘I don’t know when I’ll be playing again [ … ]

Higgins appears to hatemewith a deadly hate!’ (Shields T13/A/150(20))

While she tried to remain polite, the strain was showing. She declared,

‘Oneofthesedays[mytongue]willcomeunstuckandI'lltellHigginswhatI

and the rest of the world think of him – and be fired forever from the

Abbey!’ (ShieldsT13/A/150(20))There’sdesperationbehindher fury.Her

patience with Abbey management was wearing thin, and she was

increasinglyunhappyinDublin.

Staying with Anne and Mrs George Yeats in Rathfarnham one

Sundaynight,O’ConnortoldMrsYeats‘verysolemnly’that‘MrHigginshas

averygoodbusinesshead.’(Saddlemyer544)Whiletohersuperiors,she

remainedpolite and respectful,O’Connorhad reason todetest theman.

Higgins’ rancourcouldhavebeendue toher relationshipwithShields,or

her earlier perceived insubordination, but other evidence I’ve uncovered

suggests Higgins had a strong streak ofmisogyny. His relations with the

maleactorswerestrained,butthereisnoevidencethathebulliedthemin

the way women suffered from his mistreatment. Later that year, the

actress Josephine FitzGerald politely resigned a part in a play (Carroll’s

Kindred)forpersonalreasons.Thenextday,Fitzgeraldreceivedaletterat

homeinFairviewfromHiggins.Thenoteiscurtandcallous,tellingher:


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Icanonlysaythatyouwillnothaveitinyourpoweragaintodiscriminateastowhatpartsyouaretoplayinthistheatre.(Nowlan-Fitzgerald)

Higgins revelled in his power over these women, his ability to

dispensewiththematwill,andtookanysuggestionofinsubordinationto

maketheirworkinglivesimpossible.Hisrelationshiptothemensuggested

similarcallousness,buthedidnotviewthemasdespensibleandreliedon

certain men, including Shields, for support. FitzGerald’s career at the

AbbeywasendedbyHiggins,althoughshewentontoappearattheGate

Theatre and in numerous films. O’Connor tried to co-operate, but the

relationship with Higgins never improved. Ultimately, he was always in

controlandheusedhispowertopushheroutofthecompany–andoutof

Irelandtofindwork.

The 1938 Abbey Festival ended with a large, relaxed party

backstage at the theatre after the curtain came down on Shadow and

Substance. The members of the company acted as hosts and hostesses,

greetingguestsandoffering raffle tickets forsalebefore inviting themto

find a spot to sit in the green room. The ‘intimate meeting’ let friends

minglewiththedirectorsandtheactorsonthestairsbackstageor inthe

offices and green room upstairs. (Clive) When called upon, P. V. Carroll

made a speech ‘with a few touching remarks’ about thedepartedPaddy

Carolan.(Clive)TheCompanyobserveda respectful silence, remembering

theirdearfriendandthedifficultscenesontourashis illnessprogressed.

Aftertheraffletoraisemoneyforthebenefitfunds,theCompanycarried

on dancing and drinking and talking theatre until the early hours. Few

knewthatamid the riotous jollity,O’ConnorandShieldswereplanninga

newlifeforthemselvesasacouple.

Someweeks later,ShieldsarrangedameetingwithW.B.Yeats in

the Hibernian Club on Stephen’s Green and explained his dissatisfaction

with the theatre, along with sharing some details of his personal life.

(Frazier Hollywood Irish 128) He had been offered a role on Broadway.

YeatsassuredhimtherewouldalwaysbeaplaceforhimintheAbbey,but


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advisedhimtogo.InOctober,YeatsleftforFrance.Thesamemonth,the

LondonTimesannouncedthatShieldsandO'Connorwouldbetravellingto

NewYork(alongwithShelahRichards)toappearinSpringMeeting,aplay

byM.J.Farrell&JohnPerry.(FrazierHollywoodIrish128)

At this point, Shields was a respected actor and O’Connor was a

rising star.Heplayed a faithful servantwho first appears inAct 3 of the

play;BabyFurze (playedbyO’Connor)wasat thecentreof theplot.The

loversmayhavebeenlookingforwardtospendingChristmasaloneintheir

lodgings intheWhitbybuilding,buttheywouldbechaperonedbyShelah

Richards,alsointhecast.ThethreeIrishactorsworkedthroughoutJanuary

with director John Gielgud, learning the witty text penned by a smart,

publicity-shyfemalewriterbasedinIrelandcalledMollyKeane.

A fewweeks into thepopular run forSpringMeeting, these three

Abbey stalwarts saw a newspaper feature they didn’t approve of. The

articlereferredtothe‘all-British’castoftheplay.Shieldspenneda letter

settingout their patriotismand clarifying that certainof the actorswere

‘citizens of the Irish Free State’ and therefore ‘IRISH, not English.’(‘From

theDramaMailbag’)There’sa jovial tone to the letter, signedbyShields,

O’Connor, Richards and also Denis Carey. They identify themselves as

Abbey actors and stress that the letter was written for the purposes of

‘clarification, not rancour.’ (‘From theDramaMailbag’)Their assertion of

nationalismisperhaps lesssurprisingthanthe loyaltytheyexpresstothe

AbbeyTheatre.

Mere days after that letter was published, the three actors and

friendsheardthenewsofthedeathofW.B.Yeats.HehaddiedinFrance,

with his wife George at his side. In their rooms in theWhitby building,

lookingouton the lightsofBroadway, they toastedYeatsandwaited for

newsoffuneralarrangementsandtributesfromhome.Allthreefearedfor

thefutureoftheAbbeyTheatreunderthetyrannyofHiggins;notoneof

them would return to the stage on Marlborough Street. Far from the

mourning in Dublin, they continued to perform. O’Connor was a


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professionalandshewouldnotletdownPhilipMerivale,theproducerwho

frequentlysatinonrehearsalsandoftentookherfordinner.(Journals)

TheproductiontransferredtoTheLittleTheatre inFebruary1939,

where the Fashion Report described how ‘chiffons wisped airily up and

downtheaisles’,silkwrapsreappeared,and‘printsandlightercolours’had

begun to appear. (Spring Meeting Playbill ITA/128/1/1) Some of the

womenworeopera-lengthgloves inblackkidandbright-coloredevening

gloves.Forup-to-the-minuteaccessories,womenworepearlstwistedhigh

aroundtheneck,andheaddressesofivorylace‘likeaMarthaWashington

bonnet’.(SpringMeetingPlaybillITA/128/1/1)SpringwascreepingupFifth

Avenue,andasthefashionschanged,blossomswerebravingthecoldairin

CentralPark.

I can picture the style-conscious O’Connor peeking out from the

curtainbeforeSpringMeetingbegan,admiringthefineryandfashion.The

scene design, depicting the interior of the Furze household inWoodruff,

Tipperary, was lavish and her part was fun. But O’Connor knew Equity

restrictions would limit her time in New York. Also, as Shields was

supportinghiswifeathomeandshedidn’tearnmuch,moneywasscarce.

As Shields’ new partner, O’Connor had learnt not to show

insecurities. Shegave the impressionofbeinga strongwomannot tobe

cowed, but she knew of Richards’ friendship with Mac and of Richards’

own marital difficulties with Johnston. The programme notes joke of

Johnson’s inability topindownhiswife; in fact, the couplewerealready

livingseparatelives.Richardshadtwochildrenandaspirationstobecome

adirector.Minutesbeforethecurtainwentup,thewomencametogether

andtookpositionsonthestagefortheiropeningscene.Itopened:

Seated on the stool L.C., JOAN FURZE is trying an enormousDorothyWalkermodel on to BABY FURZE,who is standing L. infrontofher.Theybothseemdespairing.BABYcanseeherselfinalongmirrorwhich is leaningagainst the tablebehind thesettee.(FarrellandPerry7)Baby (O’Connor) scowls at her appearance in the mirror,

disconsolateat the ill-fittingandout-of-fashioneveningdress. JoanFurze


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(Richards)fussesaroundthedresswithpinsandascissors,tryingtomake

thebestofit.Joanisthethirty-two-year-olddaughterofthepenuriousSir

Richard,whomanagesthehousehold.Sheisbitteraboutherlife:‘Nevera

drink or a party. Nothing but doing the flowers and fightingwith [Aunt]

Bijouandgrowingolder.’(FarrellandPerry9)Bothgirlsarevictimsoftheir

father’s stinginess and rudeness, but Baby retains her youth, energy and

determination to find a different life for herself. When Tiny Fox-Collier

arrives hoping to marry her son Tony off to Joan for her inheritance of

Woodruff, Tony falls for Baby.Meanwhile, Joan’s relationship with their

groomisendedbyherfather.

Baby is themost innocent and yetmost dynamicmember of the

Furzehousehold.Shecharmsand flirtsherway through life inTipperary,

cheerfullymanipulatingtheservantsandherfathertogetherway.When

herspinsterauntinsiststhatnoladylooksforahusband,sheresponds:‘I

thinkof itoftenand Iwantone,and I’llhaveonetoo.’ (FarrellandPerry

11) Tiny Fox-Collier describes her as ‘entirely undevelopedmentally’ and

notesshehas‘abrogueyoucancutwithaknife.’(FarrellandPerry43)But

sheseducesTonywithherbeautyandwit,andbyappearinginthesitting

roomwrappedonlyinaneiderdown.Atonepointsheaskshim,‘Whatdo

you think I am - a childon the thresholdof life?’ Tony responds, ‘I don't

knowwhatyou'ddoonathreshold.You'rewonderfulinahayloft.’(Farrell

andPerry37)O’Connor’ssexualitywasnot justonopendisplay,butwas

thepunchlineofsuchjokes.

On stage each night, O’Connor was the pretty coquette, nipping

sipsfromherfather’sbrandyglassandcadgingmoneytopayforcigarettes.

Theplayagainallowedhertoopenlydeclarehersexuality,andtoperform

beingofasocialclasswhereshecouldtalkopenlywithoutfearoffinancial

orotherpenalties.Afterthecurtainfell,theactresswaswearyfromstress.

The awkward circumstances with Richards, the career issues, and her

money problems were strains on her relationship with Shields. She was

comingtorealizetherewasnofutureforherontheIrishstage.Butforall

theworry,therewasavibrantgroupoftheatrepeopleinNewYork.Notes


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in her journals show a life packed with rehearsals, dinners and parties.

Theymentionprivatemeetingswith IrisWhitneyandanewfriendcalled

‘Kay’.AslifebecamemorecomplexforO’Connor,aNewYorkercalledKay

Swift swept into her life like the rousing chords of a Broadway show’s

openingnumber.

KinshipandFriendship

In her landmark essay, ‘Gender: A Useful Category of Historical

Analysis’,feministhistorianJoanScottsetoutthefourelementsofgender

as a ‘constitutive element of social relationships, based on perceived

differencesbetweensexes.’Theseare:(1)culturallyavailablesymbols;(2)

normative concepts that set forth interpretations of the meanings of

symbols;(3)thekinshipsystemand(4)subjectiveIdentity.(Scott‘Gender’

1067)TheformertwocategorieshavebeenconsideredinrelationtoIrish

theatresincethefoundationoftheAbbeyTheatre,includingsymbolssuch

as Cathleen ni Houlihan and the characters that followed as normative

concepts of Irish womanhood. The kinship system in these life stories,

however, must be extended from family and household to include

colleagues, and the ensemble of the touring company that became

O’Connor’s family in a number of ways. It here seems useful to draw

attentiontothenetworkofwomenaroundO’Connorthatwereproviding

emotional and practical support and, also, possible rolemodels.While I

separate the biographies of each of the five Irish women, the

interconnections between their lives, roles, tours and experiences they

shared,shouldbeapparent.

Therelationshipsbetweenthesewomen,bothintheCompanyand

withotherwomenintheatretheyencountered,werekeynetworksintheir

lives,regardlessoftheirrelationshipswithmen.O’Connordefinedherself

byherpositionbetweenhertwosisters(‘theleastgood-lookingoneofthe

family’(ShieldsT13/A/436))andthetempestuousnatureofherfriendship

withFrolieMulhernshowedtheir intimacyandrelianceoneachother.At

the same time, the attitude of the older women (including Bazie “Mac”


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Shields)towardstheyoungnoviceswasacrucialdynamicintheCompany.

Much likeAmeliaGregg inDeevy’sKatie Roche, they formed amodel of

respectableIrishfemininityshowinghowtheycould‘makeitgrand.’(113)

The elder generation often deplored the younger women’s behaviour,

whichtheyviewedasrebelliousorsimplyunseemly.Femalefriendshipisa

crucialfeatureofthebiographyofanywoman,andO’Connor’sconnection

with Kay Swift is fascinating for its apparent unlikeliness, its obvious

strength, and for its indelible mark on O’Connor’s personality and her

conceptionofherselfasanactressandawoman.

Kay Swift was a Broadway composer, a divorcee, and a busy

socialite.Thissmall,elegantladywithdark,carefully-coiffedhairandhuge

eyeswasawomanwho‘alwayswantedtheworks,everyminute’andfelt

entitledtohave it. (LaskerFolder259)Shehadan infectiousenergy,as if

livingconstantly to the rhythmofher firstBroadwayhitFineandDandy.

SwiftandO’Connorhadlittleincommonintermsofbackground,butthey

shareda loveofdramaandanunderstandingofcomplicated loveaffairs.

Swift had a long relationship with the composer George Gershwin; she

assisted him in composing the musical Porgy and Bess. The Abbey

CompanysawthismusicalstagedinSanFranciscoduringtheearly1930s.

(‘Reminiscence’ Craig Mss LA28/240) However, there’s no record that

duringherfirsttour in1934/35,O’Connorsawthiswork,orthatshemet

Swift.Gershwin’sunexpecteddeath in July1937waswellpublicized,but

his union with Swift was never official. The women were most likely

introducedin1938bySwift’snewbeau,radiostarandoldacquaintanceof

theAbbeyPlayers,EddieByron.

For all her verve, Swift’s life hadbeenbesetby vicissitudes.After

herfather’sprematuredeath,shesupportedhermotherwithhermusical

talents, teaching andplaying.Marriage to banker (and sometime lyricist)

JamesWarburg brought contentment and a luxurious standard of living,

but she abandoned this and gave up custody of her three daughters to

continue her work and relationship with Gershwin. She was now living

alone,composingmusicforanumberoforganizations, includingtheNew


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YorkWorldFairscheduledfor1939.Whilesherarelystoppedworkingon

her musical compositions, she relied on girl friends, most especially

businesswomanMaryLasker,foremotionalsupport.ShekeptSundaysfree

for‘ourgoodSabbathgabfests,settlingourlives[and]we’vereallymade

moreprogressatthatonSundaysthananyotherdays.’(LaskerFolder259)

BothO’Connor and Swift had ambitions for career successwith a

man they adored by their side. Swift repeatedly threw over money and

security for passion and excitement. Yet while O’Connor despaired in

private, Swift kepthermood lightandherhopeshigh.Therewasalways

theprospectofanother tune,another loverandanotherpaycheck. Swift

alwayshadenoughmoneyforavisittothehairdresser:‘Nodoingofown

hairby thishand’,andaSundayalways involveda coupleofher favorite

‘vod-tons’, either out or at homewith friends. (Lasker Folder 544) Swift

was,infact,somethingofa‘Pollyanna’,endlesslypositive,anattributethat

would infuriate and assist O’Connor in equal measure. The

‘disappointment adjustant’ Swift inherited from her mother served her

wellandbroughtjoytothosearoundher;O’Connorlackedsuchagenetic

gift.(Ohl219)

SpringMeetingranatTheLittleTheatreuntil theendofFebruary

1940, so thatO’Connorwasstillperforming in thecityduringoneofKay

Swift’smostmemorableanddramaticsocialevenings.AtHampshireHouse,

thethirty-seven-storeyluxuriousapartmentbuildingsouthofCentralPark,

MaryLaskerwas livingandworkingonherdesignbusiness.Laskerhelda

cocktailparty,ahabitualeventthatendedwithguestssoddenwithdrink

and emotionally spent after a night of dramatic rows and passionate

encounters. That evening, Lasker ended her relationship with a married

man thewomen called ‘Fiend’ to protect his identity. Swift had taken a

‘horriblebeating’emotionallywhenByrondroppedherunceremoniously,

butthatnightshemetTimemagazinewriterCharlesWertenbaker.(Lasker

Folder 259) O’Connor remained sorry that Swift and Byron had parted

ways,butthewomen’sfriendshipendured.(ShieldsT13/A/150(21))


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O’Connor returned to the UK formore auditions after the run of

SpringMeetingfinished,butShieldsstayedon,tryingtomakeconnections

andgetfurtherworkonBroadway.HemetbusinessmanEddieChoate,and

together they set up a production company and secured the rights to

produce Paul Vincent Carroll’s new play Kindred. O’Connor spent more

timeinEngland,whereshesawmuchofHughHuntandauditionedwhere

possible.(ShieldsT13/A/150(28))WithHigginspushingherout,shehadno

choicebuttoseekotherwork,andinMay1939shehadaninterviewwith

theproducersoftheShellTheatreinLondon.Therewastheprospectofa

part in French Without Tears, a new comedy of manners by Terence

Rattigan. O’Connor had perfected an English accent that would suit this

caper,setinaFrenchboardinghouse.Shespentthelittlemoneyshehad

travellingtoLondonandfindingaccommodationbutnothingcameofthe

meeting. (Shields T13/A/150(27)) When Shields finalised the deal for

Kindred, hewiredwith thenews.O’Connor rushedback toDublin at the

earliest opportunity. She was staying at her father’s house in Ranelagh

whensheexpressedherrelieftoChoate:‘We’rebothabsolutelythrilledto

bits. And I’m rescued from a ten weeks English tour of French Without

Tears!’(ShieldsT13/A/150(28))

Dublinwasmiserable.Theweatherwaswetandgloomyand‘There

isaveryworriedlookoneveryone’sfaceinthestreets.[…]Thereistalkof

nothingelsebutWAR’.(ShieldsT13/A/150(20))FrenchWithoutTearswas

ahugesuccess inLondon;O’ConnorwatchedfromafarasKayHammond

and Rex Harrison went on from the Rattigan play to bigger and bigger

success. Carroll’s play Shadow and Substancewas staged again in May.

ManagementattheAbbeyTheatrewerehopingtocapitaliseonitsearlier

popularityeventhoughHunt(theoriginaldirector)hadleftthecountry.To

replicate as much as possible the original cast, O’Connor was asked to

reprise her role as Thomasina. She appeared with the rising star, Cyril

Cusack.AttheDublintheatre,theignominyofheraffairandherbehaviour

still lingered.Carroll jokedwithheraboutaplayhewaswritingabout ‘a

nicelittleteaser…withanoselikeyours.’(ShieldsT13/A/150(44))


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Ifnotrehearsing,O’Connorspenttimetypinglettersintheofficeor

reading in theGreenRoom.Eager togetback to theUS, tobewithBoss

and to escape her strained family situation in Ranelagh, she enquired in

letters to Eddie Choate about a role in Kindred for herself. At the same

time,shepromotedMulhern’stalents:

Shehasaveryconservativeand religious familyand they refusetobelieveshewantstogotoAmericaagain.[…]PooroldFrolie–she’slongingtogo!(ShieldsT13/A/150(41))

O’Connorhatedthethoughtofleavingherbestfriendbehind,and

continued to coax Mulhern to leave with her. Mulhern didn’t have the

strength to consider such a huge move; she was increasingly delicate.

Despitebadhealth,Mulhernmanagedtoretainhersenseofhumourand

loveofperforming.O’Connormayhaveputherfriend’sweaknessdownto

overwork or heartbreak after the end of her relationship with Wickes.

Shields also discussedwith Choate thepossibility ofMulhernplaying the

characterofPrimroseintheirfirstventure,althoughherevealed,‘Theonly

thing that worriesme about her is that she is not very strong.’ (Shields

T13/A/150(30))O’ConnorwantedMulhernwithherbecausesheknewthat

withoutaconfirmedroleormoney,travellingtotheUSwasgoingtobea

challenge.Requests fora roleare repeatedbreezily,but there’s real fear

ShieldswouldleaveherbehindinO’Connor’slettertoChoateinMay1939:

BossandIhavenomoneywhatsoever!…Don’tworryaboutmeasIcanwaitafewweekslongeruntilBossearnssomemoneyinHollywoodandthensendsforme.(ShieldsT13/A/150(28))

O’Connor was now consumed with possible career moves. Hunt

wasconsideringstagingKindred in theUKand therewasaproductionof

Carroll’sWhiteSteedopening inGlasgow.Bothplayswerefamiliartothe

actress and she had Carroll’s approval. Hunt suggested theremight be a

partforherinaUKproduction,orO’Connorheardoftheproductionand

madethesuggestion.Shewasreadytograspatanypartto leaveDublin,

butwouldn’treturntoEnglandwithouttheblessingofShieldsandChoate.

Onenight,desperateforaplan,shesentatelegram:


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HuntdefinitelyofferspartSteedAugust.Sorrytorushyou.Pleasecabledecisionremylastletter.LoveAideen.(ShieldsT13/A/150(43))

ShemayhavebeenhopingtopushthemintoactionwithnewsoftheUK

production;theactionrebounded.Choatesentapolitenote:

Theirproductiondefinite.MineNot.Youmakedecision.BestEddie.(ShieldsT13/A/150(43))

Despite her diligence and talent, apparent confidence and

headstrongmanner,suchdecisionsleftherfloundering.Afterimpassioned

and lengthy discussions about the future, Shields arrived in New York

withouthislover.(ShieldsT13/A/150(41))Onmidsummer’sday,shetooka

traintoCork,bringingwithhereverythingsheneededforemigrating.The

Abbey Theatre was, as usual, closed for themonth of July. In Cork, she

couldstayrent-freewithhermother’sfamilyat4Graham’sTerraceinthe

portvillageofCobh,fromwhichboats leftregularlyforAmerica.Shehad

runoutoffriendstorelyoninDublin.

PreparingforNewYork

Graham’sTerracehasanirongate,closingitofffromtheroad.The

terrace is carved into the hillside; the row of houses hangs precipitously

over the steep incline down to the sea. It was a mature, respectable

address, halfway between the village with its port and the cathedral,

perchedat the topof thehill.O’Connorcould lookdownontheharbour

from her window. It reminded her now of the wharfs of San Francisco,

filling her with nostalgia in the sameway that in San Francisco shewas

oncenostalgicforCobh.(ShieldsT13/A/442)

Number4Graham’sTerracewasaplaceO’Connorassociatedwith

thelong,lazysummerdaysofchildhood,learningtosailduringthedayand

runningupfromthevillageintheevenings.Nowshewastwenty-five,and

hermother’sfamilyknewofthedisputewithherfatherandtheunsavoury

lovelifeoftheactress.Sheoftenfoundherselftrappedinthegrimlightof

the house. After months of travelling independently, being toasted and


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feted, O’Connor was reduced to unpaid housework and child minding.

Occasionally, she managed to find a quiet corner and a fewminutes to

herselftowriteletters.ShesentanotetoChoate:

IhadtocableBossonSundayaboutcomingearlier. I’vestruckabadpatchatthemoment!I’mherewithmymother’speopleandUncleDickarrivedhomeunexpectedly[frommilitaryservice]andis very ill… It’s frightful. I have to look after the child (who is afiend)anddoallthemeals–sitwithhimforhoursonend.Hejuststares atmewithout uttering aword. Yesterday I thought Iwasreallygoingmad.(ShieldsT13/A/150(46))

Shields had learnt to fill his dayswith calming activities when he

wasn’t working: he loved his vegetable garden, collecting stamps and

readingabout trainsor talkingabout themwithhisson,Adam.O’Connor

never had such serenity off stage and the tedium of housework only

exacerbatedhertemper.Shesaid:

Nothing ever happens in Cobh. Even Atlantic fliers going astraylandatGalway—butperhapstheGermanfleetwillanchorintheharbourandthatwouldbenews.(ShieldsT13/A/150(44))

Away from the career opportunities of Dublin and London, her anxiety

intensified and she pleadedwith Choate, ‘Youwon’t stopwriting tome,

willyou,justbecauseBosswillbeinNewYork?’(ShieldsT13/A/150(44))

Often,when shewrote to Choate, O’Connor had a headache and

wasfeelingphysically ill.Shethoughtthemonotonyofthehouseandher

daily tasks would kill her, and was desperately lonely for her theatre

colleagues.Heronlyvalidexcusestoleavethehouseweretoattendmass

orconfessionintheCathedral,ortovisitheroldfriendSisterMaryMonica

intheConventoftheSistersofMercy.

DespiteO’Connor’spricklynature,herdarkmoods,airsofgrandeur

andobstinateopinions,SisterMaryMonicaremainedloyaltoAideen.She

wasoneofthefewwhoknewhersinceshe’dbeenamotherlessfour-year-

oldgirl,andthoughtofheralwaysasagirlwithastrongCatholicfaithand

akindheart.O’Connorhadfans inAmericaandfriends intheAbbey,but


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there’s a searing honesty inMaryMonica’s letter to the infant Christine

Shieldsinwhichshesays,‘Ilovedherverymuch.’(ShieldsT13/A/518(1))

Whenshefoundherselfstuck inCobh,O’Connorhadmuchtotell

her cloistered friend and also much she may have found impossible to

reveal.There’snowayofknowingifthenunknewaboutO’Connor’slove

for a married man, and if she supported or advised the actress. As the

leaderofasodalitygroupofonehundredandseventyyoungwomen,the

nun did know the possible future that lay in store for women who fell

pregnantoutofwedlock.(Cosgrave)KaySwiftcounseledloveandpassion;

Sister Mary Monica stood for Catholic faith and prayer. In the serene

groundsoftheSistersofMercyconventandthehushedatmosphereofthe

cathedral,thenuncontinuedtoprayforO’Connor’speaceandhappiness

aftertheactressleftforNewYork.

ChoatehadlefthertomakethedecisionabouttheUKproduction,

butshewouldnotgiveupanopportunitytobewithShields.Hunt’soffer

ofapartintheUKproductionofKindredwaspolitelydeclinedandmoney

somehow found to buy a ticket toNew York. InO’Connor’s suitcase the

morningsheembarked,likeatalisman,wasthefinaldraftofPaulVincent

Carroll’s play Kindred. On the dark green cover of the manuscript, the

playwrighthadwritten,‘ToAideen,BonVoyage,Paul.’(ShieldsT13/A/124)

Shields was filming in Hollywood when O’Connor arrived in New

York, and he thought it better she stay where she had ‘more

companionship’.(ShieldsT13/A/151(27))ShewasfamiliarwiththeWhitby

apartmentsonWest45thStreet,wherethey’dbeliving.Onlyafewblocks

from the Edison Hotel, the Whitby lacked the glamour and modern

appliances of the hotel. It was a community of people working on

Broadway, quietest before noon and humming with parties until late. It

had been built as a residential hotel, complete with bellhops and

barbershop,maidservice,ashoerepairstandandevenChristmasparties

in the lobby.During thedepression thatbegan in1929, itwasconverted

into small studios units. (Neuffer) There, Choate and his actresswife Iris

Whitney kept an apartment full of fresh flowerswhere they entertained


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O’Connor.Despitetheirclosefriendship,fromthestartofherstay,sheand

Shields constantly felt that they were a burden to Choate and his wife.

(ShieldsT13/A/45(1)-(2))

WhenChoatearrangeda readingof thenewplayKindred inNew

Yorkforpotentialinvestors,intheaudienceofinvitedguestswasthethen

composerforRadioCityMusicHallandtheDirectorofLightMusicforthe

WorldFair,KaySwift.O’Connorhadhighhopesshemightinvest,declaring

her a ‘grand person’ and insisting, ‘I know she will [help] if she can.’

(ShieldsT13/A/150(21))Swiftwasimpressedandexcitedbytheplay,eager

togiveherideastoChoatealthoughshehadnoavailable‘monya’.(Shields

T13/A/150(4))Despiteherelegantwardrobeandbusysociallife,Swiftwas

strugglingtosupportherself financially.Therewas littlechanceshecould

investinKindred,althoughherjovialmoodmayhavegiventheproducersa

differentimpression.

Swiftwasstill ‘theoldcarthouse.Alwaysfeelingsowell it’shardly

decent.’ (Lasker Folder 544) Her positivity and worldly wisdom could

alwaysprovideO’Connorwithachuckleandadistractionfromthepressing

concerns of life. The Beekman Place apartment where Swift lived and

entertainedwasdecorated inzebra-printrugs;herbedroomanddressing

roomwerepainted (wallsandceiling) in shrimppink. (LaskerFolder259)

Framed studio portraits of Gershwin, some signed in an ebony ink that

echoedhisowndarkhandsomeprofile,hungon thewallsofher lounge.

Alongwithvariousotherornamentsandtreasuresshehadtakenfromthe

Warburg townhouse, there was a baby grand piano. (Weber 133) Here,

Swift composed and played with the same regularity as other women

powdered their noses. She kept jottingsof compositionswhereverpaper

fellandcoffeecupsmarkedwithlipsticksurroundedher.Eachtimeshesat

there,Swiftremovedhergoldbangles(agiftfromGershwin)andsetthem

onthepianotop.Theysparkledandtrembledassheplayed.(Weber133)

On the first Sunday morning of September 1939, O’Connor was

listening to the wireless in the Choates’ apartment when William

Chamberlain’s speech was broadcast on BBC radio. The sentence ‘His


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Majesty’sgovernmenthasdeclaredwaronGermany’chilledher,castinga

lifelongmemory.(ShieldsT13/A/155(15))GoingbacktoherlifeinIreland

nowwasnotonlydifficultbutpotentiallydangerous.

TherewasareunionwithShields in timetocelebrateher twenty-

sixth birthday, but soon both couples (Choate and wife Iris Whitney;

O’Connor and Shields) were working on Kindred, ‘going over the script

wordforword,indicatingpossiblecutsandadjustmentswhichwewilllater

gooverwithDick [Madden] forhisapproval.’ (ShieldsT13/A/151(32))Up

untilAugust,O’ConnorwascastinthemainroleofAgnes.Thenadecision

wasmade,puttingheroutofthepart.

It’sunclearwhethertheoriginalcastingwasjustanarrangementby

ChoateandShieldstosecurehervisa,orifitwasadreadfulsurprisewhen

she was replaced by well-known Broadway face Haila Stoddard. In any

event,hersenseofindebtednesstoChoateoverrodeanyangerabouther

re-casting in a minor role, Alice. Around the same time, Swift left

O’Connor’slifeasdramaticallyasshe’dentered,elopingwithacowboyto

afarminOregon.Tofillherdaysuntilrehearsalsbegan,andtocombather

senseofuselessness,O’ConnorbeganvolunteeringwiththeRedCross.She

workedfromnineamtofourpmeveryday.

AftermonthsofidledaysforO’Connor,tryingtocontributetothe

war effort or reading andwindow-shopping, the long-awaited rehearsals

forKindredbeganattheendofNovember.Shieldshadastarringroleand

Barry Fitzgeraldwasalso in the cast.Reunitedwithher Irish companions

andhardatwork,evenifherpartwasminor,theactresssawthedaysfly

by; her theatrical lifewas coming back on track. Aweek into rehearsals,

distressingnewsfromhomereachedher.FrolieMulhernwasdeadandhad

beenburiedinEnniskillen.Stunnedbygrief,O’Connorwroteinherjournal

thatshesimplycouldn’tbelieveitwastrue.(ChristineShieldsEmail)

There was an air of incredulity about Mulhern’s death even in

Ireland.According tohernieceMaryMcCullough, shedied suddenly and

quietly,withonegaspforair,herheartstoppingasshesatatthefirewith

her mother. Deprived of the opportunity to say goodbye and pay her


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respects to theMulhern familyat the funeral, yetagainO’Connorburied

painandupsettocarryonwithdignityamongagroupofpeoplewhohad

nevermetherfriend.

Lessthanamonthlater,thecompanylefttogetherforPrinceton,a

town eighty kilometres outside of New York. Kindred opened in the

McCarter theatre, at theedgeof thePrincetonUniversity campus,on23

December1939.TheyimmediatelytravelledbackbytraintotheNewYork

opening.ItwasatenseChristmasday,forthenextmorningArthurShields

hadtopayanurgentvisittoadoctor.Kindredwouldpremierethatevening

attheMaxineElliottTheatre,buthewassufferingfromchestpain.

A pencilled note in Shields’ diary for the following day, a

Wednesday, records: ‘Kindred a failure’. (Shields T13/A/372(3)) Sixteen

performances after opening night, it closed. The spectacular flop left

Shieldswith a twentypercent share inbankruptcy.Rehearsalsof theold

reliable,O’Casey’sJunoandthePaycock,beganevenbeforeKindredclosed,

on 4th of January. Under the stress, Shieldswas admitted to Lennox Hill

hospitalanddiagnosedwithtuberculosis.O’Connorcontinuedtoperform

inJunoandthePaycock,playingapartnowsofamiliartotheactressitwas

likerecitingaprayer.O’Casey’sdescriptionforMaryBoylereads:

Two forces are working in her mind—one, through thecircumstancesofherlife,pullingherback;theother,throughtheinfluence of books she has read, pushing her forward. Theopposingforcesareinherspeechandhermanners.(Juno5)

SimilarforceswereworkingonO’Connor,butitwasnolongerthesimple

‘backwardsorforward’decisionshehadcontemplatedasayoungerMary.

It’s a long, hard trek from theWhitby Building up to Lennox Hill

hospital,particularlyiftheweatherisbadandthereisnomoneyfortaxis.

Thewalk leadsawayfromthedazzlingwhite lightsofBroadway,pastthe

largedepartmentstoresupthelengthofParkAvenueandrightuptothe

eastsideofCentralPark.O’Connorhadtomakethis trek,whileensuring

thatshewasbackinthetheatreeacheveningintimetoperform.Onher

way, she passed theWarburg townhouse where Kay Swift’s ex-husband


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still livedwithher threedaughters. Itwasa stark reminderof the luxury

thatSwifthadgivenupforloveandhercareer.

The year of 1939 had been bookendedwith the deaths ofW. B.

Yeats and of Frolie Mulhern, and had contained little but worry and

relentless struggle for O’Connor and Shields. At least they had been a

support toeachother;nowShields’ serious illness left theactress feeling

even more isolated. As she trudged up and down to the hospital,

sometimeswithIrisWhitneyorBarryFitzgerald,theweightofworryabout

thefuturebecameheavier.Onlyinherprivatejournalsdidsheadmitthat

shenowlongedforonethingonly:togohome.(Journals)War,orlove,or

shame,oracombinationofallthree,keptherwhereshewas.

Equity contracts reveal that O’Connor earned $150 a week to

appear inKindred in1939.After itclosed,hersalarydecreasedto$100a

weekforherpartofMaryinJunoandThePaycock(1940)andthento$50

aweek for appearingwith actor HaleNorcross inTanyard Street (1941).

(ShieldsT13/A/454) Itwas increasinglydifficult forher tomanageonher

own;herrelianceonShieldswasnotjustemotionalbutfinancial.

Shieldswasstillseriouslyill,buthisconditionwasimproving.After

JunoandthePaycock,hetookthedoctors’advicetotraveltoCaliforniato

recuperate in sunshine and dry air. Barry Fitzgerald travelled with him.

Both men had hopes of finding film work to improve their financial

situation.Onceagain,ShieldsleftO’Connorbehind.Shehadbeencastina

smallpartinaTerenceRattiganplay,andwashopingitwouldimproveher

situationwithEquity.

A few weeks into rehearsal for the production at the Hudson

Theatre, O’Connor arrived back to the Whitby apartment bereft and

Shieldsreceivedadistressedcall.Theconnectionwasbad;O’Connorwas

crying. (Shields T13/A/151(27)) Shields had to wait for an explanation.

Choatewrote:

BythetimeyourreceivethisletterAideenwillbearrivingandwillgive you all the details of howCooper railroaded her out of hisshow. Unfortunately, she couldn’t reachme at the time all thedamagewasdone.[…]Thenewdirectorwantedadifferenttype


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inthepartandwhenCooperrefusedtopayAideenoff,thenewdirectorandHomolkasimplydecidedthattheywouldmakeitsouncomfortableforherthatshewouldleaveofherownaccord.

(ShieldsT13/A/153(57))

O’Connorwas the third actress to leave the production; theNew

York Times announced that English actressMaria Temple would assume

the role. (‘News of the Stage’ 32) O’Connor’s experiences in Dublin had

made her tough; yet given the traumatic events of the previous few

months, a hasty and emotional flight to the West Coast is easy to

understand.Cooperwasinsistingthattheactresshadbrokenhercontract

and owed him two hundred dollars – a sum of money she didn’t have.


O’ConnorsaidfarewelltoChoateandIrisWhitney,beforeheading

forGrandCentral Station. Swift had left forBend,Oregon (withhernew

love) sixmonthsearlier.According toLosAngeles in the1930s:TheWPA

GuidetotheCityofAngels,aroundtripticketfromNewYorktoHollywood

thatyearwouldhavecostninetyUSdollars, theequivalentof justovera

thousanddollarsintoday’smoney.(Kipenxxxiii)Itwasahugeinvestment

foranactressthathadbeendeprivedoftwoweek’ssalaryforwalkingout

ofashow.O’ConnorwalkedunderthewidespreadwingsoftheAmerican

eagle,throughthewoodenswingdoorandintotheVanderbiltHallwaiting

room.ThegreenmarbleTiffanys’clockhighonthewallcounteddownthe

minutes before she could board. Returning to Dublin wasn’t possible;

onwardstoHollywoodwasO’Connor’sonlyoption.

LifeinHollywood

AfewyearsaftertheirpartinginNewYork,KaySwiftfoundherself

tiptoeingacrossthe landingtothebathroomfromtheguestroomofthe

Shields’Hollywoodapartment.Shewasintimidatedbythehushandfound

the quiet the couple lived in utterly discomfiting. (Lasker Folder 544)

Havingavoidedusing thebathroomasmuchaspossible, Swiftwas ‘near

death’ close tomidnight and braved the expedition in bare feet. To her


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horror, when she pulled the plug, she broke the mechanism and the

plumbing‘roaredlikeawolfforthreedays’.(LaskerFolder544)Despitethe

spacioussurroundings,itwasnotapleasantplacetostay.Shieldswasstill

weakandO’Connor’sunhappinesswasrumblingunderthefloorboards.

1843NorthCherokeeAvenuewasa goodaddress,ona steephill

one block away from Hollywood Boulevard with its bookshops, cinemas

and restaurants. Itwas a four-storey apartmentblockbuilt in 1926,with

the entrance discreetly hidden by a fountain and shaded by palm trees.

The white marble lobby was cool and the darkness dispelled by a

chandelier;themahoganyfrontdoorsoftheapartmentsrandownnarrow

corridorsthatallledtosashwindowswithcast-ironfireescapes.Climbing

the stairs to the third-floor, the low hum of people in their homes was

audible.Thecouplegota catandnamed it Luckyafter it surviveda leap

from the apartment window, but O’Connor was weary and melancholy.

SheabhorredtheheatandboredomofheremptydaysinHollywood:

Ireadabouttwobooksaday-nothingelsetodointhisgodawfultown.Wehavemovedintoanotheraptinthisbuilding.Itislovely.Bigairyroomsandnicefurnitureanddecorations.[…]Mycookinghasbecomemostproficient!(ShieldsT13/A/154(6))

Sixmonths after her arrival,O’Connorwas feeling unwell. Shields

wasn’t strong enough to nurse her, and the stomach pains became so

intensethatshevisitedthedoctorandwasadmittedtohospitalwithacute

appendicitis. (Shields T13/A/471) During the early tours with the Abbey,

O’ConnorhadusedheavypainkillersprovidedbyBazieMageetohelpwith

menstrual pains. Later, doctors had prescribed liver extract. (Shields

T13/A/441) Thesepainsweredifferent. The casual, social drinkingof the

theatre crowd had intensified during her sojourn in New York and her

journalsshortlyaftershearrivedinHollywoodshowthatitwasbecoming

outofcontrol.(Journals)Thistime,shestayedinhospitalfortendays.

Symptoms of appendicitis include a lack of appetite, a painful

bloatedabdomenandgeneralfatigue.Thesesymptomscouldalsoindicate

cirrhosisoftheliverbroughtonbyexcessivealcohol intake.Ifthepatient


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refusedtoacknowledgetheextentofherproblemortobetruthfulabout

herconsumptionofalcohol,therewaslittleadoctorcoulddotohelp.The

doctors removed her appendix andO’Connorwent home to recuperate.

Nowbothsheandherpartnerwereweakandstrugglingtofindwork.But

Shields had a plan: hewas in discussionswith producer Jack Kirkland to

directTanyardStreet,onBroadway.(ShieldsT13/A/153)

This play about an Irish soldier in the Spanish CivilWar seeking a

miracle,writtenby Irishplaywright LouisD’Alton,hadbeenproducedon

the Abbey stage in January 1940 as The Spanish Soldier. There, the rich

comedy and social satire had delighted audiences and critics. Kirkland

agreed to sponsor the production on condition Barry Fitzgerald was

includedinthecast,andsoinDecember(laterthanplanned)allthreeIrish

actors went back briefly to New York. After the premiere had been

postponedtwice,theplayopenedinFebruary1941.

D’AltonhadwrittenTheSpanishSoldiertostakeaclaimasaserious

dramatist, but Broadway audiences came only to laugh at the famous

comedian Barry Fitzgerald in the role of Mossy Furlong. (O’Farrell 111)

Shields directed and played the soldier KevinMcMorna. In the final act,

KevintellshisloverHessythathehasdecidedtojointhepriesthood.Hessy

wasplayedbythesingularlytitled‘Margo’.AccordingtotheNewYorkSun,

MargowasMexican,bornasMariaMargaritaGuadalupeBoladoCastilla.

(Morehouse6)O’Connor,as theonly Irishwoman in thecast,playedthe

minor role of Nanno Deasy. (In Dublin, this part was played by Phyllis

Ryan.) The play ran for only twenty-two performances. Critics hated it;

Atkinson of the New York Times was amazed Fitzgerald had agreed to

appear in it. (‘The Play’) Soon, all three actors were back in Hollywood.

O’Connor’s performance in Tanyard Streetwould be her last appearance

onthestage.

Staying in Hollywood, Kay Swift ‘loved being with’ Shields and

O’Connor.Shedeclaredtheywere‘kindnessitself.’(LaskerFolder544)Yet,

herdiscomfortinahomedevoidoflifeorenergyisclearfromherletters.

Swift tried to get a hotel room; none were to be found in the vicinity.


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Shieldswas‘delicate’,recuperatingslowlyfromhisTBandO’Connor,Swift

observed,was ‘weariedfromtheextraworkentailedbymyvisit’. (Lasker

Folder544)BarryFitzgeraldcamemosteveningsforthedinnerO’Connor

prepared,providing lightrelief forSwift.Themovetoabiggerapartment

on another floor of North Cherokee in June filled O’Connor’s days and

createdenoughchaosforhertohideherprivatedrinking,fromShieldsand

fromSwift.

The sexy, hard-drinking and rarely-eating Kay Swift, with her

leopard-skincoat,silkgownsandredlipstickhadbeenreplacedinOregon

by a calmer, plain-livingwomanwhowould not contemplate a dalliance

with an unsuitable man. Swift had embodied the frank sexuality and

liberatedfemininityof1920’sNewYork,afemininitythatboththrilledand

intimidatedtheAbbeyactresses.Now,Swifthadwrittenawholesometale

ofthedevotedwifeandhousekeeper,WhoCouldAskforAnythingMore?,

whichfittedwiththeidealsof1940sCalifornia.O’Connortriedtotakeon

theseideasofwomanhood,butitwasnotarolesherelished.Inwardly,she

ragedandsuffered.WhileShieldswasat thestudio, shewas thediligent

housewife. In the evenings, she entertained their guests with her

‘proficient’cookingandcocktails.(ShieldsT13/A/154(6))

Doing her best to cater for her friend, O’Connor once put a hot

waterbottleinSwift’sguestbedwhileshewasout,onlyforthecomposer

todiscoveronherreturnthatitwasleaking.AhorrifiedO’Connorroused

Shieldsfromhisbedtotakesomeofhisbeddingtorefreshtheguestbed.

AveryawkwardSwifthadtosit‘instate’whileherhostessremadethebed

for her; the accident was another shameful episode for a struggling

O’Connor.(Lasker Folder 544) Shields and Kay Swiftwere in bed by nine

each evening. During the cool nights, O’Connor had time to read, write

letters,toimaginehowdifferentherlifemightbeifthewarendedorshe

foundactingworkofherown,andtodrink.

There was a temporary reprieve when O’Connor paid a visit to

Selznick’sstudioandafter reading for them,beganrehearsingapart ina

filmwiththeIrishactressGeraldineFitzgerald.They‘workedlikefury-till


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2ammostmornings’ until Equity questioned her status and therewas a

disagreement over money. (Shields T13/A/154(6)) Furthermore, Shields

hadmisgivings.O’ConnortoldChoatethatshe’dreluctantlyleftitbecause,

‘although I wanted to do it, Boss was terribly against it’. (Shields

T13/A/154(6))Despitehisprevioussupportforhercareer,Shieldsdisliked

the idea of O’Connor being exploited in the film industry. Shields was

happythatshewas‘housekeepingandreadingandkeepingascheerfulas

thenewsofthewarwillpermitanyofus.’(ShieldsT13/A/154(3))Hefelt:

‘She misses New York but is good at settling down anywhere.’ (Shields

T13/A/154(3)) In her eagerness to please, to convince Shields that she

could settle anywhere with good humour, caring for him and for his

brother,O’Connorhidtheextentofherlonelinessandmisery.

Tocelebratehertwenty-eighthbirthday,ShieldstookO’Connorto

MussoFranksrestaurantonHollywoodBoulevard.(Journals)Itwasarare

socialoccasionforher,nowthatsheoftenstayedathomeifhewasata

partyatthestudios.Awaiterinascarletwaistcoatescortedthemtotheir

table. The red leather booths were often full of movie stars eating the

trademarksteaksanddrinkingsomeofthebestcocktails inHollywood. It

wasoneofherfavouritespots,but ithadbeenalmostayearsinceshe’d

workedandthereseemed little tocelebrate.Nobodycouldhelphowold

shefelt,orhowdrabshebelievedshelooked.(Journals)Afterdinnerand

drinks,thecouplewalkedtheshortdistancebacktotheapartment.

December came and the couple muddled through the holiday as

bestastheycouldwithoutfamilyandIrishtea.Swiftwasalsofarfromher

family.Shecalleditthe‘nostalgicoldNinaTwaddleofaday’andlamented,

‘allthosechoiceregretswehaveonDec[ember]25th.’(LaskerFolder259)

But,Swift foundsolace in the fact shewas ‘sodamnednecessary’ toher

new husband.Being needed by those around you, she decided, was the

real ‘payola’. (Lasker Folder 259) O’Connor felt nothing but a burden to

Shields and Fitzgerald. Her choice regrets of December 25thwere not so

easilyallayed.


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That Christmas, there remained the prospect that O’Connor’s

careercouldbesalvagedandherlifeturnedaround.OnStStephen’sDay,

astheIrishcouplestillcalledit,in1941,Shieldswalkeddownthehilltothe

PostOfficetosendawiretoChoate.Itread:

Aideen goes to Vancouver January 6th. A letter as you suggestwouldbeveryhelpfulwriting.Boss.(ShieldsT13/A/154(44))

Therewas littleShieldscoulddotosupporthis lover,butheused

hiscontactstohelpherAmericanvisaapplication.O’Connorhadtotakea

tramandthenatrain,carryingwithherclothesforafewdaysaswellasall

the papers connected with her emigration status. Included in those

carefully guarded papers was a letter from Kay Swift (now Mrs. Faye

Hubbard) addressed to theAmerican CounselGeneral in Vancouver. The

letter certified that Swift ‘enjoys an annual income from a trust fund in

excessof$10,000.’(ShieldsT13/A/467)Swifthadnotsimplyfilledinsome

paperwork to help an old work contact. The trust fund she offered to

support her friendwas set up by her first husband’s parents as a dowry

thatwas to sustainher for life. Shenowhadno financial securityexcept

theWarburg Trust Fund; Swift didn’t hesitate to offer it to O’Connor to

helpherstayinthecountry.

BothShieldsandO’ConnorhadpreviouslyvisitedtheCanadiancity

with the Abbey Company. He particularly enjoyed how it contained

‘interestinglookingorientalpeople’andoffered‘somethingqueeraround

everycorner.’ (FrazierHollywood116)Butthistripwasdifferent,andnot

simplybecauseshewasalone.Theactresslatersaid:

I had a real taste of a country at war in Vancouver. There thepeople were alert 24 hours a day. There were restrictions andpartial blackouts and army life got the first place with civilianssecond. I guess that this will gradually happen here. (ShieldsT13/A/155(3))

O’Connor returned toNorth Cherokeewith the right to residency

for five years under the quota system, but also with ‘rare fevers and

miseries together with shaky legs, high temperature, dizzy head and a


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swollenandfesteredleg.’(ShieldsT13/A/155(3))Thevaccinationsshehad

before leavingforCanadaleftherfeelingthoroughlyunwellandshetook

tobedforanumberofweeks,herhandswaveringaimlesslyoverthekeys

each time she tried to compose a letter. (Shields T13/A/155(3)) Shields

nursedher, but hewasdepressed aboutwork and considering switching

agents to improve his career chances. Eventually, her symptoms passed

andShieldsbegananewroundof thestudios ledbyanewagent.Alone

againduringtheday,sheappliedtotheRedCrossforvolunteerworkand

was disgustedwhen they declined her offer on the basis that she didn’t

knowbraille.ShetoldEddieChoateinJanuary1942:

Well, I ask you! Braille! They are the snuttiest [sic] crowd andseemtobetryingtokeeptheRedCrossforthesocialandmoviecrowdwheneveryoneinthecountryisneeded.(ShieldsT13/A/155(3))

Frequently,O’ConnorwroteaboutWorldWarII.Thereisasenseof

political naivety in her commentary though is she characteristically

practical and frank. Shewrote to Choate about it as early as 1939 from

Dublin and in January1942, she shareda real pride in theBritish forces:

‘Andboy,wasn’tChurchillwonderful inhisspeecheshereand inCanada.

Whattaman!’(ShieldsT13/A/155(3))

SomemonthsafterO’Connorarrived inHollywood,hugeanti-war

rallieswereheld inLosAngeles.Thirty-fivethousandpeoplecrowdedthe

HollywoodBowlandsurroundinghillsides tovoice their resistance to the

fighting. But the industrial and economic boom emanating from the

European conflict generated huge wealth. In October 1939, the US had

signedaNeutralityActtosaythattheywerenotgettinginvolvedinWorld

War2,buton4thNovembertheypassedanamendmenttoallowthemto

sellarmstoEuropeancountries.ByMay1940,Rooseveltwastalkingabout

theUSasan‘ArsenalofDemocracy’.

TheammunitionsfactoriesinCaliforniaoperatedtwenty-fourhours

aday,andnewformsofentertainmentbegantospringupandtothrive,

offeringdowntimeand fun to themilitary services aswell as the factory


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workers.ManyoftheHollywoodmoviestarsandtheatrepeople,including

Kay Swift, became involved in the ‘Hollywood Canteen’. This was a club

offeringfood,dancingandentertainmentforservicemen,usuallyontheir

wayoverseas.Itwasoperatedandstaffedentirelybyvolunteersfromthe

entertainment industry. O’Connor showed no interest in volunteering

there;orshewasn’tconfidentenoughtotryit.

Laterthatyear,O’Connorgrewconcernedabout Ireland’splace in

theconflict:‘Eireisnowsoinsular,socutoffbyherownwillfromcontact

fromtherestoftheworld.’ShewasreadingWilliamShirer’sBerlinDiary.

(ShieldsT13/A/155(9))Theactressswungbetweenferocioushomesickness,

dyingtoescapethecloyingheatandlethargyofHollywood,anddelightto

befreeofAbbeypolitics,conservativeIrishsocietyandfamilyconflicts.She

oftenfeltguiltyaboutherdistancefromthewar,tellingChoate:

WefeelsouselessandSAFEoverhere-withplentyoffoodandclothes and amusement when we ought to be sharing therationingandtheanxietyandtheworkandthehardshipsthatthepeople in Eire are having - orwe should be doing something inEngland.(ShieldsT13/A/154(6))

The letters sent to Choate are neatly typed, dated and with

correctionsandnecessarypunctuationinsertedbyhand.Theyarethework

ofanorganisedandengagedyounglady.Itisintranscribingthelettersshe

wrote during this time that one feels the erratic rhythmof her thoughts

andrepetitivetales.It’sthenonecansensethemoodswingsofsomeone

inebriated. O’Connor’s flurries of affection, fiery outbursts and frank

analysesofeventsaretheonlycluestoherprivatestruggle;thereareno

othersignsofherdrinkinghabitsoranyevidenceofpossibleattemptsby

herself,BarryorArthurtoaddresstheissue.

‘I STILL LOATHE HOLLYWOOD,’ O’Connor wrote in 1942. (Shields

T13/A/155(12)) Tellingly, thiswasn’t a letter home, but a confession she

madetoChoate.WhileShieldswasoftenawayonlocation,orshootingat

the studios, she was at home. The local second-hand bookshops helped

pass time, and her bedroom became a retreat for the slightest hurt or


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injury, but two other places started to figure largely in her days. The

rooftop ofNorth Cherokeewas open to residents, a quiet retreatwhere

one could watch the neighbourhood unseen. Photographs of her here

(fromtheprivatecollectionofChristineShields)showareflectivewoman,

sittingamongpottedplantsintheearlyeveninglight.Theotherrefugeshe

found was entirely devoid of the sunlight that sapped her energy: the

cinemas of Hollywood Boulevard. Alone in the darkness, O’Connor could

immerseherself inanotherworld,orsimplydrinkunnoticed.Herjournals

showthatshewouldattendtwoorthreescreeningsonherownduringthe

week,andthenbringShieldswithher towatchher favouritesoveragain

onhisfreedays.(Journals)

War rationing was increasingly impinging on the Hollywood diet,

but in December O’Connor and Shields arrived at Barry Fitzgerald’s new

house on Gardner Street to share an enormous turkey and British plum

pudding.Outside,thesunwasblazingbutFitzgeraldmanagedtogetsome

logs and created a proper fire inside to remind them of home. (Shields

T13/A/155(15)) Despite the luxuries, O’Connor was not feeling well and

wascapableofdoing little.Ondoctor’sadvice,Shieldsbookedaweek in

theBiltmoreHotelindowntownLosAngelesandtheyleftforaholiday.

The couple returned home to the wet season in Hollywood. The

rain rarely abated, pushing houses into the sea at Malibu and keeping

many awake at night. Temperatureswere also below their normal level.

Despite the damp, O’Connor was refreshed and full of good intentions.

Reflecting that shewas now three and a half years in America, shewas

cheered by the recent ‘grand’ war news and believed ‘things are really

lookingup for the allies.’ (Shields T13/A/155(15)) Shehoped thingswere

lookingup forherself, tellingChoate: ‘I reallyam thoroughlyashamedof

myself’forherlackofletters,andurginghimtohelpherkeepherpromises.

Shesignsofftheletter‘Godblessyou’,asifshewasrelyingonfaithtohelp

fightherdemons.(ShieldsT13/A/155(15))

NewsofthesuddendeathofBazieMageeinOctober1943reached

Hollywoodfasterthanexpectedgiventhewar.Thecouplewastednotime;


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five days later Shields attended his doctor for pre-marital blood tests.

(Shields T13/A/366) There was a quiet wedding ceremony on 10th

November.IfO’ConnordidorganizeaCatholicceremonyinthechurchshe

attendedwhereFr.Coughlanwasparishpriest,Icouldfindnorecordofit.

After years of union, themarriagewas a briefmoment, nomore than a

passingreferenceinalettertoChoate:‘[H]eandIweremarriedlastweek.

We are very happy about it.’ (Shields T13/A/155(19)) The official

arrangementwasaprecursortoothermatters–Shieldswaspreoccupied

with the fate of his son Adam,whowasmoving around between family

membersinDublin.HisprioritywastobringAdamtoHollywood.

Barry Fitzgerald had been a constant presence in her life since

O’Connor’sloveaffairwithShieldshadstabilized.Ifshefeltputoutbyhis

constantpresenceatherdinnertableinNorthCherokee,there’snorecord

ofit.Fitzgerald’scomictalentnotonlybroughthumourintoherhome,but

hisfilmsuccessgavehimanincomethatallowedhimtosupportO’Connor

andShieldswhenneeded.Particularlywhenhisbrotherwasill,Fitzgerald

ensuredthatthecoupleneverwentwithout.ChanceeventsinMarch1944

wouldtestO’Connor’sloyaltytoherbrother-in-law.

One Wednesday evening, O’Connor cooked dinner and prepared

drinks for Shields andhisbrother asusual, before theywavedFitzGerald

offinhiscar.Aroundmidnight,shereceivedacalltosaythatherbrother-

in-law had been in an accident and had been arrested. The Los Angeles

Times reported that Fitzgerald was driving along Hollywood Boulevard

whenhe failed to stopat the junctionof Sycamore Street.Hedidn’t see

twowomancrossing the street;MaryFarrerwaskilledandherdaughter

EdnaTorranceseriouslyinjured.(‘BarryFitzgeraldFacesCourt’A3)

Shields andO’Connorwent straight to the local jail after the call.

Fitzgeraldwasnowarisingstarandthestudioproducersquicklystepped

intosolvetheproblem.JerryGeisler,anexpensiveandwell-knownlawyer

to the stars, was hired to defend Fitzgerald and details on the case still

prove difficult to find. Therewere suggestions that bad lightingwas the

issue; others believe he had been drinking but this was reported as


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unproven.(‘BarryFitzgeraldFacesCourt’A3)Forweeksaftertheaccident,

the couple livedwith themuch-shaken Fitzgerald at his home.O’Connor

reveals little about what she said or how she felt about the incident

althoughitismentionedinlaterletters.(ShieldsT13/A/155(23))

TheaccidentshookallthreemembersoftheShieldsfamilytotheir

core. Ifanythingcould forceO’Connortoreconsiderherdrinkingandthe

lifeshehadcreatedforherself,itwastheeventsofthatnight.Herhealth

problemswerenowanendlesscycleofurgentillness;goodintentionsand

fresh starts; followedby a gradual return to drinking in secret. After the

warended,shehadanewhouse,aprospectivestep-sonandhopesfora

babyofherown.Herdrinkingcontinued.

Two years after the war ended, O’Connor was seven months

pregnantwhenhereighteen-year-oldstepsonAdamarrivedfromIreland.

HewasenrolledatHollywoodHighSchool, to finishhis education. Swift,

who had relocated to Beverly Hills, thought Adam ‘very nice, & his

reactions toAmericaareanythingbutdull.’(LaskerFolder544)Swifthad

visited their homeon SierraBonitaAvenue, andheardof Shields’ career

developments. It caused her to reflect, as cheerful as always: ‘Peoples’

ships do come in, sometimes late. Everything's clicking for Boss, after so

muchhell.’(LaskerFolder544)IfeverythingwasclickingforShields,Swift

hadlittleideahowdesperatelyO’Connorwasstruggling.Swiftwasherself

adrinker,andwasoften taken to taskbyMaryLasker forheroutlandish

behaviourandinabilitytocurbherintake.(WeberEmail)ButSwiftwasan

upbeat,riotousdrunk,giventodanceandsingwhenundertheinfluence.

ThedrinkingofherIrishfriendwasprivateandhermoodsdarker.

FiveweeksafterSwift’sletter,O’Connorgavebirthprematurelyto

adaughter,ChristineFrances.ShewasnamedforShields’mostimportant

role,asChristyMahoninThePlayboyoftheWesternWorld,andforFrolie

(Frances) Mulhern. The dark-haired, blue-eyed baby arrived in a ‘great

rush’. (Shields T13/A/155(28)) Christine was brought home by Arthur

Shields andMae Clarke, a nanny; O’Connorwas kept in hospital for ten

daysforfurthertreatment.Thehousewasnowfull.AswellasAdamand


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MaeClarke,BidShieldsMortishead(Arthur’ssister)andherdaughterUna

arrivedfromIrelandinNovembertovisitandhelpthenewmother.Onthe

dayofherchristening, IrishactressSaraAllgoodstoodashergodmother.

(ShieldsT13/A/155(28)) Laterphotographs fromChristineShield’sprivate

collection show Allgood watching from a distance, smiling, as Christine

toddlesawayfromO’Connor’sarmsintheirnewbackgarden.

The house on Sierra Bonita Avenue was a split-level clapboard

house, not far from their first homeonNorth Cherokee. It had a bright,

open-plankitchen,a roomwhereShieldscouldkeephis stampcollection

andtwobedroomsupstairsundertheeaves.Downstairs,therewasacool,

darkroominthecentreofthehouse,whichthecouplesetupasa‘green

room’. The walls were lined with books and there was a desk for a

typewriterandaneasychair for reading.On the shelves, firsteditionsof

Yeats’poetryandSynge’splayssatalongsidenewfiction.

Shields was working away more and more, as his film career

progressed.Despitethecompanyofhisfamilyandanewbaby,O’Connor

was generally melancholy and pining for him. It isn’t clear how well

O’Connorhidherdrinkingathome,butshewasattendingaphysicianwho

had diagnosed the cause of her stomach pains as cirrhosis of the liver,

denegration of liver tissue generally caused by long-term alcoholism.

(ShieldsT13/A/472) Inamoving letterwritten in January1947,O’Connor

wrotetoherhusbandinNewYorktotellhim,‘AllIwantistobewithyou,

evenifit’sinTimbuctoo’.(ShieldsT13/A/241)Thelettertakesherthrough

dayandnight,keepinghimuptodateonlifeathome.Mondayafternoon’s

entryreads:

IwantedtoflytoNYlastnighttobewithyou–Ikeptverybusy–madeformulalikemadanddidawashsothatIwouldn’tcryintothebathroomtowels.(ShieldsT13/A/241)By6amonTuesday:

Not much sleep as Christine talked most of the night! A colddrearydawn.Longingformycupoftea.Ihavethekettleon.Wishyouwerehere. Ialwaysfeelterriblyaloneandlonely inthecoldearlymornings.(ShieldsT13/A/241)


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TherewasfrustrationthatShieldswasworkingandtravellingsomuch:

‘Boss – look if youwould preferme not to join you at allpleasetellme.’(ShieldsT13/A/241)The truth of a marriage may be impossible to know for anyone

outside the union. Even in O’Connor’s most frustrated, angry and

emotional moments, she loved her husband deeply. She respected his

opiniononeverythingfromthelatestfilmtoherowncareerdevelopment,

and she supported and encouraged his endless round of meetings and

auditionsinDublin,NewYorkandHollywood.Shields’earlynotesshowhis

growingaffectionforO’Connor,butlaterontherearehintsofhispractical

commitment. Throughout their marriage, Shields ensured that while he

was not around, otherswere looking out for her. Choate assisted her in

NewYorkandvariousmembersoftheShieldsfamilycametoHollywoodto

helpwithbabyChristinewhilehewasawayworking.

Shooting for theRenoir filmTheRiver tookplace in India in1950.

WhileShieldswasinCalcutta,hisagentVernonJacobsonhadinstructions

tosuperviseO’Connor’sfinances.Vernon(knownasJake)accompaniedthe

actress to thebankandensuredshehadsufficientcashbeforearranging

his own commission, and sending money on to his client. Once, he

overlookedhisowndebtsratherthanleaveO’Connorshort.Inhisletterto

Calcuttahesaid,‘Arthur,Ididn'ttakeanyofthe$2,869.33…I'llwaituntilI

gettheothermoney.’(ShieldsT13/A/211(7))Hereportedthat,‘Thefamily

are fineandChristine is reallygrowingandseems ingreat form.’ (Shields

T13/A/211(7))

Apencillednote inArthur’sdiaryforaSunday inMay1950reads,

‘Learned of Aideen’s illness’. (Shields T13/A/372(10))He had returned to

Hollywood after shooting finished in late April, to learn his wife’s illness

was now fatal. He knew of her alcoholism, but perhaps hoped all her

visitorswouldhelpmoderateherdrinking.Choateservedashisconfidante.

Shieldswrotetohim:‘Itisallhopeless,andthesoonerGodtakesthepoor

thing,theeasieritwillbeforher’.(ShieldsT13/A/156)


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On the other side of the Atlantic, Vincent Paul O’Connor and his

daughterswerealsodealingwiththisshockingnews.AslateasJune1949,

theirneighbour,MaireJudge,onlydaughterofCroweandMcCormick,had

beenexchangingletterswiththeactress.JudgesentgossipfromtheGate

Theatre (where she worked) and family news; O’Connor sentHollywood

Reportermagazineandsharedtit-bitsofher‘glamorous’lifeinLosAngeles.

(Shields T13/A/450) Her sisters missed (or ignored) any clues that

O’Connor was an alcoholic. Until the very end, she presented to certain

peopleasavivaciouswomanlivinganidylliclifeinthecityofdreams.

O’Connorhadspentmuchtimeinthe‘greenroom’atSierraBonita

andnowherbedwassetupthere.Christinehasanearlymemoryofbeing

broughtintothedarkroom,cryingwithfearandaninstinctthatsomething

wasdeeplywrong.Hermotherwasadmittedtohospitalshortlyafterthat

painfulmoment. (Christine Shields) Therewas no possibility ofO’Connor

seeingherfatherorsistersagain.Foryears,theactresshadabhorredthe

fussofAmericanholidays. In1950, as IndependenceDaydawnedon the

4thofJuly,sheslippedaway.Shewasthirty-sixyearsoldandonherdeath

certificate,shewasdeemeda‘housewife’.(ShieldsT13/A/472)

Therewas‘generalsorrow’intheAbbeyTheatrewhennewsofher

passingreachedDublin.(ShieldsT13/A/252(1))EileenCrowewasaskedto

speak to the press, andmass was offered at the Pro-Cathedral. In their

homeatSierraBonitaAvenue,Shieldswasbereft.His sisterBidwroteof

hersadnessandadvisedhe‘mustjustbattleitoutandthinkofChristine’.


InSeptember2011,ChristineShieldsandItogetherpacedthehills

of Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City in the noonday sun to find her

mother’sgrave.The twohundredacresofparchedgrassaredottedhere

and there by low, gnarly trees and criss-crossed by lines of small, neat

plaques.ChristineShieldsdidn’tvisitmuchgrowingupand theO’Connor

familyneversawAideen’sgrave.ArthurShieldschosetobeburiedwithhis

brother in Deans Grange Cemetery in Dublin; Aideen O’Connor rests in

Culver City alone.Whenwe found it,weused tissue andwater to scrub


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from the surface moss that blurred the stencilled letters. The standard

plaquebarelyfitsanameanddate,butheretherearetwonames.Sheis

buried as ‘UnaMary Shields (1913 – 1950)’ and then, in brackets, is the

name ‘AideenO’Connor’. The twonames symbolise the facetsofher life

she never managed to merge successfully: the desire to perform

professionallyasAideenandtofindpersonalfulfilmentasUna.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that O’Connor’s life story comes with a tragic

ending; it isastoryof loss.Andyet, thischapterservesasanexampleof

howfragmentaryarchivescanbere-constituted,toallowanarrativetobe

drawnorcreated.Thequestionbecomes:doesthisre-constitutedarchive

achievesomething?Aspreviouslyreferenced,KathleenGoughsetsoutthe

challengeof reading theobjective realityof Irishwomenseparately from

their allegorical images and metaphoric constructions. (7) It may be

impossibleto locatearealbodyinanarchive,but it ispossibletoexpose

theprocessofconstructionandtoputtherealityofwomen’slivesindirect

confrontation with the metaphoric constructions of the dramatic

characterstheyplayed,asI’veattemptedhere.Thisallowsbiographytobe

aparticularformofhistoriography.

I argue that the process of constructing a narrative such as this

allowsforacelebrationofO’Connor’shumanfeatures:herdetermination,

focusanddevotiontohercraft.Intandemwithsimilarstudiesofthelives

of the other women in the company, it also allows for the exposure of

fundamentaltruthsaboutIrishtheatre,societyandattitudestowomenin

the 1930s. O’Connor was repeatedly punished for behaviour deemed

outside of standards at the National Theatre. She was a real woman:

complexandflawed,challengedandchallenging.Thisisnotahagiography,

butthepresentationofavitalIrishwomanandactressinallherfacetsand

ofhowthepartssheplayedimpactedheroff-stagereality.


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Asquoted inChapter1,Yeatsfeared itwas ‘almost impossiblefor

ustofindapassionatewomanactressinCatholicIreland.’(FrazierBehind

188)Otherwomen,Yeatsinsisted,

havefarmoresensitiveinstrumentsarefarmoreteachableinallthatbelongstoexpressionbuttheylacksimplicityoffeeling,theirmindsaretoofulloftrivial ideas,andtheyseldomseemcapableofreallynoblefeelings.(FrazierBehind188)

O’ConnorwasaCatholicwhorepeatedlydisplayedherpassionatenature.

Throughout her working life, she engaged with scripts, writers and

directorsinawaythatprovedherintelligenceandhercapacitytoabsorb

anddebateideas.InhertrainingattheAbbeySchool,andlaterinherwork

ontheUKandAmericanstage,herphysicalitydevelopedandshemastered

theuseofhersexualitytoexpandheractingrange.Yet,itwasthispassion

and her exposure of amore liberated sexuality that led to her exclusion

fromtheAbbeyCompanyandtoheremigration.Shewaspunishedinher

career,herambitionsthwarted,forherbehaviouroffthestage.Forallof

Yeats’despair,histheatrecouldnotescapetherepressiveatmosphere in

Irish society.By themiddleof the1930s, it refused to countenance such

expressionsoffemininityandpromptlyostracizedsuchwomenormadeit

cleartherewasnofuturefortheminIreland.

O’Connorcouldnot,andwouldnot,countenanceacareeroralife

forherselfthatdidnotincludeperforminginthetheatre.Shewaspartof

thefirstwaveof Irishwomentoriskaprofessionalcareerasaperformer

by demanding her personal life be kept separate from her work. She

soughttobeacceptedinAmericaasanactress,notjustan‘Abbeyplayer’

withafamiliarrepertoireofnationalstereotypes.Shesetapaththathas

oftenbeen travelled sinceby Irish actresses seeking success and fame in

Hollywood. In this light, thatAideenO’Connorultimately failed tohavea

long-lasting or what is conceived as a ‘successful’ performance career

becomes less important than the fact she resolvedand followed through

on her decision to ‘stick to the stage for good or evil now.’ (Shields

T13/A/437)

Chapter4:FrolieMulhern(1907–1939) CiaraO’Dowd

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Chapter4:FrolieMulhern(1907–1939)

Introduction

As set out in my introduction, this dissertation seeks to explore

various female lives in the Abbey Theatre Company of the 1930s. Frolie

Mulhernwasagirl fromanupper-class familywithagift forcomedyand

mimicrythatbroughtherhugepopularityinIrelandandAmerica.Herclose

friendshipwithAideenO’Connorhasbeendetailed inChapter3,but this

chapterfocusesonMulhern.Theirtraining,performingandpersonal lives

consistently intertwined and overlapped, but Mulhern’s life story, while

brief,warrantsinclusionasaseparatesection.Thebrevityofthissectionin

relationtotheotherchaptersreflectsthatMulhern’slifeandcareerwere

short;buthercontributiontothehistoryofIrishtheatreisnonethelessrich

andvitaltoconsideringaspectrumoffemaletheatricallives.

ManyoftheAbbeyTheatreactressesofthe1930skeptscrapbooks

as they toured, piecing together newspaper cuttings, gluing photos and

programmes into place. 10 They worked on their scrapbooks in hotel

bedroomsbetweenshowsorclenchingthemontheirkneesinrockingtrain

carriages.Cominghome,theybroughtheapsofpaperfoldedintotheback

of the books to be sorted and smoothed. It was a task as well as a

memento, a shaping as well as a sharing of theirmemories and stories.

Thebooksserved,professionallyandpersonally,asevidentialproofoftheir

hardworkandsuccess.Ontheinsidecoverofonesuchscrapbooknowin

the National Library of Ireland, the name ‘Frolie Rutledge-Mulhern’ is

inscribedinaloping,youthfulhand.Mulhern’scurationofherscrapbookis

intrinsictounderstandingthearchiveitholds.

The first page of that scrapbook contains a black and white

headshot. (Scrapbooks NLI Mss 25,511 – 23) The newspaper photo

captures the star of this scrapbook: a dark-haired, sallowwomanwith a

10MayCraig’sscrapbookisintheUCDArchiveswithherpapers;O’Connor’sisintheShieldsFamilyPapersatNUI,Galway.ItismyunderstandingthatMulhern’s


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roundfaceandmoltenbrowneyesthatrevealedmuchevenwhenshewas

silent.(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511–23)She’sinhertwenties,butthere’s

an innocence and openness in her expression, as if the photographer’s

attention has startled her. On the next page is a newspaper photo of

CaptainFrederickAherne,aFreeStateOfficerinuniform.Aherneissitting

astride his horse and grinning, celebrating his win at an international

militaryjumpingcompetitionontheseconddayoftheRDSHorseShowin

Ballsbridge, Dublin. That photograph helps date the scrapbook to the

autumnof1934.Astrange insertion inthismiscellanyof theatrenews, it

nonethelessassistsinfillingoutMulhern’sbackgroundandunderstanding

herpersonality.

FamilyandBackground

Frances Mulhern was born in Enniskillen, County Monaghan in

1907. (Census 1911) The baby of the Mulhern family quickly became

knownasFrolietoherfiveoldersistersandoneolderbrother;thename

stuck. She began her scrapbook when the Abbey Company took her on

tour to theUS for the first time in 1934.Mulhern and AideenO’Connor

weredubbed the ‘babiesof the company.’ (ShieldsT13/A/437)O’Connor

wastwenty-one;Mulherntwenty-sevenyearsold.Therewasanaivetyto

bothwomen,whostilllivedathome.Bothhadonlyonesurvivingparentin

Dublin.

Although close to thirty years of age, Mulhern had never lived

away fromhome. Leavingon tour, shepackedher bags in ‘Belvedere’, a

luxurioushomeontheupmarketAilesburyRoad,underthewatchfuleyeof

her mother, Bridget. Bridget Mulhern had been widowed before her

youngest daughter turned four. (Census 1911) She buried her husband

James in Enniskillen, and transplanted to Dublin tomanage his business

affairsandensureapropereducationforhersevenchildren.Aformidable

familydonatedherscrapbooktotheAbbeyTheatreafterherdeathanditsubsequentlytransferredtotheNationalLibraryofIreland.


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businesswomanaswellasastrongmaternalpresence,shecarriedonthe

managementofherhusband’ssubstantialbottlingcompany.

Mulhern’s elder sisters went to boarding school, but Frolie—the

youngest andweakest—was kept close to home. Shewas educated at a

Sacred Heart convent, near to the city centre, but came home in the

evenings to share her funny stories and try out her mimicry. Mulhern

didn’t need to earn a living, but it was expected that she learn to be a

respectable Catholic lady, tomix in the right social circles, and tomarry

well.Whilemanyofhersisterswentontouniversity,shejoinedtheAbbey

School of Acting in 1929. If she were to devote her life to acting, her

motherensureditwouldbeinarespectableculturalinstitution.

Itdidn’ttakeMulhernlongtograduatefromWilliamFay’sevening

lessonsintheAbbeySchooltoafull-timepositionintheCompany.InApril

1930, she appeared in the premiere of George Shiels’ comedy The New

Gossoon. Directed by Arthur Shields, she played Mag Kehoe. In Shiels’

scriptofTheNewGossoon, this servantgirl isdescribedas ‘Acoarsegirl,

with dirty bobbed hair, about thirty-five years old.’ (133) The comedy

openswithMagenteringthestageand‘flingingasideheroldsun-bonnet’.

(Shiels133)Shesays:

Curseson themand theirhay! Iwish therewasn't ahay-field inbroadIreland.(Shewipesherfaceandneckwithacloth.)I'llbeasredasacrab,andpeeledlikeanonion...(Shiels133)

Shegoeson,complainingaboutherlot:

They’ve keptmeworking in the hayfield towithin an ace of sixo’clock,andnowI’veadaysworktodobeforebedtime.Cowstomilk and calves to feed and pigs to feed, and potatoes towashandboilforto-morrowmorning.ThemanthatfreedtheblacksinAmericashouldbePresidentofIreland...(Shiels133)

TheNewGossoonwas a huge hit for the Abbey Company, accumulating

one hundred and eighty-eight performances between 1930 and 1951 as

wellasbeingastaplepartoftherepertoireonAmericantours.


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Throughout her career, Mulhern would continue to play the

customary servant girl, or ‘homely colleen’ role. A review of Nineteen

TwentybyFXO’Leary in1933declaredthat, ‘thehonoursmust toFrolie

Mulhern for a very amusing rendering of Liz Ann, the servant girl’.

(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511-23)ShealsoplayedBabyinLennoxRobinson’s

playTheWhite-HeadedBoy,thecharacterbeingdescribedas‘agreatlump

ofagirl’inthescript.(69)

Mulhern did not only play wholesome servants; she did handle

more tendentious matter. The role of prostitute Rosie Redmond in The

PloughandtheStars,describedbytheplaywrightas‘asturdy,well-shaped

girloftwenty;prettyandpertinmanner,’(O’Casey161)stillcamewithan

air of controversy when she took it on in 1934. It had lost the aura of

licentious danger Ria Mooney confronted in the 1920s, but Mulhern’s

religious family knew the history of the character and the play. It was a

significantdevelopmentinhercareerwhenshewascastintherole.

ToreturntomystudyofMulhern’sscrapbookanditsphotographs:

ThereisnoevidencethatCaptainFrederickAherne,theFreeStateOfficer

withprideofplaceinherscrapbook,wasarelativeoftheMulherns,orthat

his military career connected him in any way to the actress. This

suppositionwasconfirmedbyMaryMcCullough,nieceofMulhern.Horse

ShowWeekwasanimportanteventintheDublinsocialcalendar,withthe

Abbeystagingacarefully-selectedrepertoireintheeveningsandarranging

socialoutingstotheshowforthecompanyduringtheweek.Themilitary

equitationteamwerethesocialcelebritiesofthemoment.Ontopoftheir

athleticprowess, the teamboastedmilitarydiscipline.As representatives

ofthenewIrishFreeState,theyweretheprotectorsoftheIrishrepublic.

Theseweremenlookingtothefuture,whilemaintainingtheirsocialstatus

andrespectablefamilybackgrounds.Attheannualouting,Abbeyactresses

had seats in the best stands, the perfect view to admire the horses and

theirriders.


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AsdetailedinChapter3,theAbbeyTourofAmericathatbeganin

the autumn of 1934 was to be ‘one of the largest theatrical tours on

record’.(ShieldsT13/A/108(1))O’Connorhadnegotiatedasalaryof£310

shillings a weekwith Abbeymanagement butMulhern remained on the

sumof£2aweek.Shemayhavereliedonherfamilyforassistancewhen

sheneededfunds.AfterBoston,thecompanyspentamonthinCanadian

and eastern cities including Montreal, Toronto, Ohio and Detroit before

appearingonBroadway.ItwasherethatthepathsofFrederickAherneand

Mulhern would cross again. When the Abbey Company arrived in New

York, the IrishMilitary Teamwere also in the city, representing the Irish

FreeStateinanequestriancompetition.

MaxSteinoftheCincinnatiPostdeclaredtheAbbeyproductionsof

1934 to be ‘Romantic,Weird’, but the performances were a resounding

success. (Scrapbooks NLI Mss 25,511 – 23) Cocktail parties and dinners

wereheld inhonouroftheIrishplayersandO’ConnorandMulhernwere

regularlyinsocialcolumns.(ShieldsT13/A/437)Itmayhavebeenthatthe

New York cocktail parties celebrated the Irish sporting and dramatic

prowess together, or that the Irish came together when they had a

reprievefromperformingtosocialiseandcomparehomewiththebuzzof

New York City. If, as I propose, there was a romantic entanglement

between Mulhern and Frederick Aherne, the couple didn’t have long

togetherinthesamecitybeforetheAbbeyCompanymovedon.

WhentheChicagoHeraldannouncedasupperdancewouldbeheld

after a performance at the Harris Theatre with ‘Aideen O’Connor to be

toastoftheevening’,Mulhernmighthavebeenirritatedbytheattention

heapedonO’Connor,astheblondeingénue.(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511–

23)Givenherspiritedpersonalityandsenseofhumour,it’slikelyshewas

amused. The girls shared a bedroomon that tour. As spring arrived, the

actresseswereinSanFranciscoandO’Connorwrotetohersisters:

Iamtypingthisatanopenwindowofmybedroom,Froliehasjustleft the room likea younghurricane tohaveherhairdone, and


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when she comes back we are going to do a bit of shopping, amovieanddinnersomewherebeforetheshow.(ShieldsT13/A/437)The hurricane-like Mulhern was easily roused by the stubborn

O’Connor, but the arguments blew over as quickly as they ignited. They

had a close but tempestuous relationship, sharing confidences and

covering one another’s parts when illness struck, joking and giggling,

rowing and making up again. During their stay in Los Angeles, the two

women went shopping with film star Maureen O’Sullivan, ‘in Bullocks

Wiltshire, the rendezvous of all the stars.’ (Shields T13/A/437) Despite

O’Sullivan’s shyness, they all ‘became great friends.’ (Shields T13/A/437)

PhotographsoftenshowMulhernwithacigaretteinonehandandadrink

intheother.Sheenjoyedsocialisingasmuchasperforming.

The Chicago Herald deemed Mulhern and O’Connor ‘pert and

capable’.(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511-23)Theyviedforpressattention,yet

given theirphysical attributesandacting styles theydidnot compete for

characterroles.Inastrangetwist,theirusualrolesweresubvertedin1934,

whenO’Connorwas cast as the servant girl Helena inDramaat Inishby

Lennox Robinson. The play, which was re-titled Is LifeWorth Living? for

Americanaudiences,pokes funatprovincial towns ‘blue-mouldy forabit

of innocent scandal’,at theatrecompaniesandatacting itself. (Robinson

211) Mulhern played Christine Lambert, ‘a capable-looking, handsome’

accountant,whoisspurningtheadvancesofayoungmantoconcentrate

onthebooksofa local factory.(Robinson203)TheplotteachesChristine

thatthereismoretolifethanwork.Asthecurtainfell,shewasinajoyful

dance with her new husband. Such a happy ending would be denied

Mulherninherotherrolesandinherpersonallife.


O’Connor,MooneyandMulhernarewalkingthedeckslikeRussianpeasantswithkerchiefsovertheirheads.(HigginsNLIMss27,883(7))


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Mulhern andO’Connor attended the luncheon to launch the new

UStourintheHibernianHotelonDawsonStreetintheautumnof1937,as

seasoned travellers and performers. (Shields T13/A/561(17)) Hugh Hunt

presentedeachoftheladieswithabunchofflowersatWestlandRowtrain

station, where they departed on the train for Belfast. (Saddlemyer 491-

492) Travelling on the Samaria, Higginswas irritated by the snobbery of

muchofthecompany,butMulhernwasoneofthefouractorshechoseas

allies. (Higgins NLI Mss 27,883(7)) She had a sense of humour but in

Higgins’eyesshealsohadproperbreedingandsubstantial familywealth.

The other actors he respected were Paddy Carolan, Dossie (Udolphus)

WrightandMaureenDelany.

Maureen Delany was a large-framed comedienne originally from

Kilkenny;insizealoneherpresenceonthestagewasimmense.11Dorothy

Daytondescribedher in theNewYork Sun inDecember1934as a ‘witty

and altogether delightful spinster’,who, off stage, lived alone and had a

deeplysuperstitiousstreak.(‘Maureen’)Higginswasn’ttheonlyonetopair

herwith the youngMulhern. On tour in the US, newspapers speculated

that shouldDelany stay inHollywood topursueamoviecareer,Mulhern

wouldmoveintohersubstantialroles.(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511-23)The

womenshareda talent for comedy,but, ifothersexpected it, there’sno

evidenceMulhernwantedafuturesimilartothatprofferedbyDelany.

MulhernandO’Connorweredelighted tobeon touragain.There

had been increasing conflict backstage at theAbbey by the Christmas of

1936,butwhileO’Connorcouldn’tseemtoavoidgettinginvolved,Mulhern

was tactful,diplomaticandusedherhumour todispel tensions.Mulhern

doesn’tappearonthecastlistforthepremiereofShadowandSubstance

written by Paul Vincent Carroll inMarch 1937, but the star of that play

Phyllis Ryan rememberedMulhern as a ‘quirky young comedienne’ who

whisperedandconspiredwithO’Connorinthedressingroom.(Ryan74)

11HerphysicalattributesareinevidenceinphotographsofDelanyintheAbbeyTheatreDigitalArchiveandShieldsPapers,bothatHardimanLibrary,NUIGalway.


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Despite their new maturity, O’Connor and Mulhern still found a

hugeamountofexcitementanddelightintheirtravels.O’Connortoldher

sister,‘FrolieandIarestillgettingalongtogether,’butadded,‘Wehavea

few rows now and again butwe alwaysmake it up in no time’. (Shields

T13/A/441)WhentheyreprisedtheirrolesinRobinson’sTheFar-OffHills,

onereviewercommentedthatMulhernwas ‘notquiteso littlenow’,and

was displaying ‘her indisputable development as a comic actress’. Her

figurehadexpandedwithnewcurves;sheworeslacksandsunglassesoff

stage and was becoming known for her comic lampooning of famous

figures. O’Connor was noted to be ‘still little’ and a ‘juvenile joy’.

(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511-23)

Robinson’s domestic comedy The Far-Off Hills had been in the

repertoireoftheAbbeyCompanysinceitpremieredinOctober1928,with

Shelah Richards and Kitty Curling playing the sisters. Mulhern, cast by

Robinson while she was still studying at the Abbey School, took on

Richards’ role of Pet later that year.Mulhern initially appearedwith the

actress Susan Hunt, who left the Company after two years. Aideen

O’ConnortookovertheroleofDuckyin1934anditremainedoneofher

favourite plays for the next five years. The success of their on-stage

partnership in The Far-Off Hills owed something to the close, if

tempestuous, friendship of Mulhern and O’Connor. Many of the

newspapers commented on their talents, with C. J. Bulliett declaring a

lengthy scenebetween them inTheFar-OffHills tobe ‘oneof themajor

delightsofthewholerepertory’.(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511-23)

Thescene,inthesecondactofTheFar-OffHills,thattakesplacein

thegirls’bedroom,‘asimpleprettyroom’,wherethetwobedsaresideby

sidewith ‘their ends towards the audience’ has been discussed in full in

Chapter 3. (Robinson 33) Ducky, played by Aideen, was the seventeen-

year-old elder sister who is reading in bed while sixteen-year-old Pet

(Frolie)brushesherhairbycandlelight.Whentheyperformedthecomedy

inTorontoajournalistreported:


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The fun-loving younger sisters, Pet and Ducky, played by FrolieMulhern and Aideen O’Connor respectively, were bothbewitchingandperfectfoilsforoneanother.(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511-23)

If Mulhern was feeling frustration at playing a girl almost half her age,

there was no sign of it on stage. The same high-spirits and youthful

exuberancethattheyshareintheirrealhotelroomsenchantedaudiences.

Frederick Aherne, respectable military man, disappeared into the

wingsafterthefirsttourtobereplacedbyasuitorfarless‘suitable’toher

family. Elbert Wickes, the American producer for the second tour, is a

regular character in O’Connor’s letters, having an early breakfast on the

train or huddlingwith stagehands. In a photo of the girls on the railway

platform,asmartgentlemansitsbetweenMulhernandO’Connor;hisface

is hidden. (Shields T13/B/327) Another photo, taken from the ‘sidewalk’,

showsasmilingMulhern,inashort-sleeveddress,hangingoutthewindow

of a hotel room, possibly the Hotel Clark in Los Angeles. To her right,

further back, is Wickes himself. (Wickes Box 4) Such hints could be

meaningless,butin1939O’ConnorrevealedtoproducerEddieChoatethat

MulhernandWickeswere‘verymuchinlove’.(ShieldsT13/A/150(41))

Wickes managed all of the Abbey tours. He was a well-known

theatrical impressario by 1937, and he remained a manager of lecture

tours for world-class celebrities up until 1949. But while Mulhern and

Wickessharedmuchintermsoftheatre,theirbackgroundscouldnothave

beenmoredifferent.Mulhern’straditionalCatholicupbringingwasworlds

awayfromWickes–aMormonwhoalreadyhadawifeandtwochildren.

There’snoevidencetosuggestWickestookhisMormonismseriously,but

toMulhern’sfamilyitwasanexoticreligionwithrumoursofmanywives.

In San Francisco in the spring of 1938,Mulhern accompanied Ria

MooneytoaChineseTemple.Whentheyarrived, ledbyasweetChinese

girlcalledRose,andsawtheHighPriestwithhis‘shabbycoatandshabbier

cap’,theyrealisedthiswasaperformanceofitsownkind,buthandedover

their dollars anyway. (Mooney Part 1 116) Joss sticks were lit before


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strange images and gods invoked in a strange tongue while the women

kepttheirheadsdown,resistingtheurgetolaughorcoughintheairthick

with incense. The High Priest rose from kneeling and opened scrolls, at

random,toreadpassagesaloud.Heexchangedwordsinagravetonewith

Rosebeforetheritualconcluded.(MooneyPart1116)

Outside,MooneypressedRoseforanexplanationofthemessage.

In curiously-accented English, the girl reluctantly revealed that the High

PriesthadforetoldofMooney’sdeathwithinayear.Thegirlwassad;she

heldoutherhand.Mooneylaughed;Mulhernjoinedin.Bothbelievedthe

HighPriestwasnothingbuta‘money-makingracket’.(MooneyPart1116)

AftertheAbbeyTourof1937/8

Despite the fact she had leftWickes behind,Mulhern appears to

havesettledbackintotheAbbeyTheatrewhenthetourendedmoreeasily

than her best friend. On O’Connor’s return, her dispute with her father

continued to rage and she had to seek somewhere else to live.Mulhern

waswelcomedbacktoAilesburyRoad,where(accordingtohernieceMary

McCullough), teasing comments were made about her slacks and she

unpacked presents of candies and toys for her brood of nieces and

nephews.ShealsovisitedfamilyinEnniskillen,stayedthereforsometime

‘renewing old friendships and adding, if that were possible, to her

widespreadpopularity.’(‘PopularAbbeyActress’)

InDublin,MulhernagainplayedRosieRedmondinThePloughand

theStarsinitsrevivalattheAbbeyinOctober1938.Shecontinuedtoget

comic roles innewproductions.O’Connor toldChoateof seeingMulhern

appear in a newplay by J. K.Montgomery calledHeritage,declaring her

friend’s portrayal as a movie-struck servant to be ‘grand’. (Shields

T13/A/150(41))Mulherncontinuedtosmoke,drinkandentertainendlessly

with her uncanny impressions, but others in the company had come to

knowthatshewasweakandattendingadoctor.(ShieldsT13/A/150(30))

InearlyOctober1938,Mulhernwascast inPilgrims,aplaybythe

first-time playwright Mary Rynne. Educated in London but now living in


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Clare,Rynnewasaprolificfictionwriter.MulhernplayedKittyBrady,who

enters in the first act ofPilgrims ‘amidst applause fromoutside. She is a

pretty,gigglingsmall-townMiss;even inheruniformshe looks“dressy”.’

(Rynne Mss Act 1)Kitty is a society girl, who joins a pilgrimage to Italy

hoping foramiracle: topass thematriculationexamshehas failed three

timesandsobeabletoenteruniversity.Herpetitionisnotgranted;they

learnthatonlythefirstvisitorwillbesuccessfulandtheyallowthistobe

the youngNano. Brady doesn’t gain exam success, but is pleasedby the

male attention she receives during her travels. In the final scene of

Pilgrims,KittyandtheCaptainthatledthepilgrimagehaveanexchange:

KITTY. Idoverywellonmyown.CAPTAIN. You don’t. You couldn’t. You need protection,

assistance,gentlecorrection–(RynneMssAct3)

Kittyismarriedofftothefifty-somethingCaptain.

Mulhern was more used to comedic roles, but here there was a

definite suggestion that she would not, as others suggested, follow in

Maureen Delany’s footsteps. Instead, shewas showing an ability to play

the romantic heroine or give a fresh interpretation to the depiction of

youngIrishwomen.Herrangewasbroadeningandtechniquedeveloping.

The Irish Independentcritic singledher out saying, ‘I havenever enjoyed

FrolieMulhernmorethanIdidinherstudyofKitty.’(‘EnnisWoman’sPlay’)

O’ConnorwasnotinPilgrimsandthesamemonth,HuntrecastThe

Far-OffHills,replacingO’ConnorwiththenewcomerPhyllisRyan.Mulhern

retainedherrole.Ateighteen,PhyllisRyanwasmoresuitableforthepart

thaneitheroftheothertwowomen,yetitwasaslighttoO’Connortobe

pushedout.Mulhernwasinanawkwardsituation,buthercareerwastoo

important toher torefusethepart.ShegiggledandconspiredwithRyan

bycandlelightinthebedroomsetting.

The following spring, Mulhern was approached by Arthur Shields

abouttakingaroleinaNewYorkproductionofPaulVincentCarroll’splay

Kindred.Henoted: ‘She isverykeentowork in theStatesagain.’Hewas

certain that ifMulhern got a firmoffer ofwork that shewould go back.


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(ShieldsT13/A/150(27))Yet,astimepassed,heworriedaboutherstrength

andnotedherfamilywereintentonkeepingherathome.

Onenewspapercuttinginherscrapbookgivesauniqueglimpseof

Mulhern as an, ‘accomplished diseuse,’ in her family hometown of

Enniskillen inAugust1939. (ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511-2337)There,she

performed in an evening of vaudeville entertainment, of ‘mystery,music

and mirth’ where her dramatic talents ‘charmed and pleased’ the local

audience.(ScrapbooksNLIMss25,511-2337)Atthepackedevent,inaidof

the parochial bazaar, Mulhern was obliged to recite ‘no fewer than six

pieces,’withher‘imitationofthedialectandmannerismsofthepeopleof

home and foreign countries being exceptionally clever.’ (ScrapbooksNLI

Mss25,511-23)HertouringoftheUSleftalastingimpression;inherown

way,sheintroducedWickesandherotherAmericanfriendstoherfamily.

Close to Christmas in 1939,O’Connorwas inNew Yorkwhen she

receivednews fromDublin.FrolieMulhernhaddiedon17November,at

her homeonAilesbury Road. The newswas delayed reaching across the

Atlantic:WorldWarIhadbrokenoutinSeptemberofthatyear.According

to Christine Shields, an entry in O’Connor’s diary shows that she was

devastated to have lost such a close friend, and to have missed the

opportunitytopayherrespectsatthefuneral.(ChristineShieldsEmail)

Mulhern’snieceMaryMcCulloughsaid inan interviewthat family

storiesreportthatFroliediedsuddenlyandquietlyonaFridayevening,her

heart giving out as she sat at the firewith hermother.However, others

suggestthattherewereunderlyinghealthproblems,mostprobablyTB.In

thedeathnoticepublishedthenextday,therewasalonglistofmourners.

The large collection of clerics in the grieving extended family confirms

Aideen’scommentsabouttheMulherns’religiousbackground.(‘LateMiss

Mulhern’) Shewas buriedwith her father in Enniskillen. In the obituary,

TheIrishIndependentsaidofhercareer:

Her high ideals, courage and good humour adorned all sheundertook, and the Company will be the poorer for her death.(‘DeathofAbbeyActress’)


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TheFermanaghHeraldchosetoemphasiseherreligiousfaith:She was a splendid type of sterling Catholic young lady,exemplifyinginhighdegreethehighestqualitiesofamemberoftheCatholicChurch.(‘PopularAbbeyActress’)

For this newspaper, her embodiment of a religious lady, adhering to the

teachingsoftheCatholicChurch,wasmoreimportantthanhercareer.

Mulhern and O’Connor parted when O’Connor took the train to

Cobh in the summer of 1939.Mulhernwas then considering joining her

friend in New York. She may have held onto dreams of reuniting with

Wickes, and appearing on Broadway again. News of war in Europe was

imminent; America was notionally a safer place to be than Dublin. Yet

Mulhern’s health was fragile. She needed the care and attention of a

doctorandherprotectivefamilywereagainstherdeparture.

Hunt’sofficialhistoryofthetheatre,TheAbbey: Ireland'sNational

Theatre1904–78,omitsanyreferencetoMulhern’sdeath,or indeedto

heracting.Hollowayremarkedonherpassinginhisdiary—threedaysafter

herdeath.Hedescribedheras: ‘fullofthejoyof lifeandshecarriedthat

joyintoherpartsonstage’andsaid,‘Boththecompanyandtheaudience

loved her.’ (Hogan and O’Neill Volume 3 38) Holloway’s assessment of

Mulhernafterherdeathincludedthefollowingcomment:

I likedbothherself andherplayingverymuch indeedandoftenthoughtonherfameinthedaystocome,forshehaditinhertoexcelasanactressofraregifts.(HoganandO’NeillVolume338)

ThereisfaintdamnationinHolloway’sassessmentthatshe‘hadit inher’

toproveagiftedactress.Forothers,shewasalreadyagiftedactress.Butit

is truethatsinceherreturn fromtheAbbeyCompany’sAmericantour in

1938,Mulhernwasgrowing in statureand range. Shewaspoisedon the

edgeofaverysuccessfulcareer,richwithpossibilities.Whethershecould

have confronted her family’s conservativism and embraced her

professionalstatus isopentodebate.Her losswouldbefeltbyO’Connor

andotherclosefriends,buttheimpactshemighthavemadewasalossto

Irish theatre audiences that cannot be measured.

Chapter5:RiaMooney(1903–1973) CiaraO’Dowd

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Chapter5:RiaMooney(1903–1973)

Introduction

ThemembersoftheAbbeyCompanyreturningtothetheatrefrom

thesummerbreakin1937werewaitingfordetailsoftheupcomingtourto

America,whentheyreceivedunexpectednews.W.B.Yeats,musingupon

casting in his office over the theatre, decided to make changes in the

repertoireandcasting.AfterconsultationwithHigginsandRobinson,Yeats

putthirty-four-year-oldactressRiaMooneyintotheleadingroleofPegeen

Mike in J. M. Synge’s Playboy of theWesternWorld. It was a delightful

surpriseforMooneyandashocktoothers.

The casting as Pegeen brought much careful deliberation for

Mooney.Withcharacteristicdiligence,shepreparedfortheroleoutsideof

rehearsalsatthetheatre,reflectingonitathomeandovertheweekends

shespentinGlencree,Wicklowwithherlover,Higgins.TheoriginalPegeen

(Margaret Flaherty) had been the actressMaire O’Neill, and O’Neill had

played the sheebeen owner with a glamour and sophistication that

Mooneydidn’tfindfitting.‘IknewIwasnoglamourgirl,’Mooneyadmitsin

hermemoirs,butshedidn’tbelievethistobeadeterrent.(Part266)

Eileen Crowe had brought to the part a sentimental quality,

negatinganyferocity in thecharacter.Ratherthanapetheperformances

ofherpredecessors,Mooneydecidedtomakethecharacterherown.She

found inher readingofSynge’swork ‘ahardandaggressivePegeen’and

she based her interpretation on this. (Mooney Part 2 66) Drawing on

womenshe’dmetontheAranIslandsasinspiration,shedevotedherselfto

presentingatoughpeasantwoman.Thedirector,ArthurShields,wasalso

playingher leadingman,ChristopherMahon.His tall thin frameandpale

facecontrastedstronglywithMooney’sdarkfurywhentheplayopenedon

Monday16thAugust, running for sixnights.At the same time, theharsh

vigour of her language contrasted with the fluid, balletic rhythm she

maintainedwithherfeetunderherlongskirt.(MooneyPart266)


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The second volume of Mooney’s autobiography Players and the

PaintedStageopenswith theadmission,withoutanoteof self-pity, that

‘Noone,however,likedmyperformanceintheSyngeplayexceptYeats–

and Sinclair Lewis.’ (65) Yeats called for her after a performance at the

Abbey Theatre early in that August run. She had withstood the

comparisons toMaire O’Neill from Irish critics and the public, while the

restofthecastwereeitherbemusedorcuriousabouther interpretation.

(MooneyPart265) Itwas thesummons fromYeats that lefther shaking

withanxiety in thedressing room.Shemadeherway towards theoffice,

onlytofindhimsittingonthestepsleadingupstairswithablanketoverhis

knees. His daughter Anne stood over him as she approached. While

Mooneyheldherbreathand feared theworst, hewantedonly topraise

her.(MooneyPart265)Thedisapprovalofthepublicmeantconsiderably

lesswhenthosesherespectedrecognisedandappreciatedherwork.With

Yeats’approval,MooneyheldfasttotheinterpretationofPegeenshehad

developedthroughherownwell-honedtechnique.

Mooney had bravery, a strength of mind that some would call

stubbornnessor,lateron,viewaseccentricity.Thiscouragestemmedfrom

adevotiontotheplays,tothecharactersaswritten,andtotheplaywrights

thatengenderedthem.Itgrewthroughdedicationtoheractingtechnique

and it led her to make artistic and personal choices and decisions that

other Abbey actresses of that time would not or did not consider. The

sectionsthatfollowarenotstrictlychronological,althoughtheytracethe

growthandexpansionofMooney’scraftandwork.Theyworktoshowthe

patterns and motifs in Mooney’s life, and examine the unanticipated

lurches back and forward in her career. Like many life stories, there is

rarely an uncomplicated sequence of cause-and-effect; yet there is a

beautiful and brilliant unity of artistic philosophy inMooney’swork that

hasnotbeenexploredbyIrishtheatrescholarstodate.

PlayersandthePaintedStage:Autobiography

RiaMooney is theonlyactress in thisstudytohavecompiledand


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writtenherownmemoirs.SheworkedwitheditorandwriterValMulkerns

in the late 1960s to produce Players and the Painted Stage. This was

eventuallypublishedinjournalformatintwovolumesofGeorgeSpelvin’s

Theatre Books in 1978, five years after Mooney’s death. Such evidence

provides a valuable source of biographical informationbut a strategy for

readingand interpretingthisevidencemustbecarefullyconsidered.Such

evidence must be tempered by the reading of other sources and by an

understandingofherpersonalityandart, aswell as thecontext inwhich

thememoirwasprepared.

As theatre historian Viv Gardner has explored in her essay ‘By

Herself: the actress and autobiography, 1755 – 1939’, by the twentieth

centuryautobiographiesofactresseswereno longerscandalousmemoirs

full of gossip, but oftenwere ‘a narrative assertionof a professional self

which mirrored the increased confidence, social and theatrical

acceptability and education of the writers.’ (178) The failure to find a

publisher forhermemoirswhenMooneycompleted thework in the late

1960swasablowtoherself-belief.Herautobiography,however,showsa

reticence to proclaim her own accomplishments and to assert the

importanceandingenuityofmuchofherwork.

Scholars, including Gail Marshall, have written of how

autobiographical writing by actresses allows ‘new possibilities of self-

constitution’ and permits these women to ‘reconstitute the body as a

literaryartifact’. (178)ForGardner, ‘Autobiographyhasoftenoffered the

actressanopportunitytoarticulateandnegotiateproblemsofidentityand

identification.’ (‘By Herself’ 175) In Players and the Painted Stage,

Mooney’s writing suggests a reversion to the self-effacing Irish woman

idealizedbytheFreeState.Thetitle isbothatributetoW.B.Yeatsanda

signal of her understanding that shewas aminor part of a greater Irish

literary tradition. The voice and tone represents a naïve and even

superstitiousgirl.EarlyonMooneysays,‘Thisvocationseemedtobethrust

onme.’(Part129)Whileshelaysclaimtobeinggiftedwith‘secondsight’,

her own agency in life decisions is elided. (Mooney Part 1 57) Later,


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Mooneysuggests,‘Perhapsitwasthestrengthofmydesireforchangethat

brought it tome.’(Part 1104) Repeatedly, the gentle, sweet tone belies

herlifeexperience,herstruggles,patienceandhardwork.Italsoconceals

theexposuretolifeinNewYork,andtopoliticalmachinationsintheatres

inDublinandelsewhere,whichmadeMooneyanastute,worldlywoman.

Tracy Davis has noted the highly problematic nature of

autobiographies ‘in part due to women's reluctance to discuss the

machinations of invisible professional forces ... and to mention delicate

personalmatters relating to romantic liaisons and the female life cycle.’

(‘Feminist Methodology’ 64) The entry into self-writing ‘activates the

actress’spublic image,’ and inMooney’s case, thismeant the imageof a

girl sheltered fromevils such as prostitution and suicide. (Corbett 15) By

using her birth date, the 30th April, Mooney adopts the persona of

‘changeling’.ItwasonlyonreachingherthirtiesthatMooneylearntofthe

May Eve changelings: changelings swapped by the fairy folk for children

born on the last day of April. It was a tale that she adopted, a familiar

narrative to explain how she looked somuch like her siblings butwould

leadalifeentirelydifferentfromtheirs.A‘changeling’suggestsamythical

creaturethattouchesonthe‘strangeness’ofhermentorEvaLeGallienne,

withoutbeingassubversive.

Theatre scholar Robert Schanke has written a biography of Le

Gallienne,andsaidthefollowingofhertwoautobiographies:

Certainlytheywerewell-intentioned,butbothareliteraryshrinestoawomanthatEvaalwayswantedtobe,nottothewomanshewas.[…]Shedidanadmirablejobofcamouflagingherselfbehindportraits that rob her achievements of their sinew and texture.(Schankexvi)

The same comments could be made of Mooney’s autobiography. This

thesis,however,aimstoexercisesuchsinewsanddemonstratethetexture

ofherachievements.

Mooney’s depictions of events are fascinating in how the details

work to obscure the people and material reality of events. Instead, she

drawsheavilyoncolourandlight,creatingpainterlyimpressionsofscenes.


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Mooney swallowed any fury she may have felt at powerful figures and

alwaysremainsdiscreetanddignified inheraccountofthehistoryofthe

Irish National Theatre. Often, the structure of the slim volume works

synchronically, focusing in on apparently inconsequential minutiae and

momentsofherlifeuntiltheyexpandtorevealtheirimpactontheoverall

narrative. Such intimate descriptions frequently allow her to conceal or

evadeothercriticalcontexts,includingherownemotionsatmajorpoints.

The biography by James P. McGlone, Ria Mooney: The Life and

Times of the Artistic Director of the Abbey Theatre 1948 – 63, drew

extensively on Mooney’s account of events, supplementing it with

newspaper reviews and limited other third party sources. Its aimwas to

reassert the importanceofMooney’s contribution to Irish theatre,but in

doingsoitascribedheratitlethatsheneverofficiallyheld:ArtisticDirector.

Here,IrefertoMooney’sownaccountofeventsinherlifeineachsection,

butalsoworktoreadbetweenthelinesofher‘literaryperformance’fora

deeperunderstandingoftheturningpointsinherlifeandthefactorsthat

droveandenergizedher.

Writing on actresses and autobiography, Mary Jean Corbett

asserted: ‘Whatever sorts of roles it may recount, an autobiography or

memoir is less an originary act of self-expression than another formally

constrained or determined mode of performance.’ (15) Players and the

Painted Stage does not so much reveal Mooney, as expose that she

performedineverywaytotheendofherlife.

MemberoftheAbbeyTheatreCompany

O’Connor, Mooney and Mulhern are walking the decks likeRussian peasants with kerchiefs over their heads. Delaney issitting reading with sunglasses. Craig and Crowe are in theircabins,nottoowell.(HigginsNLIMss27,883(7))

Pacingthedeckoftheboatinherkerchief,Mooneywassmalland

curvy, with large eyes set deep into a moon-shaped face. In those dark

eyesonecouldstillseetheraven-haired,eight-year-oldgirlpeeringouta


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doorwayonBaggot Street. This girlwatched three gentlemenpassingby

her father’s teashop on Upper Baggot Street and imagined they had

steppedoutofafairytalebook.Herfather,atworkinside,laughedather

question:themenwerefromtheAbbeyTheatre.(MooneyPart19)

CatherineMaria(Ria)Mooneywasbornonthe lastdayofApril in

1903. For this ‘changeling’ growinguponBaggot Street, theupheaval of

the 1916 Easter Rising and the first rumblings of the Civil War were all

sweptupinthesuddendeathofhermother.Mooneywasfourteenyears

oldwhenhermotherpassedaway.Rather than turn topracticalmatters

like assisting with the family teashop business or raising her younger

siblings, shechoseto letherself looseupontheworld. ‘Fromthedaymy

motherdied,Ididexactlywhatpleasedme,’Mooneysaysinhermemoirs.

(Part127)Iftherewasnoonetotellherwhenshewasdoingwrong,there

wasalsonoonetotellherwhenshewasdoingright.Thisliberationpaved

thewayformanyoffutureadventures.

The ‘crimson, gold and cream’ of Madam Rock’s theatre school

performancesentrancedMooneyatanearlyage. (Part112)Hermother

was an amateur actress in her time, and was delighted to watch her

daughterdanceattheGaietytheatreandtheTheatreRoyal.Thissenseof

resplendenttheatricalitymeantthattheAbbeyTheatrewassomethingofa

disappointment when Mooney made her first professional appearance

there.Threadbareanddowdy,thetheatre’sseriousintentionsdidnotyet

extendtodécorandcostume.Attheageoftwenty-one,sheappearedina

leopard-skincoatinGeorgeShiels’comedyTheRetrievers.Alloftheactors

were charged with providing their own costumes; a penurious Mooney

borrowed,alongwiththecoat,adressandhat.Shehadtorelinquishthe

trainingofheryouthforsomethingradicallydifferent.

Madame Rock’s dance training had taught Mooney poise and

rhythm, before she had a basic introduction to acting with the amateur

Rathmines & Rathgar Musical Dramatic Society. At the Abbey, she was

exposedforthefirsttimetothestill,elegantqualityofactingfosteredby

Frank and William Fay. In the early decades of the Company, the Fay


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brotherstrainedalloftheCompanyin‘restraint’and‘teamwork’.(Frazier

Hollywood Irish 59) Derived from the French Conservatoire and André

Antoine’s company, the Théâtre Libre, this style kept the focus on the

languageofthetext,theessenceofaplaywright’stheatre.12

TheanimatedbusinessoftheBritishmelodramawasanathemato

FrankFay,whilea lighttempoofthevoicewascrucial.Hebelievedthere

shouldbenophysicalactionwhileanactorwasspeakingandtheeyesof

theentirecastrestedalwaysonthespeaker,muchlikeaspotlightmoving

from‘star’to‘star’.Despiteherinitialdisappointmentatthelackofcolour,

Mooneyquicklybecamedisciplinedanddevotedtoachievingtheelegance

demanded. Her diction impressedWilliam Fay; she herself describes her

accentas‘affected’,situatedsomewherebetweenherownDublinbrogue

andthepoliteEnglishofherelocutionlessons.(MooneyPart129)

SeanO’Casey’sThePloughandtheStars

WhileMooneywasworkingawayhappilyinminorproductionsfor

theDublinDramaLeagueandother‘Dramic’(hertermforamateurdrama)

productionsinaristocraticdrawingrooms,SeanO’Caseywasworkingona

playentitledThePloughandtheStars.HecompleteditinAugust1925and

sentittoLadyGregorywhodeemedit‘afineplay,terriblytragic.’(Krause

142)Aswashercustom,Gregoryreadtheplayaloudtotheotherdirectors.

WhileshehadnoissuewiththecharacteroftheprostituteRosieRedmond,

O’Caseywaswincing.HewrotetoGabrielFallon:

Itwas rather embarrassing tome tohearher reading the saucysongsungbyRosieandFlutherinthesecondact…(Krause142)

Thereadingover,hesettothinkingaboutcastingandhewonderedaloud

tohis‘buttie’GabrielFallon:

[O]ughtItochanceyoung[Shelah]RichardsforthepartofNora?OrRiaMooney?Whichofthetwowouldyousuggest?(Krause142)

12Bytheearly1930s,themodehaddeterioratedasmoreactorstransferredfromthepopulistdramaattheQueen’sTheatretotheAbbey.Theaudienceknewwhattoexpectfromeachperformerandanticipatedthe‘turn’oftheirfavourite,eagertoseeimprovisation.


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Instagetime,Rosieisnotasubstantialrole,butrehearsingandplayingthe

first prostitute on the stage of the National Theatre would require

significantstrengthofmind,firstlytowithstandtheCatholicpruderyofthe

rest of the cast and secondly to endure thepublic receptionof theplay.

ShelahRichards(fromawell-offProtestantfamily)wasalreadyknownfor

her outspoken nature, but O’Casey had been watching Mooney’s

performancesintently.

Two weeks before he finished The Plough and the Stars, the

playwright had an altercation with M. J. Dolan. O’Casey criticized the

production of Shaw’s Man and Superman on the Abbey’s main stage,

declaringon13thAugustthatactingwasthe‘firstessentialindrama’,and

thattheperformanceswere‘painfullyimperfect’.(Krause139)Hewenton

to tell Dolan that the performers inMan and Superman ‘were all bad

(except Ria Mooney).’ (Krause 139) When O’Casey approached her, he

displayedutterconvictionthatshewastheonlyactressfittoplaytherole.

ShelahRichardswascastasNoraClitheroe.

ThebuildingwasahumwiththelicentiousenergyofO’Casey’splay

byJanuary1926.Upstairsintheoffices,YeatsandRobinsonwerefielding

theanxiousentreatiesofthedirectorate.Dr.GeorgeO’Brien,professorof

economicsatUCD,hadbeenontheboard foronly twomonthswhenhe

wassentacopyoftheplayforhisapproval.Hecouchedhisgrievanceson

5 September 1925 by saying the appearance of a prostitute was ‘not in

itselfobjectionable’butthatO'Casey’sportrayal‘isobjectionable’because

‘The lady’s professional side is unduly emphasized in her actions and

conversation’.(Krause144)WhileO’Brienbelievedchangescouldbemade,

certainelements(inparticularthesong)‘couldnotpossiblybeallowedto

stand’.(Krause144)YeatsandRobinsonrushedtoRosie’sdefence:

[S]heiscertainlynecessarytothegeneralactionandideas...Itisnouseputtingherinifshedoesnotexpressherselfvividlyandincharacter,ifher‘professional’sideisnotemphasised.(Krause146–147)


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Dr O’Brien retained his objections and his fear that the characterwould

inciteaseriousattackonthetheatreprovedprescient.

Downstairsintherehearsalspaces,therewas,asAdrianFrazierhas

described,anembattled‘stand-offbetweenactorsandauthor’.(Hollywood

Irish72) Crowe gave up her part rather than speak about children being

begotten between the Ten Commandments, because of the indirect

allusiontothosethatwerenot.CraigtookthepartafterCroweconsulted

her priest and voiced her decision. McCormick refused to use the term

‘snotty’tohisstagewife.Inasleightofhand,thedirectordiscoveredthat

McCormick’sstagewife,Richards,hadnoproblemwithit;shetooktheline

andmadeitherown.(Infact,whileontourwiththeplayinJanuary1928,

Richardswassigningoffletterstoherhusbandfrom‘yourlittlered-nosed

Norah’ suggesting that she had her own way of softening the term if

decorum required.) (Johnston TCDMss 10066/287/2632) Yeats did insist

that O’Casey removemany of the ‘bitches’, but allowed one in the final

dramatic scene between Bessie Burgess and Nora Clitheroe to remain.

O’Casey, noting that most of the banned words had appeared in other

playsbutnotallinthesameone,wrotetoRobinsonon10thJanuary1926

tosay,‘IdrawthelineataVigilanceCommitteeofActors.’(Krause165)13

While Crowe consulted a priest for advice and compromises,

Mooneydidnothavea‘FatherConfessor’.(MooneyPart143)Hermentor

wasO’Caseyhimselfandhewantedhertoplaythepart.Committedtothe

role,shetookthepotentiallyembarrassingstepoffrequentingthealleyat

the back of the theatre to ensure her appearancewas authentic.Having

studied the streetwalkers,Mooney imitated their ‘clown-likemake-up’of

thickwhitepowderand redcircleson their cheeks. (Part143)Butwhile

shecould(andwould)separatethepersonalfromprofessionalandtakeon

therole,shedidnothingthatwould,tohermind,besmirchhergoodname

orthatofherfamily.‘Ineedhardlysaythatitwassomeofthewomenwho

tried to putme off,’Mooney reveals in the autobiography.Unmoved by


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either‘theirself-righteousfacesortheirarguments,’sheagreedtoplaythe

part.(Part143)Itisusefulthatshestatesthisfact;socialhistoriestendto

focus on the patriarchal suppression of 1930s Catholic Ireland and

patriarchalvaluesareoftentransmittedbywomen.However,thecollusion

ofwomeninIreland’sideologyisrarelysetoutinsuchstartlingfashion.

InaninterviewwiththisauthorinJuly2012,theeditorofMooney’s

autobiography, Val Mulkerns, dispelled the famous anecdote around

Mooney and Rosie Redmond’s profession. Neither Mulkerns, nor

(according to Mulkerns) Gate Producer Michael MacLiammóir who

introduced the volume, believed that when she was cast as the Dublin

prostitute that a twenty-three-year-old Ria Mooney didn’t know how a

prostitute earned hermoney. But it is true thatMooney always insisted

that thiswas the case and says so in hermemoirs. Setting the apparent

truth (from Mulkerns) against the anecdote yields an insight: Mooney

understoodthenatureofprostitution,butoff-stagesheplayedtheroleof

arespectableCatholicgirlwhodidn’tcountenancesuchthings.

Prior to theopening,O’Caseymadeone significant change to the

partofRosie.MovedeitherbyhisownembarrassmentinthewakeofLady

Gregory’s reading or O’Brien’s objections to the bawdy number about a

tailorandasailor,hewrotetoLadyGregoryon11thSeptembertosaythat

‘Mylittlesong,Ithink,hastogo’.(Krause147)Thus,Mooneyleftthestage

at the end of the second act without a song. In later years, when she

herselfcametodirecttheplay,sherestoredtheoriginaltune.

Opposition to the play did not break out immediately. A few

evenings into the run, actors were subjected to shouts and jeers mid-

performance,with lumpsof coal and coins being used asmissiles during

thesecondact.Afteranattempttosetthecurtainonfire,adecisionwas

madetoleavethestagebareforthethirdact.Mooneywatchedfromthe

wingsasthetroublecontinued.AboxingmatchbrokeoutandMcCormick

steppedoutofhisroleasJackClitheroetodisassociatehimselfandhiswife

13 Inpreviouschapters,that‘VigilanceCommittee’hasbeenexploredfromthe


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(Crowe) from the play. Yeatsmade an appearance, declaring his fervent

support for O’Casey. When the audience verbally attacked him, he

admonished them while simultaneously affirming O’Casey’s genius with

wordsfrequentlyquotedinthedecadessince:

You have disgraced yourselves again … You have rocked thecradle of genius … You have sent O’Casey’s name around theworld.(MooneyPart246)Many of the actors in the play were shocked to find that the

attackers included personal friends. Denis Johnston recalls Richards’

disgust at a woman in the audience that yelled at her every time she

openedhermouth,andherlaterfurytofindthatthehecklerwassomeone

shehad known from childhood. (Adams80) The coalescenceof personal

andprofessionalliveshadbecomedangerousfortheperformers.

There were no further riots in the theatre, but off stage the

oppositioncontinued,withlettersappearinginthenewspapersandsome

feeble attempts to terrify the main actors, who were instructed not to

approach or leave the theatre alone and on foot.Mooney believed they

wereindangerofbeingkidnapped,butthatthewould-bekidnappersdid

not go through with their plans. The second act was played with

auditoriumlightsupandplain-clothespolicemenonhand.

RosieRedmondisnotacrucialelementoftheplotofO’Casey’splay.

The prostitute presents an element of Dublin tenement life that others

wanted to ignoreandappearsonly in thepub scenes,disappearingafter

thesecondact.Inhisessay‘StagingtheBodyinPost-IndependenceIreland’

Lionel Pilkington discusses the subject of labour in relation to the first

performance of O’Casey’s play. He examines a photo of Mooney in

costume and asserts that ‘commodification is so fused to the woman’s

subjectivity that the spectator is encouraged to enjoy the figure of the

prostitutewithout being ethically detained or troubled by it.’ (Pilkington

‘StagingtheBody’121)This is trueforthespectator,yetMooneyhadan

individualperspectiveofotherplayersinthatcast.


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empathy,anemotionallyuncomplicatedconnectiontothecharacterwhich

reducedhertotearswhenCoveyremindsherofherposition.

As a character, Rosie has little to offer beyond her profession or

‘type’.Shehasnostoryline, justanoutburstwhentheCoveyresentsher

voicingheropinionsattheendofthesecondact.Hisannouncementthat

hewon’t take any ‘reprimandin’ from a prostitute!’ turns her ‘wild with

humiliation’.(O’CaseyThePlough175)Shetellshim:

You’re noman … I’m a woman, anyhow, an’ if I’m a prostituteaself,Ihavemefeelin’s.(O’Casey175)

OnthestageoftheNationalTheatre,MooneyassertedtherightofallIrish

women, including prostitutes, to express emotion and be treated with

respect.O’Casey’s intentionmayhavebeenprimarily a socialist one, but

there’salsoaclearfeministintentintheline.

In taking on that role and sustaining her performance during the

moral storm that accompaniedThePloughand the Stars, the actress set

hercareeronanewplane.Mooneyherselfsaid:

It was not until that night that I ceased to be an amateur andbecame a professional actress in the truest sense of the word.(Part145)

The transformation happened before she hid in thewings, watching the

riots; theshiftbeganwhensheacceptedandbegantorehearsetherole.

Unlike many of the females in that company, Mooney had started to

separateherpersonallifeandhermoralconcernsfromthosesheadopted

onstage.Despiteherbeliefs, shedivestedherselfofegoandtreatedthe

characteraswrittenwithrespectbygoingoutofherway(anddownthat

alley)toimbueRosiewithanauthenticitythatmayhavecontributedtothe

riots.Thatsherefusedtopubliclyadmitherunderstandingofprostitution

suggests she hadn’t completed the separation of her personal and

professionalreputations,butthesplithadbegun.

AftertheopeningnightofThePloughandtheStars,O’Caseycame

toMooneybackstageandtoldherthatshehadsavedtheplay.Thesolemn

actressremaineddevotedtoO’Casey,andhiswork,fortherestofherlife.


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He was a tall, avuncular presence and she responded to his passion for

theatreandhis generosity towardsher. In the summerof 1926, shewas

missing Rosie and O’Casey. Once she had saved enough money to pay

lodgingsinadvanceandkeepenoughforareturnticket,shetooktheboat

toLondon.MooneyneveradmittedthatshefollowedO’Casey,buthewas

bythenlivinghappilyinthecity.

TheCivicRepertoryTheatreCompany

Early in the spring of 1928, Shelah Richards wrote to her fiancé

Denis Johnston from the Belvedere Hotel in New York telling him that

Mooneyhad‘bytheby’signedacontractwithEvaLeGalliennetoappear

in her Civic Repertory Theatre Company. (Johnston TCD MSS

10066/287/2638)RichardsandMooneywereappearingtogetherinatour

ofO’CaseyplaysbyanEnglish company. They shared roomsclose to the

theatreandwhileRichardsoftenpinedforhome,Mooneyfoundthather

‘pulserespondedtothecity’srhythm’.(Part162)

MooneyhadnotstayedinLondonlong.Moneyranoutquickly,as

didherhopesoffindingwork,andshewasclosetogoinghomewhenshe

was offered the job as an understudy to Richards in New York. But

Mooney’sdisappointmentaboutnotbeingonstagewasassuagedby the

sightoftheskyscrapersrisingfromamistontheHudsonriverlike‘afairy

cityrestingonacloud’.(Part162)Yetagaininherwriting,theromanceof

thesceneconcealsany trepidationabout the lifestylechange. Soon, she

had been cast asMary Boyle in a production of O’Casey’s Juno and the

Paycock. At the same time, she lostweight and acquired some ‘well-cut

American clothes’, which gave Mooney for the first time in her life ‘a

presentable figure’. (Part 1 62) She began to present herself as a stylish

woman,confidentofaplaceontheNewYorktheatrescene.

Theyweren’tperformingduringthelastweekofthetour,andthe

women set about experiencing what Richards described as: ‘Bored

Broadway believing in Better Brighter Plays’. (Johnston TCD Mss

10066/287/2633) They endured the nine scenes of Eugene O’Neill’s


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experimental playThe Strange Interlude,which lasted from five pmuntil

eleven thirty pm with a break for dinner, and declared it ‘marvelous’.

(JohnstonTCDMss10066/287/2633)Twopolitemencalledattheirrooms

toescort them to visit theCivicRepertoryTheatreonFourteenth Street,

whereTheThreeSisterswasbeingperformed.RichardstoldJohnston:

‘The Three Sisters’ was actually good - very good - although Idon’t imagine it was like the London production; [ … ] but theacting was extraordinarily good and the best I have seen here,andthemostlikeTheAbbey!(JohnstonTCDMss10066/287/2633)

Richardswasimpressed;Mooneycaptivated.InDublinandLondon,

shebelievedinputtingherselfintherightplaceandwaitingforsomething

to happen. A newly-confidentwoman tookmatters into her own hands:

shewrotetothedirectorofTheThreeSistersaskingforanaudition.

Richards’ reportingofMooney’s contractwith theCivicRepertory

TheatreCompanywasmatter-of-fact,butwinningaplaceinthecoregroup

of this company was not a straightforward matter. The standards of

dedicationanddisciplineofdirectorEvaLeGalliennewereextremelyhigh.

Le Gallienne personally monitored all aspects of productions, as well as

taking starring roles. Rose Hobart, Le Gallienne’s acquaintance for years

beforejoiningtheCompany,wassackedforvisitingherhusbandduringa

week she wasn’t performing, without telling the director. (Sheehy 152)

Anotheractresssaid:‘Itwasasifwemustalwaysbefit,doourbest,make

thebestofeverything,becauseEvawasdoingsomuch.’(Sheehy152)

Given her own schedule, Le Gallienne relied on others to scout

talentforher.ItwastheCivic’sliterarymanager,HelenLohman,whosaw

MooneyperformMaryBoyleandgrantedheranauditionafterherletter.

Thatseason,thepermanentcoreoftwentyactorswasexpandedtothirty.

Thefollowingseason,thirtyapprenticepositionswerecovetedbyovertwo

hundred applicants. In those auditions, Le Gallienne tried to ‘sense their

inner quality ... some trace of sensibility or imagination, humor, or

aspiration’.(Sheehy179)


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MooneycompletedthetourasunderstudytoShelahRichardsand

returnedtoDublin,wheresheplayedRosieRedmondonelasttime.Then

shepackedupandsaid farewellagain toher familyandtoher friends in

the Abbey. Shewas returning toNew York as an officialmember of the

CivicRepertoryCompanybut,nonetheless,alone.

TheCivicRepertoryTheatre isno longervisible indowntownNew

York.ItwasonthenorthsideofFourteenthStreet(justoffSixthAvenue)

and close to two subways. An overground train rumbled past at regular

intervals.Ontheautumnmorningofherfirstday,Mooneywalkedpasta

Salvation Army hostel, a second-hand clothes store and the Child’s

restaurantwhereshewouldeatmanyofhermealsforthenextfewyears,

toarriveattheneo-classicalfaçade.Thebuildingwascrumbling,butafew

weeksbeforethenewseason,LeGallienneusedmoneyshe’dwonwitha

PictorialReviewawardtorefurbishtheinterior.

AsMooneywasintroducedtotheotheractors,thecastsataround

onthestageunderagoldprosceniumarchreadingscripts.Theauditorium

wasfreshlypaintedingreen,goldandblackandtherewasacycloramaof

lights and modern footlights. After the first read-through, the actors

walked up newly-carpeted aisles and explored the dressing rooms

backstage. For all the glamour front of house, the floorboards in the

dressing rooms were warped and the radiators wheezed. In the green

room,photosofLeGallienne’sestrangedfather,poetRichardLeGallienne,

hung on the walls. (Sheehy 144 – 158) Mooney was ready to start

rehearsals.

Background:EvaLeGallienne

TrainingandworkingwithEvaLeGallienneleftalife-longimpacton

Mooney, personally andprofessionally. Tounderstand that periodof her

life fully, it is necessary to re-visit the background of Le Gallienne, her

inspiration,artisticidealsandthecompanysheled.

Le Gallienne was born in London but raised by her mother, a

journalist turned milliner, in Paris. Julie Norregaard separated from her


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husband,RichardLeGallienne,afteryearsofemotionalabuse.Muchofthe

time, Norregaard was also themain carer to Hesper, Richard’s half-Irish

daughterfromhisfirstmarriage.Anearlyfeminist,Norregaardraisedher

daughterwiththeaidofanurse.Thisprimaryroleasthesolefocusofthe

energyofthesetwoformidablewomenwascentraltothedevelopmentof

LeGallienne’spersonality.AsherbiographerHelenSheehyrecognizes:

Her horizonswerenot circumscribedby traditional expectationsand she simply did not recognize any boundaries in herdevelopment as a person. […]Her soulwas that of a searchingartist;hervitalityandherappetiteforexperiencewereenormous.Andshehadthegoodfortunetogrowupinanatmospherefreeofstiflingbourgeoisconventions.(57)

Set on a life on the stage from an early age, Le Gallienne spent

many of her summers in Surrey with her half-sister, attending as much

theatre she could. A generous patron paid the fees for Le Gallienne to

attend Tree’s Academy in Gower Street (the institution that is now the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art). By the age of sixteen, shewas in New

York with her mother. Le Gallienne was ambitious and precocious,

although behind the precocity there was an educated intelligence and

diligent work ethic. Her early influences were decidedly European:

EleonoraDuse and SaraBernhardtwere idols she studied andemulated.

OnfirstwatchingDuseperforminLondonin1923,shewasstunnedbyher

‘superhumanunderstandingandcompassion’alongwiththe‘metaphysical

and impersonal creativegenius.’ (At33164) In1966, LeGalliennewould

publishabiographyofDuse,andinitLeGallienneshowedthattheaweof

heryouthgavewaytoacarefulinterrogationofheridol’slifeandwork.

Given her maturity and arrogance, it was not long before taking

roles for other production companies failed to fulfill Le Gallienne’s

ambitions. With a desire for additional training and experience, she

planned (with a collaborator) to create a workshop where, in her own

words, ‘untroubledbyoutsideopinion,wecouldimproveandperfectour

instruments’. (At33147)Thiswouldprovideaspaceoutsideof the long-

runsystem,whichshefoundunbearablysuffocating,toworkonplaysthey


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choseforthepleasureoftherehearsalprocess.Intheevent,professional

commitmentsandhealthproblemsmeant theplanscame tonaught,but

yearslaterLeGalliennereturnedtoher‘idealisticdreams’andtransformed

them into practical plans to introduce New York to a proper repertory

theatresystem.(At33147)

If Duse and Bernhardt formed the centre of her philosophy on

acting,LeGallienne’scraftwasindeliblyshapedbytheworkoftheRussian

theatre director Constantin Stanislavski. The Moscow Arts Theatre first

visitedNewYork in1923,andLeGallienne frequently sawthemperform

from her habitual seat in the front row. Sharon Marie Carnicke has

asserted, ‘The lasting impact of the Moscow Art Theatre in the United

Statesoccurredwithinthetheatrecommunity,whichhadlefttheRussians

actorsthemselvescold.’(26)LeGallienneintroducedherselftoStanislavski,

andherlaterprocessshowsthatshetooknoteofhisapproach, including

theensembleworkandconcentrationontheinnerrealityofcharacters.

Broadway had become, for Le Gallienne, a male-dominated

businessfocusedonstarsandmarredby longruns,high-ticketpricesand

typecasting.Shesought toallowaudiencesexposure toart, regardlessof

theirfinancialposition.TheideathatrepertorytheatrecouldthriveinNew

Yorkwasanidealisticone,butLeGalliennedeterminedtosucceedwhere

othershadfailed.Shewasconvincedthattheaudiencewasthereforthe

typeofplaysshewantedtoproduce,butsuchanaudiencewereofmodest

means and so alternative modes of funding productions were essential.

Althoughshelaterclaimedtherewas‘nocommercialangle’totheoriginal

plan,LeGalliennewascharmingandsincereinherdealingswithpotential

wealthybenefactors.(At33198)

There were seven actors in the core company Le Gallienne

established,eachwithacontractguaranteeingtwentyweeksofwork.The

salaries ranged between sixty and two hundred dollars. She had also

chosenarepertoireoffourplays(twobyIbsen,onebyChekovandoneby

Benavente)andhiredfiveRussianmusicianstoprovideanorchestra.With

apromisefromtheatreproducerOttoKahntomeettherentforthefirst


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season,LeGalliennebegananintensefive-weekrehearsalperiod,involving

allfourplays.

In the first volume of her autobiography, At 33, Le Gallienne

describestherehearsalsfortheirfirstmajorhit:theproductionofChekov’s

The Three Sisters thatMooney attended.This particular rehearsal period

capturesmanyofLeGallienne’sideals.Thecompanytookoverasmallinn

inWestport,inEssexCounty,NewYork.There,thecastsoughttoidentify

themselveswiththevariouscharactersintheplay.Theycalledeachother

by their character names and frequently started work by discussing in

character things not actually in the play. Once somebody gave a proper

‘cue’,theconversationwouldcontinueaswritteninthetext.Thiscreateda

‘tremendous sense of ease and reality’ before they began rehearsing on

stagewhereLeGalliennecouldgive‘actualshape’totheperformance.(At

33201)Rarelyagainwouldthecompanyhavethefinancialmeansorthe

timetoimmersethemselvesinaworkinthisway,buttheessenceofthis

approachwastransportedbacktothecrumblingFourteenthStreettheatre,

where they would rehearse with a soundtrack of roaring trains and

machinerydrillingforsubways.

Temperament:MooneyandLeGallienne

ForLeGallienne,actingwasnotatrade(aspurportedbytheEquity

union,whosestrikessherefusedtosupport)butahighart;sheconsidered

herself a conscious and endlessly developing artist. (Sheehy 76) This

concept of the actor as a creative artist was also a central tenet of

Stanislavskian teaching. In the sections that follow, it is necessary to

distinguish between the original Stanislavski System (as expounded by

Carnicke,Benedettiandothers)andthetoolsthatformedthebasisofthe

American‘Method’ofLeeStrasbergandStellaAdler.

The AmericanMethod drew on the translation of Stanislavski by

Elizabeth Hapgood, and it used certain of the principles to commodify

actors, create an industry and perpetuate gender stereotypes that were


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harmful to women.14Stanisklavski’s teachings, conversely, had as their

cornerstone the concept of the individual creative artist, who must be

respected and supported in their work. The artist used empathy, rather

thanemotionalsubstitutionor‘recall’,toexplorecharacterandthesystem

balancedpsychologicalworkwithphysicalexercise,includingyoga.

LeGalliennewasalsoinspiredbythephilosophyofEleonoraDuse,

andshewascommittedtoDuse’sideathat‘inplaying,asinanyotherart,

one shouldabolish thepersonaland try toplaceone's instrumentat the

service of a higher, disembodied force.’ (At 33168)Obliterating the ego

andsubmittingtoahigherpowerwasnotareligiousact,exceptwherethe

religion was acting. This idea was echoed by Mooney many years later

when, in June 1962, she wrote a letter to a young actor Patrick Laffan,

whichhestillkeeps:

Don't letyourbraincomebetweenyour instinctiveacting talentandyouraudience.Rememberthegreatactoris,orshouldbe,aMEDIUM.(LaffanCollection)

Throughout her career, Le Gallienne’s mood was in large part

determined by the character that she played at the time. Sheehy’s

biography reveals an ongoing cycle, from her earliest professional life to

her elderly years, inwhich eachnewpart demands a shift in lifestyle—a

new facet to her personality, a new style of movement, often a new

partnerorlivingarrangement.(84)Atvariouspointsthroughouthercareer,

Le Gallienne would work herself into state of nervous exhaustion by

complete immersion in theworkand intenseperiodsofoverwork. Ifasa

director inrehearsalssheemployedtheStanislavskian idealsofensemble

playingandcalmintrospection, inherownworksheeschewedhisnotion

of‘dual-consciousness’andfrequentlyallowedherimmersionincharacter

dictateherpersonallife.

14ThemannerinwhichHapgood’stranslationdiffersfromStanislavski’swritinganditsinconsistencies,deletionsanderroneoussubstitutionsisclearlysetoutinCarnicke’schapter‘TheUSPublicationMaze’inStanislavskyinFocus.(76–93)Carnickealsoexplainshow‘dualconsciouness’ensuredthementalhealthofactorswasprotected,inamannerneverobservedbytheAmericanMethod.


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AlthoughLeGallienne invested themoneyearnedbyher success,

ensuringthecomfortofhermotherandprovidingherselfwithasolidbase,

sheremainedwaryofthe‘insidiousjoysofprosperity’.(At33181)Atthe

heart of her vocation was a constant struggle: to obliterate her own

personalityandbecomeeachcharacter, at the same timeasheradoring

(and sometimes scathing) public sought to know the real Le Gallienne

which she wanted to keep private. In her twenties, Eva wrote long,

reflective letters to hermother in Europe.While appearing as Julie in a

productionofMolnar’sLiliomshewrote:

Itmustbewonderfultobeabletocreateawayfromcrowds--outof sight of one's public--it is a source of endlesswonder tome,whythemediumthathasbeenthrustupononmeshouldbethemost terribly exposed--so glaringly illuminated to all eyes.Withmynatureitisacuriousparadox--&somewhatofaburden.(QtdinSheehy134)

Thisstruggleechoestheparadoxoftheactresssetoutinmyintroduction:

the‘occasionalinvisibilitycoupledwithherall-pervasivesignificance’.(Gale

and Stokes 2) Le Gallienne simultaneously abhorred and relished this

challenge.Sheehyasserts: ‘EvaLeGalliennerefusedtobetypecast inany

part,inthetheatreorinherprivatelife.’(134)Despiteheryouth,shewas

alreadygrapplingwithcomplexandconflictingdesires forprivacyandfor

public recognition. She also loved and wanted to live with women but

refusedtodefineherselfasalesbian.(Sheehy198)Shewaswasbeginning

torealisethedifficultyofrealizingherartisticambitionsinatheatreworld

dominated by ‘show business’ and was coming to despise the money-

drivenvaluesofBroadway.

LeGalliennewaselfin,andshegenerallykeptherbrownhairshort

anddressedinaboyishfashion.Lookingatphotographsofherincostume,

it’s difficult to penetrate the persona she has created for each one. Her

PeterPan is androgynousandchild-like;herVarya inTheCherryOrchard

feminineandquiet.EarlyphotographsofherinLiliomshowtheoversized

men’sbootssheusedtoexploreandcreatethecharacterofJulie.Thereis

aTimeMagazinecoverfrom25November1929thataimstocaptureher


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‘off-stage’ appearance. The inkportrait showsher in a royal-blueblouse,

herwavyhaircroppedandbrushedbackfromthedelicatefeaturesofher

impassiveface;herblueeyesareintensewithfocus.Infact,herbiographer

suggests that Le Gallienne chose this outfit and persona specifically to

depict a ‘determined young feminist’. (Sheehy 194) She learnt early to

construct and present the woman she wanted to be: a determined,

intelligentartist,notrestrictedbygenderorsexuality.

Midwaythroughherbiography,Sheehyfacetiouslyobserves:

itwascleartouptownBroadwayfolk,especiallyyoungertheatrepeople,thatEvaLeGalliennesetherselfapart—apiousprigwhoaffected devotion to art and looked down on ordinary actors incommercialplayswhojustwantedtomakemoneyandhavefun.(Sheehy118)

Sheehygoesontoposethequestion:

[LeGallienne’s] industriousness,herverynature, seemedbothachallenge and a rebuke. She appeared overly serious andhumorless.Whatwasshetryingtoprove?Whywassheworkingsohard?Whatwaswrongwithher?(Sheehy118)

ThesamequestionshoveredaroundMooney’slifeinDublin.Herchildhood

andhaphazardintroductiontotheatre,whileshecontinuedtodanceorto

flirtwiththenotionofbecomingavisualartist,couldnothavebeenmore

differenttoLeGallienne’sshelteredandspoiltupbringing.Buttheyshared

a solemnity few understood. Denis Johnston capturedMooney’s curious

mixofinnocenceandmaturitywhenshewasincludedinhispensketchof

theAbbeygreenroom.Theplaywrightdescribed,‘thedark,squarecharm

ofRiaMooneyandherfullmellowvoicebelyingsoquaintlythenaivetyof

everythingshesays’.(JohnstonTCDMss10066/165)

McGlone cites Mary Manning (an understudy to Mooney for

extended periods), who remembered her close friend as getting onwell

withthevariouscasts;although:‘Shewasn’tveryhumorous.Shewasvery

earnest and ambitious.’ (28) Similarly,MichaelMacLiammoir of theGate

Theatrecommentedthat,afterherreturnfromNewYork:


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…herheadwas fullof their theories; shewould labourat somesmalltechnicalpointforhourstogetherandbereadyforendlessdiscussionsaboutthetheatre;shewasaseriousperson.(167)

MacLiammoir goes on to say, somewhat tetchily, that she lacked

‘the national passion formalicious commentary’. (167) Like Le Gallienne

among New York actresses, Mooney was set apart from her female

contemporaries in the Abbey by her solemn demeanour and intellectual

devotion to her craft. Shewas never the ‘overbearingly ambitious’ actor

thatLeGalliennewas,butMooneywascompelledbyLeGallienne’svision

andconfidence.(At33147)Shewasdrawnbyherstyleandpersona,and

foundachallengeintheloftynatureofLeGallienne’sambitionsthatonlya

periodofworkwiththeCivicRepertoryCompanywouldsatisfy.

At the time thatMooneywas livingwithRichards and seeking an

auditionwithLeGallienne, thetheatrecriticGeorgeJeanNathanpenned

anacerbicarticleinthepopularmagazineAmericanMercury.Hesaidthat

theCivicRepertorywas‘praiseworthyonlyinintent’butthatitwasatotal

‘botch’ and its ‘incompetent’ director should step aside to let ‘other and

morecompetentproducers’ fulfillNewYork’sneedfor repertory theatre.

(Nathan377)HecalledonLeGalliennetogiveupherbeliefthat‘sheisa

reincarnated combinationof Rachel, JoanofArc, andNatGoodwin,with

faint but unmistakable overtones of Jesus’. (Nathan 377) It is a savage

attackwithlittlesubstance,smackingofhomophobiaormisogyny.Nathan

and Le Gallienne had found themselves on opposite sides during earlier

protestsaboutTheCaptive,aproduction thathad ‘introduced lesbianism

to Broadway’ which Nathan thought corruptive and evil. (Schanke 72)

Nevertheless,Nathan’s opinionpresents one endof the spectrumof the

city-wideresponsetoLeGallienne’sworkonFourteenthStreet.

ThecontradictioninLeGalliennewasalwaysthattheegomaniacal,

wildly ambitious business woman who sought funding for her theatre

concealedanartistconsumedbytheneedtoembodydramaticcharacters

andcreatespell-bindingtheatre.Nathan’sobjectionappears tobetoher

political,businesspersonawhileheconcedesherintentwas‘praiseworthy’.


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(377)Hedidn’t, or couldn’t, countenanceawoman thatoccupied sucha

paradoxicalposition.AsSheehynotes:

[I]n describing Le Galliennewriters returned again and again tothe word ‘strange.’ Her beauty was unconventional, her mindextraordinary,hersexualityambiguous…(164)

Mooneywasnotdeterredbythis ‘strangeness’.Shedismissedthe

gossip and rumours to work with the legend and with the woman.

Mooney’s own sexuality is opaque, but she found in the women of the

CivicRepertoryCompany,andthoseartisticcirclesinGreenwichvillage,a

circleofemotionalandcreativeaswellasfinancialsupport,affectionand

empowerment.Shealsowitnessedatfirsthandthepowerofartisticvision

andcreativitywhencoupledwithdisciplineandambition,regardlessofthe

genderorsexualityofitsbearer.

TechniqueattheCivicRepertory

LeGalliennedescribesherrehearsalprocess inherautobiography

At33,andinherbiographySheehyrepeatsthedetailsasreportedbythe

director;butafurtheraccountoftheprocesssupportingthisevidencecan

befoundelsewhere.HelenDoreBoylstonwasanEnglish-bornnursewho

settledinConnecticut,becomingfamousforaseriesofYoungAdultbooks

about a trainee nurse called Sue Barton. Boylston was a neighbour and

close friendofEvaLeGallienne.At somepoint in the1930s, shespenta

yearbackstageattheCivicresearchingforanewfictionalheroine.(Sheehy

274)CarolGoesBackstagewaspublished in1941andtells thestoryofa

young girl who comes to New York as an apprentice to a Repertory

CompanyestablishedbyaMissMarlowe.Theillustrationsinthebook(by

Frederick E. Wallace) support the contention that Miss Marlowe is

modelledonEvaLeGallienne.

ThenovelCarolGoesBackstageexpresseswithunaffectedclarityLe

Gallienne’sbeliefsabouttheRepertorysysteminAmericaandmanyofthe

central tenets of her philosophy and teaching. The book’s depiction of

acting and directing techniques tally with other accounts of the Civic


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Repertory,suchasMaySarton,whilethedetails,meticulousifidealisticin

places,linkdirectlytothetenetsofStanislavski(astranslatedbyCarnicke).

Early inCarol’s trainingat theCivic, theapprenticesare invited to

watcharehearsalbeing ledbyMissMarlowe.Theygathermidwaydown

the house ‘to await spectacular events’. (Boylston 97) But to their

disappointment, the rehearsalsare calmandentirely respectful. Thecast

arrive incomfortableoldclothesandsimplymovearoundthebarestage

reading from scripts, pausingnowand then for ‘amiablediscussion’with

littleornophysicalgestures.(Boylston98)Althoughthereistheoccasional

joke at which everyone laughs politely, the performers are for themost

partquietandcourteous.ThecastCarolsees,‘worked,infact,asasingle

unit,willinglyandhard,witheveryappearanceofenjoyingwhattheywere

doing.’(Boylston98)Despiteatouchoffictionalidealism,thereremainsa

suggestion of the serene simplicity that Le Gallienne engendered in her

castandsawasvitaltoanysuccessfulinterpretationofaplay.Thiswasnot

simply an extension of her personality, but derived from a considered

directorialidealandartistictechnique.

Inher2012 studyAnActressPrepares:Womenand ‘theMethod’,

RosemaryMalagueconductsanexaminationof the relationshipbetween

gender and ‘the American method,’ the theory derived from Elizabeth

Hapgood’s translation of thework of Stanislavski.Malague considers the

theory, practice andpedagogy inways that are useful to interrogate the

processdemonstratedbyLeGallienne,andsubsequentlybythedirectors

she influenced. However, to fully understand the work Le Gallienne did

with the Civic Repertory, one must revert to the original teachings of

Stanislavski, rather than relying on the gradual assimilation and

manipulationof these tools into theAmerican ‘Method’ofStrasbergand

the later Actors’ Studio. The Moscow Arts Theatre Company that Le

Gallienne watched perform during their visit to New York in 1923 was

lauded inparticular for ‘theactors’ seamlessportrayalof character, their

creation of an illusion of real life without obvious theatricality but with


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clearartistry,andtheirensemblework.’(Carnicke24)Thesefactorscanbe

notedintheworkoftheCivicRepertoryCompany.

In Boylston’s imaginative rendering of a rehearsal, MissMarlowe

watches from the centre aisle, just behind the orchestra pit, andmoves

backattimestowatchfromadistance.Thewriterdescribesher:

She offered only occasional suggestions. She didn’t shout orswear, as directors were supposed to do, and she never, for asingleinstant,losthertemper.(Boylston98) Thetraditionalrelationshipofmanipulationandcontrolbetweena

maledirectorandfemaleactor(arelationshipwhichMalagueexamines)is

hereabandoned.Insteadofthenotionthatapowerfulmanwilluseforce

to extract the performance ‘out of her’, Le Gallienne assisted actors to

come to theirownunderstandingof their characters andmakedecisions

accordingly. Stanislavski, similarly, sought to ‘offer advice to actors of

different temperamentswhowished to speak throughdifferentaesthetic

styles.’ (Carnicke 3) Le Gallienne resisted imposing her will on the

individual creation and artistry of each actor. Shewas there to support,

mentorandassistrespectfully.

The future writer May Sarton was also an apprentice in the

company. She recollects her own timewatching rehearsals, sitting in the

blacknessof thehouse ‘beforethehugeemptystagewhereonlyawork-

light threw shadows on the brick wall at the back’. (Sarton 152) She

watchedLeGalliennegodowntheaisleandclimbontothestagetotalkto

individual actors intimately, without ever raising her voice. (Sarton 156)

When the apprentices performed, the other professional actors always

offered encouragement and guidance, while Le Gallienne’s criticism was

‘severe,inclusiveandexceedinglyhelpful’.(Sarton156)Sheehyassertsthat

actors’ time was never wasted: the director came to each rehearsal

punctuallyandwellprepared.Asasignofrespect,duringworkinghoursLe

Galliennecalledeachofheractorsbytheirsurnames(MissMooney,Miss

Hutchinson). There was a professionalism and dignity in Le Gallienne’s


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treatmentofheractors;thisechoedStanislavski’sinsistenceonrespectfor

theatreasanartformandforactorsaspracticingartists.(Carnicke29)

Herprocessofpreparation,emotionallyand intellectually,marked

LeGallienneasan‘implicitfeministactor’,asthetermhasbeendefinedby

ElizabethStroppel.Stroppelconcedesthat, ‘whetherinadvertentlyornot,

acting choices remain by and large aligned with the prevailing power

structure.’ (111) However, she argues that implicitly feminist actors use

their intelligenceanddecision-makingpowertosubtlyshapeandpossibly

reinterprettherole.(Stroppel120)LeGalliennefrequentlyproducedplays

inarealisticmode,butthroughouthercareersherefusedtobeboundby

gender, playing parts such as Peter Pan, Romeo and Hamlet as well as

traditionalfemaleroles.Such‘implicitfeminism’extendedtoLeGallienne’s

direction and teaching, where she listened and encouraged attention to

details, to endless questions about personality and motivations. She

mentored actors to create characters individually by meticulous

preparationandintellect,assheherselfprepared.

Malagueasserts that in theStanislavskimethod: ‘“truthfulness” in

the theatrical product is achieved through “truthfulness” in the acting

process’ (9)Carnicke clarifies that Stanislavski’sbeliefwas, ‘themoment-

to-momentperformanceofaroleistheactor’spresentrealityandtruth.’

Carnicke adds, ‘This paradox, which equates “truth” with “theatricality”

opens the door to non-realistic aesthetics.’ (3) Thus, the stereotypical

notionofactors ‘losingthemselves’ inarole, inhabitinganentire ‘reality’

derivesfromthelaterMethod.ThiswasnotatenetofStanislavski’ssystem,

norwasitafeatureofLeGallienne’sdirectorialtechnique.

AtonepointinCarolGoesBackstage,theheroineobservesafriend

in a state of terror. Instinctively, she notes themovements and gestures

expressing her friend’smental state. Disgusted by her heartlessness, she

speakstoMissMarlowe,andlearnsthisisthewayofallgreatactresses:

Therealartistisdriventoabsorbanduseanythingwhichpertainstohisart,andthat thisnecessity isa thingapart, functioningbyitself regardless of the personal sympathies of the artist.(Boylston155)


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Thedirector isadamant that thevital importanceofanyoff-stage

experienceistheircapacitytobeusedintheportrayalofcharacters.Again,

it is helpful to differentiate this tool from theAmericanMethodwith its

useofpersonalrecallandemotionalsubstitution.Rather,LeGallienneheld

with Stanislavski’s belief that empathy, as a controllable sensation, is a

morepowerfulprompttocreativitythanpersonalemotion.(Carnicke214)

Emotions are not used for ‘recall’ or ‘substitution’, but observations of

emotional states and reflections impact on decisions made in the

interpretationofstageroles.

Duringoneapprentice rehearsal, thestridentyoungdirectorMike

drills his friends in the basics of grouping and movement on stage. He

insists they appear in a triangle, allowing the stage picture to slide

effortlessly into something else, without unnecessary or awkward shifts.

Hesetsoutrulesformovement:

If you have to cross the stage, do it while you’re speaking. Butneverdoitwhensomeoneelseisspeaking.That’ssupposedtobeveryunfair–becauseitmakestheaudiencenoticeyouinsteadoftheonewhohasthe linesat themoment.Andyoumustalwaysgoacrossthestageinastraightline.(Boylston105)

Itisusefultonotethatwhileit’sthestridentmaleestablishingtherulesfor

physicalmovement,theemotionalunderstandingcomesfirsttothefemale

members of the apprentice company. Over time, however, male and

female performers come to work together, drawing on each other’s

understandingoftechnique.

Mooney was taught by the Fay brothers, at the Abbey Theatre,

never to move while speaking on the stage. That distinction aside, the

refined physical gestures and graceful movements of the Abbey school

were inkeepingwith theCivicRepertorystyle.Mooneyquicklymastered

thephysicaltechniques.Shethenbegantoworkatdevelopingthemental

focusandpsychologicalinterpretationengenderedbyLeGallienne.

There was a lavish quality to Civic productions that enthralled

Mooney, as she found herself drinking warmed Chianti on stage in La

LocandieraandeatingcaviarduringRussianplays.(Part190)AttheAbbey,


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shehadbeenpresentedwithplatesofpaperhamandporkchopsshaped

fromwood. Fromearly rehearsals, LeGallienne insisted that actors have

appropriatecostumeelementsandpropstoworkontheirinterpretationof

roles. This followed Stanislavski’s notion that ‘three-dimensional sets,

realistic props and sound effects induce an actor's belief in the play.’

(Carnicke 30) TheMoscow Arts Theatre usedmake-up and costumes as

earlyastwomonthsbeforeaplayopened.LeGallienneemployedsimilar

meanstostimulateandengageactors’imaginationandemotions.

ThethrillofhavingluxuriesonthestagelatergratedwithMooney’s

discipline and work ethic. The hearty foodstuffs, she claimed, distracted

thepoorandhungryactressfromherplayingontheCivicstage.Mooney

also admitted that she had never been as drunk as when she’d sipped

lemonadeatthebarinthesecondactofThePloughandTheStars.(Part1

91)Thatsaid,inalloftheproductionsshelaterdirected,Mooneydisplayed

thedirectorialtechniquesofgentleintercessionwithindividuals,discussion

ofminutedetailandthenurturingofindividualstylesandtemperaments.

TheworkoftheCivicRepertoryCompanywasincessant.Rehearsals,

while calm, were long and painstaking. After they left the theatre, the

actorsoftenhaddinnertogethertodiscussprogress,problemsandideas.

LeGalliennewasrelentless inherpursuitofperfection;sheexpectedthe

same of her actors. Mooney became relentless in her own self-criticism

andstruggleforexcellence.Asayoungactress,Mooneyputherheartinto

partsinthreadbareproductionsandtheninNewYork,wheremoneywas

no object to create scenic illusion, she lost the conviction to match her

skills to the sumptuous presentation. Her sense of inadequacy was

reinforced by the trials of working with the perfectionist, Le Gallienne.

Mooneywould always hold to the truth that she discovered in the Civic

Repertorythat,inacting:‘Technique,withoutfeelingandconcentration,is

…dead.’(Part145)

In the 1950s and 1960s, Abbey actors would refer to Mooney’s

ineptdirectionandactorVincentDowlingrecalledherapproachas‘uptight,

defensive’. (174)However, itmaybe thatMooneywasnotonly the first


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‘Director of Plays in English’ at the Abbey Theatre, but shewas the first

director to attempt to work within a particularly feminist model in the

patriarchalinstitution.Theimplicitlyfeministstyleofworkshelearntfrom

LeGallienne,(usingtoolswhichLeGalliennederivedfromStanislavskibut

inflected with her own feminism), put the emphasis on disciplined,

meticulous ensemble processwith decisions gently considered and ideas

calmlydelivered.Feelingandconcentrationwerebalancedbywell-honed

technique.Thismetwith resistance frommanyof theundisciplinedmale

actors,givenastheyweretodramaticpassionandostentatiousdisplay.

Someof theproblemsshe facedworkingwithin theAbbeyat this

timemaycorrelatewiththoseexperiencedbyMariaKnebeloftheMoscow

ArtsTheatre,whodirectedTheCherryOrchardattheAbbeyin1968.Inan

essay exploring the rehearsal process of the that production, Roz Dixon

reports that Knebel’s experiences were largely positive, but that Knebel

was ‘not impressed, however, by what she clearly perceived as the

unprofessional practices of some of her actors.’ (158) Their ‘scornful’

behaviourand reactions toherdiscipline,methodical characterworkand

ensembleplayingsuggesttheconditionsMooneywasfacedwithintrying

tobringStanislavskitoolstobearontheAbbeyCompany.(Dixon158)

TheInfluenceofAllaNazimova

AsRiaMooney saidhergoodbyes to theAbbey in the summerof

1928 and internally questioned the decision to leave for New York

permanently, she heard a rumour: renowned actress Alla Nazimovawas

also joining Le Gallienne’s company. Nazimova had trained with

StanislavskiattheMoscowArtsTheatreandwas,Mooneystates,‘thefilm

starparexcellence’.(Part171)Inanefforttolookevenmorelikeheridol,

Mooneyalteredherappearance:

I fluffed out my black hair, or parted it down the centre, andtwitchedmynostrilstomakemyselflookmorelikeher.(Part171)


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The star’s presencewould later prove a catalyst to changes inMooney’s

positioninthecompanyandinherrelationshipwithLeGallienne.

Nazimova first came to New York early in the 1900s, where she

presented a season of Ibsen on Broadway andmet Le Gallienne, before

going to Hollywood to make a number of films. While other prominent

nameshad requested roleswith the company,Nazimovawas the first to

commit tobecoming apermanentmember.Aftermuchnegotiationwith

LeGallienneoverherreturntoNewYork,thetwostubbornwomenfinally

struckadealwhichmeantthatNazimovahadaprivatedressingroomwith

herownbathroom(aluxuryLeGalliennedidnothave)andanapartment

across the courtyard from the director and her partner, Josephine

Hutchinson. However, she would not be ‘starred’. (Sheehy 176) Such

negotiations would be ongoing. However, Le Gallienne later wrote that

while there was ‘trepidation at having such a famous star among us’, it

transpired that, ‘No one could have been simpler, more warm-hearted,

enthusiasticandutterlycharming.’(At33221)

Duringthatseason,Mooneyhadasmallpart in theproductionof

TheWould-BeGentleman.Her firstmajor rolewas ina symbolistplayby

the French playwright Jean Jacques Bernand entitled L’Invitation Au

Voyage.LeGalliennehadbroughttheplay,inatranslationbyErnestBoyd,

backfromatriptoParisanditwouldremainforeverherfavouriteplayin

the repertoire. (Sheehy 179) Mooney won the part of Jacqueline, the

twenty-year-old sister to the bored Marie-Louise, wife of an industrial

magnate.Marie-Louise(playedbyLeGallienne)is inlovewithamanthat

recently fled to the Argentine Republicwithout knowing anything of her

affection.Shesustainsherselfwiththedreamoftheiridealisedlove.

Theplay isset in ‘thepresentday intheVosgesdistrict.’ (Bernard

195) When the curtains rose, the audience saw tall, arched French

windowsfloodingthestagewithSeptembersunlightwhile,asMarie-Louise,

Le Gallienne played a Chopin nocturne on the grand piano. Jacqueline

appearedon thepatiooutside thewindow.LeGallienneworeabobbed,

brunette wig, andMooney had her own thick black locks cut to match.


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Both women were made-up sophisticatedly and wore ‘some of the

prettiest dresses ever worn in 14th street.’ (Sheehy 179) Leaning in the

window,Mooneyutteredtheopeningline:‘Areyoualone,MarieLouise?’

(Bernard195)

This play was conceived in the symbolist tradition. Much of the

scriptisslowandsuggestive:sighs,pausesandhiddentears.AsJohnLeslie

Firth points out in his introduction to a later translation of the play,

Bernard’sworkhas‘aquietness,asimplicity,anentireabsenceof“drama”

in the crude sense.’ (10) Although it might appear such work was a

departurefromLeGallienne’searlierproductions,itmustberemembered

that for Stanislavski, ‘symbolism specifically explores the realm of

“imaginarytruth”’.(Carnicke35)LeGallienne’sgrowingsensibilitywasfor

playsthatdismissedthetraditionalnotionof‘realism’butworkedtowards

amoreesotericnotionof‘truth’or‘art’.Inthis,hertastedifferedfromthe

majorityoftheaudiencesthatcametoThirteenthStreet.Suchasensibility

would inform Mooney’s later interest in play texts of a more abstract

nature,includingthoseofJackYeats.

ThereisanintimacybetweenthetwosistersinBernard’splaythat

canonlyhavebeenperformedbytwoconfidantes.Thesecondactissetin

December,withsnowheapedonthefirtreesoutside.Jacqueline(Mooney)

tellsMarie-Louise: ‘Iunderstandmuchbetter thanyouthink,believeme.

I've eyes inmy head. And I know that the Argentine set you dreaming.’

(Bernard232)Withtearsinhereyes,MarieLouiseconfesses:‘Ishouldbe

so glad ifwe could talk together gently, you and I.We're very far apart,

perhaps.ButI'vereallynoonebutyou,Jacqueline.’(Bernard232)

McGloneassertsthatMooney’s‘workwentunnoticedinthefailure’

oftheplay.(32)Infact,BrooksAtkinsonoftheNewYorkTimesassertsthat

theplay ‘lacks substanceanddramaticmoment’,butgoeson tosay that

‘Miss Le Gallienne and her comrades adorn it with an exquisite

performance’.Mooney,hesays,‘playsthepartofthesisterwithasmuch

graphic precision as charm’. Clearly taken with their ‘supple charm’,

Atkinsondeclaresthepiece‘discoverstheCivicRepertorytroupeinoneof


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its most accomplished aspects.’ (‘The Play’ 17)May Sarton never forgot

watching ‘that extraordinary play of silences’ and called the experience

‘pureluxury.’(158)Sartonwasinaminority;theaudiencesdeploredit.As

wasusual,LeGalliennehadbeenrehearsing threeplaysat theonetime.

Thus, as quickly as L’Invitation Au Voyage closed, The Cherry Orchard

opened. Le Gallienne starred as Varya and Nazimova played Madame

Ranevskyanditprovedapopularhit.Mooneywasnotcastintheplay.

ThefinalproductionoftheseasonwasKaterina,aplaybyAndreyev

thathadbeenincludedintherepertoireonNazimova’sdemand.Foryears,

shehadbeentryingtogetaBroadwayproductionofthepiece,whichwas

theperfectvehicletoshowcaseherowntalent,althoughitwasnotideally

suited to an ensemble company. The play is a ‘light hearted frolic, with

maritalinfidelity,voyeurism,andattemptedmurder.’(McGlone35)When

thecastlistwashungbackstage,Mooney’snamewasagainnotonit.

The Civic Repertory Company was now playing to ninety-four

percent capacity,but relationsbetweenLeGallienneandNazimovawere

strained. While they attempted to maintain professional politeness, Le

Gallienne was disgusted that Nazimova was advertising Lucky Strike

cigarettes. In rehearsals, differences in their dramatic approaches were

surfacing. JosephineHutchinsondescribedtheRussianas ‘acat’, recalling

that she was ‘very theatrical’ while the Company were ‘much more

modern’. (Sheehy 181) In a further affront to LeGallienne,who thought

Katerinamelodramaticandridiculous,Nazimovaintervenedincasting.The

star insistedthat,giventhephysical resemblance, theactresscastasLiza

(Katerina’ssister)shouldbereplacedwithRiaMooney.

Katerina opened in February 1929 and despite the problems, Le

Gallienne recorded in her diary that Nazimova gave a ‘magnificent

performance’. (Sheehy 189) Broadway critics agreed, but when the

CompanytouredtoPhiladelphiaandBostonthepowerstrugglesbetween

Le Gallienne and Nazimova continued. Mooney was torn between her

allegiance to Nazimova and her respect for Le Gallienne; but experience

had taught her to avoid conflicts. She didn’t gossip or slander and she


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wouldresistanypartinafeud.Inanycase,arefusaltogetinvolvedwould

havebeentakenbytheegomaniacalLeGallienneasasignofdissension.

Althoughshewasontheprogrammeforthenexttheatricalseason,

Nazimova finished the tour in Boston and did not return to Fourteenth

Street. Mooney’s place in the Company changed substantially the next

season,whenLeGalliennechargedherwithdirectingthenewapprentices.

LeGalliennearrangedpeoplearoundherasshedesired,anditmaybethat

after the split with Nazimova she wanted ‘Miss Mooney’ in a less

conspicuousrole.It’salsopossiblethatsheidentifiedinMooneyagiftfor

mentoringyoungtalentthatcouldbeusedformutualbenefit.

Romeo&JulietattheCivicRepertory

InBoylston’snovelCarolGoesBackstage,thefictionalapprentices

are under the tutelage of a lady with the most Irish of surnames: Miss

Byrne. Miss Byrne is already in place and working assiduously with her

young charges when Carol joins the company. In factual records, it is

establishedthattherealapprenticegroupauditionedbyLeGallienneand

put under Ria Mooney’s care as the 1929/1930 theatre season opened

includedsuchfutureluminariesasMaySarton,BurgessMeredith,Howard

da Silva and John Garfield. Both real and fictional apprentices were

permitted to watch themain company at work, whilst also having their

ownscheduleofclassesandscenestoprepare.

InMooney’srecord,shewasdirectingarehearsalwhenshenoticed

that Le Gallienne had come to observe her methods from the balcony.

(Part191)Steelingherselfagainsttheprospectofcriticism,shecarriedon,

leadingthemthroughThePlayboyoftheWesternWorldinthetraditional

style of the Abbey Theatre. Le Gallienne was impressed; she invited

Mooney to become Assistant Director in the forthcoming production of

Romeo& Juliet.While LeGallienne never gave her official credit for her

work, Mooney distinctly remembers how the chorus were instructed to

obeyMissMooneyasifshewasthedirectorherself.(Part192)


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Le Gallienne’s overarching principle for Romeo & Juliet was to

conveyasenseofItalyduringthatperiod:‘Colourful,violent,andaboveall

SWIFT.’(At33225)Pausesbetweensceneswereeliminated;therewasfull

concentration on flow with a steady increase in tempo and suspense

throughout. The prologuewas eliminated and the play openedwith the

pounding of drums and a street brawl. Many apprentices appeared as

dancersandanumberoftheCompanywereinsilentchorusroles.

Working to Le Gallienne’s vision,Mooney turned to visual art for

inspiration.LeGallienneherselfusedasimilarmethod;forherproduction

of The Good Hope she used Dutch paintings for formations for group

scenes.(Sheehy168)ItwastheworkoftheFlorentinepainters,withtheir

uniquesenseof lightandcolour,which influencedMooney’sdirectionof

the chorus scenes for the Shakespeare play. Using the costume colours,

shestartedtogroupcrowdstocircleandhighlightthemainplayers.Shelet

the actors move freely and instinctively, with the imperative that they

wereontherequiredspotwhenthecuecame.Hertechniquegrewfrom

yearsofcarefulwatching:attheAbbeyTheatreandintheCivicRepertory,

aswell asher loveofvisualart.15Intentoncapturing the fluid,mercurial

sense the director demanded, Mooney began to develop her own

directorialtechnique.

InCarolGoesBackstage,whiletheapprenticesstudiedfencingand

voicewith other Company instructors, ‘Miss Byrne’works diligentlywith

themonmovement,progressingfromphysicalstancetostylesofwalking,

runningandabruptstopsthatcapturedistinctcharacters.(Boylston144)In

one acting exercise, she calls each actor to cross the stage anddeliver a

letter,withoutanydialogue.Astheystepouttobegin,shecallsouttheir

character’s work or social position: prince, servant, young girl... The

objective (deliveringthe letter)was identical; thedistinctionswere inthe

smallphysical choices theactorhad tomakequicklyanddecisively. Such

15Thisstraininherworkwillbeconsideredindetailatalaterpointinthischapter.


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simple exercises consistently reinforced the delicate craft of creating

characterfromwithin,inthemodeofStanislavski.

Boylston’s heroine andher friends also appear as silent chorus in

Romeo and Juliet. After Miss Byrne has spent weeks ‘drilling them in

entrances and exits’, they make their first public appearance, gaining

confidenceevenwhilethey’reacutelyawarethatthey’reunder‘veryclose

observation’.(Boylston116-117)ThepressureofworkingforLeGallienne

wasintense,butMooneyrespondedwarmlytotheenergyofhercharges.

DismissingtraditionalboundariesbetweentheCompanyandapprentices,

shearrangedsocialeveningsinherhometointroducethebuddingactors

toestablishedartists.Thisnurturingofherchargesoff-stage,whichbegan

inNewYork,setapatternforhercareer.InWicklowinthe1940sandlater,

she would often hold social evenings in her Glencree cottage. She

continuedtodrawenergyfromyoungtalentaroundher,whilesupporting

andencouragingthedevelopmentoftheirtechnique.

EnmeshedastheybecameinthelifeoftheCompany,theworkof

theapprenticesdifferedfromthatofthemaintroupeinonespecificpoint.

For the apprentice rehearsals and productions described in Carol Goes

Backstage,therearenopropsorscenery.Theessenceofthelesson,Carol

understands, is to ‘act without self-consciousness in themidst of purely

imaginary furniture’. (Boylston 119) Mooney engendered in her charges

thevivifyingdramaticimaginationthatwascentraltoherworkinDublin.

OutsideofRehearsals

The strict discipline of the Civic Repertory Theatre structured her

days and if shewasn’t performing,Mooney arranged social evenings for

her apprentices. Therewas little time forherown social life; in fact, she

made sure of that. Unrequited love had hastened her departure from

Ireland. To artist friend Patrick Tuohy, Mooney confided that she had

decidedtoleaveIrelandtogetawayfromamanandheartbreak.(McGlone

32)Whilethereisnoevidenceorcluestosuggesttheidentityofthisman,

there are pointers to suggest that her leaving for London was linked to


Page214of307

O’Casey’s settling there. He was unmarried, and had showed genuine

affectionforMooneyandaregardforhertalent.Hiscontinuedsupportto

herwasdemonstratedbyhislendinghermoneywhenshefailedtosecure

work,butitmayhavebeenthatwhenshewasinLondon,shediscovered

that O’Casey’s interest in her was not romantic. In any case, New York

broughtencountersthatwouldsalveherbrokenheartandreanimateher.

For the initial visits to New York with Shelah Richards, the two

womensharedanapartmentonBroadway,asclosetothetheatreasthey

couldafford.AcircleofIrishtheatreacquaintances,includingMaireO’Neill

andSaraAllgood,invitedthemtopartieswheretheymadefriendswitha

bohemian group that included sculptor Jacob Epstein and

writer/photographerCarlVanVechten.Toreciprocate,theyheldsoiréesof

their own. The housemates had different temperaments and tastes, but

bothweresmittenwith‘thebest-lookingman’andthe‘onewiththemost

charm’ – professional singer Paul Robeson. (Johnston TCD MSS

10066/287/2632)Attheirparty,RobesonsangNegrospiritualsandtalked

ofhisdaughter.Richardsjokedtheylived‘onchocolates,ginandoranges,

tryingtogetwithNewYorksociety.’(JohnstonTCDMss10066/287/2633)

ShewasmissingJohnston,whowasinIreland,andwrotetohim:

You’veruinedmylife—Ican'tevengetinterestedaboutanybodyhere. You keep cropping up—as if you ever meant anything toanybody—it’sridiculous.(JohnstonTCDMss10066/287/2633)AsthelovesickRichardscountedthedaystogohomeandbeginher

married life,Mooneycontinuedtosocialiseandmadeaclosefriend.Rita

Romelliwasa frequenthostofsocialeveningsandwasalsoadancer,an

actress, teacherand laterakey figure in theHarlemRenaissance.ANew

Yorkerbornandbred, she trainedat theAmericanAcademyofDramatic

Artunder its founder,Charles Jehliger. (‘RitaRomillyBenson’)She tooka

minorroleinTheLivingCorpsebyTolstoystagedattheCivicRepertoryin

1929;thereafter,allarchivaltracesofRitaRomillyrelatetoteaching.

TheeditorofMooney’smemoirs,ValMulkerns,wouldlaterreferto

Rita (by thenMrsMilton (Kick) Erlanger) as a ‘close friend and patron’.


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(Part162)Mooneyherselfreferredtohersimplyas‘abeautifulgirlnamed

RitaRomelli’, towhomshededicatedherautobiography. (Part1)Romelli

andMooneyhadalovingandintimaterelationshipthatlastedtheirwhole

lives. There is no evidence it developed from friendship to a sexual

relationship,orindeedisthereanythingtosuggestthatitwasonlyplatonic.

Theirrelationshipwasintimate,lovingandvitaltoMooney’shappiness.

WithoutRichards’scompany,Mooneythrewherselfintolifeatthe

Civic,spendinganyfreetimedrinkingcoffeeoreatingcheapmeals inthe

Childs’restaurantnextdoortothetheatre.Aswellasherfriendshipwith

literarymanagerHelenLohman,MooneywasclosetoscenicdesignerAline

Bernstein and her assistant Irene Schariff. Bernsteinwas ‘plump,mature

andwell-corseted’with‘straightgreyhairwhichsheworeparteddownthe

front.’(Part198)In1926,shewouldbecomethefirstwomantojointhe

scenic artists’ union of the United States. As well as discussions about

theatre design, Mooney jested with Bernstein about searching for a

wealthymalesuitor.Yet,shewassurroundedbysame-sexarrangements.

AccordingtoMcGlone’scursorysurveyofMooney’slife,thetroupe

wasrumouredtobea‘denoflesbianism’;AmericanMercurycriticGeorge

JeanNathancalledthegroupthe ‘LeGalliennesorority’. (McGlone32)Le

GalliennehadbeenlivinginanapartmentonEleventhStreetwithleading

actress Jo Hutchinson (recently separated from her husband) for over a

year when Mooney arrived. The other actors called the couple ‘The

Botticelli Twins’ and not even their own mothers objected to the

arrangement. (Sheehy 164) Leona Roberts (Hutchinson’s mother) was a

member of the core company and Julie, Le Gallienne’s open-minded

mother,sharedtheirflatformonthseachtimeshecametovisit.

Afterherfirstseason,MooneyreturnedtoIrelandforthesummer

break;butin1930,shedecidedtoforgothetriphome.Aswellasworking

with the Arden theatre group in Philadelphia, she spent one dissolute

weekend with friends in Greenwich, Connecticut. McGlone asserts the

detailsofthisscenehavebeenleft‘purposelyvague’inthememoirs.(43)

Theepisode, thoughnot recounted indetail, is tingedwithnostalgiaand


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magic;yetitsinclusioninthememoir–otherwisesoimpersonal–lendsit

agravitythatcannotbeignored.

With little memory of events during daylight hours, Mooney

focuses on the night-time adventures and one particular bacchanalian

scene.Walking through thewoods around the homeof Richard Chanler,

close tomidnight, ‘they’ came upon a clearing. By a river, a picnicmeal

illuminatedbyalogfirewascomingtoaclose:

Theysat intwos,making lovebetweensips,or ingroups,havingloud and fierce argumentswhile they drank and nibbled food—and each other. From a large flat rock overhanging the river,nakedfigureswereseenforamomentastheyshotthroughthelightindivesthatengulfedthemintheblackwaters.Everywherewere the sounds of laughter, arguments, corks popping, bodiessplashing into thewater,minglingwithnature’smedleyofnightsounds.(Part197)Exactlywhowere the ‘we’ that took thatmoonlitwalk?Was this

‘scene of revelry’ a party exclusively for women? Was Mooney only an

observerofevents?McGloneaskstheserhetoricalquestions,anddecides

that the scene ‘might have been extracted from popular novels of the

period’butwas‘outofcharacter’forMooney.(44)Yet,itmaybethatitis

outofcharacteronlyforthe‘character’orpersonacreatedinhermemoir.

As referred to above in relation to her friendship with Romelli,

Mooney’ssexualityhasalwaysbeenopaque.McGloneneveraddressesthe

issue directly, but it appears vital to draw attention to the social forces

actingonMooneyat thispoint inher life,encouragingher tobreakwith

Irishmodelsandfollowanydesirestoshareapassionaterelationshipwith

a personof her own gender.Her autobiography is reticent in relation to

herrelationshipswithmen,includingHiggins,buttherearetheaccountsof

otherstosupporttheveracityofrumours.IfMooneydidchoselaterinlife

todisavowtheforcesshehadexperiencedinNewYorkwiththiscircleof

lesbianwomen,theystillhadaprofoundimpactonherlife.

Thatsamesummerseason,JosephineHutchinsonwasdivorcingher

husband, Robert Bell, and the New York theatre scene was agog with

rumours about Le Gallienne’s involvement in the closed divorce


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proceedings. The divorcewas held in open court in Reno,with no other

partiesnamedandtheestrangedcoupleremainedalwaysongoodterms.

(Sheehy 198) But damage was done by malicious speculation: The Daily

News published a photograph of Le Gallienne with the headline ‘Bell

Divorces Actress, Eva Le Gallienne’s Shadow’. (‘Shadow’ being an

insinuationoflesbianism.)(Sheehy198)Morepertinently,thefutureofthe

Civic Repertory was in serious doubt, with financial strain heaped on Le

Gallienne’s already-struggling shoulders. Mooney could have been

worrying about her future, seeking parts outside the Civic Repertory

Companyor looking forotherwork; insteadshe focusedon themagicof

hernewsociallife.

Spending one night in a guest room belonging to Madame

Rubinstein, Mooney slept in a comfortable bed in a room scented with

sandalwood,underaroofthatrolledbacktoexposethenightsky.Looking

upatthestars,shediscoveredthatsoftglitterwasfallingslowlyfromthem

andmelting into thedarkness. (MooneyPart 196)Despite the struggles

behind and theunknown future ahead, a twenty-seven-year-oldMooney

reachedoutinblissfuljoyandwonder,tryingtocatchthefireflies.

Art&Life

While on tour with The Plough and the Stars in Chicago in the

1920’s, Abbey actorMichael Scott chose to visit an exhibition of French

paintingsintheWrigleyBuildingandMooneyjoinedhim.Asshewandered

alongbesideherfriend,Mooney’sattentionwascapturedbya‘glimmering

object’ in the distance. (Part 1 69-70) Transfixed, she abandoned her

companionsandmoved towards the torpedo-shapedpieceofmetal. The

sculpture,byBranusci,wastitledTheGoldenBird,althoughtherewasonly

thesuggestionofabeakandtailintherefinedsilhouette.Itsatonarough-

hewngeometric base.Mooney studied this onepiece for the rest of the

afternoon, inaweof ‘theartistry thatmade thispieceof shiningmetala

thingofmovement,exhilarationandtrulygreatbeauty.’(Part169-70)


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Shewasn’tnew to theartworld;at theageofnineteen,Mooney

hadjoinedtheDublinMetropolitanSchoolofArtonawhimandspenttwo

yearsstudyingdrawingandpainting.Mooneyalsorealised‘themeaningof

hardworkandthesatisfactiontobederivedfromit.’(Part130)Whileshe

continuedtoactinamateurdramaticgroupsintheevenings,shegaveup

her office job to create a studio inAnne Streetwith five other students.

Mooneyspecialised inembroidery, theothers in leatherwork,designand

figurework.OnlyonLennoxRobinson’srequesttoappearattheAbbeyin

1924 did she subsequently abandon the artists’ collective. Mooney’s

introductiontothemodernartmovementinthatChicagomuseumwasa

worldawayfromthosedaysembroideringinthechillyAnneStreetstudio,

butbothignitedhersensitivitytoshape,lightandcolour.

InNewYork,whenmovingintoherapartmentonThirteenthStreet,

Mooney and her flatmate took advice from Irene Schariff (the Civic’s

assistant scenic designer) on decorating their humble walk-up. They

stainedthefloorblackandusedrugsofcheapfelt,coveringthecouchwith

royalbluesateenbehindcushionsofred,yellow,greenandblack.(Mooney

Part 1 74) In their design, they mimicked the dark blue walls and oiled

timbers of Le Gallienne’s exceedingly more luxurious home. All were

following the fashions in Greenwich village at that time, but Mooney’s

insistenceonavividcolourschemeiscentraltoherdramaticvision.

Helen Lohman, of the Civic Repertory Company, would

subsequentlytakeMooneytoseeandholdtwomorepiecesofBrancusi’s

work. The same Madame Helena Rubinstein who offered fireflies in

ConnecticutintroducedMooneytotheworkofPicasso,engenderingalife-

long passion for his Cubistwork. Back inDublin in the 1940s and 1950s,

MooneywouldfrequentlyvisitWaddington’ssmallgalleryonSouthAnne

Street to buy art in meagre weekly instalments that she could afford.

(Mulkerns)Thisacutelycolouristsensibilitywasdeveloped inherworkas

theAssistantDirectorwiththeCivicandwouldcometofruitioninherwork

withtheAbbeyExperimentalTheatreinDublininthe1940s.


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Given this sensibility, it is no surprise that in her own writing

Mooneyoftenrevertstomemoriesofcolourtoillustratescenes.Alengthy

expeditionto theAran Islands in1930,duringaholidayathome,creates

aninterludeinthestoryofhercareer.Ontheisland,Mooneyspenttime

withdocumentaryfilmmakerRobertFlahertyandTomCasement,brother

of Irish patriot Roger. As they sailed between the islands on a still June

evening,thesun‘begantotiptothewest’.Shesketchesthescene:

Silverandblackwerethecoloursonourright,pinkandblueaboveourheads,crimsonandgoldonourleft.(Part188)

Wherever shewent,Mooneydrewstrengthand life from thecolourand

artistryintheworldaroundher.

EndofDaysinNewYork

Mooney returned from a summer of stock theatre and heady

socializingin1930toonemorechallengingseasonattheFourteenthStreet

Theatre.TheCivicRepertoryTheatreCompanybeganthetheatrecalendar

withareprisedproductionofRomeo&Juliet,anestablishedsuccess;but

both Le Gallienne and Hutchinson were ill – tonsillitis and appendicitis.

AlineBernsteinwasstrugglingwithpersonaldifficulties.Aleadingactorleft

afteran‘uptown’offer.Newproductionswerequicklycancelledandinan

uncharacteristically downbeat mode, Le Gallienne wrote in her diary of

‘Baddays—tiringwearingdays.’(Sheehy201)Shewasnostrangertolong

periodsofdepressionandhadbeenknown to find solace in alcohol, but

duringthedayshecontinuedtorehearseandmakebusinessplans.Others

inthecompanynotedhowherfiguregreweverslighterandhereyesmore

enormous. (Sheehy 201)When she gave her usual performance ofPeter

PanatChristmas, soaringacross theauditoriumonawire,herbreathing

waslabouredandherbodyfeverish.

The apprentices in Dore Boylston’s fictional Stuyvesant Company

gradually become part of company life, and come to understand the

backstageatmosphere.BuddingactressCarolobserves:


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[I]n light plays, requiring little emotional acting, the backstagemood of the company was gay and relaxed […] sometimes anactor going on stage was unable to stop laughing and haddifficulty with his lines. In other plays themoodwas tense andserious; there was no joking or conversation in the wings […](Boylston127)

As 1930 came to an end, the real Civic Repertory Companywere

caught between an atmosphere of festive celebration and intense stress

over Le Gallienne’s physical state and emotional fragility. Any hope that

therestovertheholidayswouldrestoretheirdirector’sstrengthfadedin

January when she was confined to bed with bronchitis. Le Gallienne

handedoverrehearsalstoheroldteacher,ConstanceCollier.Collierbegan

directing Camille, while Le Gallienne learnt her lines and prepared her

starring role in bed. It is characteristic of Mooney that she reminisces

about the gems of wisdom she learnt watching Collier direct rehearsals,

withouteverrecordinganytensionaroundthearrangements.(Part193)

Despite Le Gallienne’s frailty, Camille transpired to be the Civic

RepertoryCompany’sbiggesthit.BrooksAtkinsonannounced in theNew

YorkTimes:‘[I]tisamajorhitthatturns‘emawayattheboxoffice.’(‘Plays

andPlayers’105)Atkinsondescribedtheatmosphereinsidethetheatreas

electrifying:‘Theexcitementleapsfromrowtorowlikeanelectricspark.’

(‘PlaysandPlayers’105)ThecriticsmayhavethoughtLeGallienneandher

companywere back on form; the actors knew better. At some point, Le

Galliennegatheredhercastandcrewbackstagetoshareamajordecision.

Shewastakingadvantageofthecurrentsuccesstoclosethetheatreona

positive note, planning to take a year off to recuperate andplan for the

future.Thefinancialproblemshadnotgoneawayandthedepressionwas

worseningalloverAmerica,butEvaLeGalliennewouldnotstepawayfrom

Fourteenth Street under a cloud. She was determined to retain the

impressionthathertalentandvisionwereundimmed.

MooneyneversaysthatshewasshockedattheclosureoftheCivic

RepertoryCompany.Shewasthereforthefinalgalaweekofperformances,

celebrating with the Company and the group of apprentices. Nazimova


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returnedbrieflytoappearintwoperformancesofTheCherryOrchardand

they also staged Peter Pan and Romeo and Juliet before closing with

Camille. While some of the Company would find work with a tour of

Alison’sHousebySusanGlaspell,otherswereofferedafifty-dollar-a-week

retaining fee to return in 1932.Mooneywas not in the first group, and

letters to friends in Dublin don’t mention any retainer. News may have

filteredbackfromParis,whereLeGalliennewasstaying,thatMaySarton

had been offered the job of salaried director of the Civic Repertory

apprentices when the theatre reopened. (Sheehy 214) Mooney was

workingonotherplans, holding fast to thebelief her futurewas inNew

York. She set to work with an actor friend on a dramatic adaptation of

Bronte’sWuthering Heights. Shelah Richards received a letter from her

friendandtoldJohnstonofhernews:

Ria Mooney has written saying she and Grupke are startingtheatre lifeonBroadway (!) and she is tobemanaging this thatand the other including reading of plays and would you send“Moon”?(JohnstonTCDMss10066/287/2651)

JohnstonhadwrittenaplayentitledTheMoonintheYellowRiver,

which Mooney was seeking to produce. The identity of ‘Grupke’ is

unknown,mainlybecausetheplanscametonaught.Whenwordcamein

theNewYearthatthetouringAbbeyCompanyneededaplayer,Mooney

packedupherThirteenthStreethome,planningtojointheminGeorgia.It

was then thatCherylCrawford, castingdirectorof theNewYorkTheatre

Guild, contacted her, offering her a role. (McGlone 47) A future in New

Yorkwasadistinctpossibility,butMooneyelectedtoholdthepromiseof

securework and return home. Shewasweary of struggling forwork, or

waseagertoshareherskillsinIreland.

OthermembersoftheAbbeyCompanywouldalsoseeLeGallienne

perform,albeitwithoutRiaMooney,duringatouroftheUnitedStatesin

the spring of 1935. While Mooney was performing in Dublin with the

secondcompany,thefirstcompanyattendedL’AigloninChicago,inwhich

Le Gallienne was starring as a prince. The twenty-two-year-old Aideen


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O’Connor,onher first tourabroad,wasmesmerisedbytheperformance.

Shetoldhersistersomeweekslater:

I'm still crazy about Eva LeGallienne. I bought her life story, its[sic]grand.IwrotetoherfromChicagoafterseeingherplayandshewroteme a lovely letter, and said she'd like tomeetme inNewYorknexttimewegothere.IftheAbbeysackmeI’llwritetoher for a job. To mymind she is the one great woman on thestagetoday.(ShieldsT13/A/437)

O’Connor’sanxietyaboutlosingherjobrevealstheactresses’awarenessof

their precarious position in the Irish Company.Her belief in LeGallienne

suggests they saw working with the Civic Repertory as a liberating,

empoweringexperience, incomparison.O’Connormakesno reference to

Mooney’s involvement in the Civic Repertory. At 33 contains only one

passingreferencetoa‘MissMooney’duringastageanecdote,soit’squite

possible she missed it entirely. To many of her colleagues and theatre

friendsinDublin,itwasasifRiaMooneyhadneverworkedordirectedat

theCivicRepertoryTheatreatall.

AfterTheCivicRepertoryTheatre

To follow in full the chronology of RiaMooney’s career following

herreturntoDublinfromtheCivicRepertoryCompanyin1932isnotonly

difficultandconfusingbutentanglesdistinctthreadsofherwork.Forover

threedecades,Mooneywasacentral figure inDublintheatre life:acting,

directing and teaching. Shewas aworking professional, immersed in the

day-to-day grind of the theatre. Yet, to consider all of her acting roles

duringthosedecadeswouldnotproveparticularlyilluminating.Instead,I’d

like to follow two specific trajectories in her artistic work that she kept

distinctbutincarefulcounterbalance.

Ontheonehand,Mooneycontinuedtoappearonthemainstages

ofthecapital’stheatresintraditionalconservativedrama,suchasplaysby

GeorgeShielsandLennoxRobinson.Initially,theGateTheatrefulfilledher

desirefor leadingroles.ShesubsequentlyreturnedtotheAbbeyTheatre,

taking roles in plays by new female playwrights Elizabeth Connor and


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Teresa Deevy. At the same time, she pursued her interest in mentoring

youngactorsandinworkingwithdramaofamoreexperimentalformthan

ever before seen in Ireland. In her memoirs, Mooney refers in a self-

deprecatingwayto‘mylittleExperimentalTheatre.’(Part288)Infact,the

project,whichshebeganwithseniorstudentattheSchoolofActingCecil

Ford in June 1939,was an innovation in Irish theatre. Setting these two

tracks of Mooney’s career side-by-side, studying them separately while

allowing them to reflect back on each other, brings us closer to an

understandingofthetheatrethatdroveandsustainedher.

There is a photographofMooney, dressed asRosieRedmond, on

stagewithSeánO’CaseyduringthedressrehearsalofThePloughandthe

Stars.Her skirt reaches below her knee; she wears thick tights and flat

shoes,withatartanshawlaroundhershoulders.Forthemodernspectator,

there isnothingsexualaboutthisprostitute;exceptforthecoysmilethe

actressisgivingtheplaywright,whohasautographedthemementoforher.

Hesays:‘Beclever,M'girl,&letwhowillbegood.’(BergMss7OB5715)In

September1969,MooneyreturnedthisphotototheO’CaseyEstate,andit

wasplacedintheBergCollectionintheNewYorkPublicLibrary.

Holding the original photo inmy hands, I can see that there is a

well-wornthumbtackhole ineverycorner.Thisphotowasnot framedor

stored in adust-freealbum,butwas tacked to thebedroomwall, to the

mirror in a dressing room, or to any available surface. Always visible,

always close, itwas a talisman to remindMooney of her experiences as

RosieRedmond,andthejourneyithadsetheron.

That photograph (her personal archive) was packed up in the

bohemian walk-up in Greenwich and brought on tour with the Abbey

Company,andthenbacktothebedroomshesharedwithhersisterinher

father’shouseonDublin’s south side.Retracing thatpath to theAbbey’s

backstage door was not a joyous reunion or comforting transition for

Mooney.Butbeneathherwarm,opennatureandchild-like idealism,she

hadaresilienceearnedduringThePloughandtheStarsandcompounded

as she walked the streets of New York after the Civic Repertory closed,


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lookingforwork.Atpoints inhercareer,Mooney’s insecuritiesabouther

acting talent would re-surface and threaten to overwhelm her, but an

enduringbeliefinhercraft,coupledwitheconomicnecessity,droveheron.

ThememoirPlayersandPaintedStagecontainsonlytworeferences

to intersections betweenMooney’s family and herwork. The first is her

father’s anxiety during The Plough and the Stars riots.The second is her

sister’s weeping after she saw Mooney perform at the Abbey after her

returnfromNewYorkin1932.Almostthirty,withafigurethathadalways

beenwomanly in itscurvesandafacethatwasalwaysmatureifelegant,

Mooney was cast as the sixteen-year-old schoolgirl Ducky in Robinson’s

drawing-room comedy The Far-Off Hills. After the curtain came down,

Mooneyreturnedhometoherfather’shousetofindhersistercryingwith

shameanddisappointment.(Part1101)

The Abbey directors often put adult women into the roles of

childrenandteenagers.Suchcastingwasjudgedtobeanecessarypractice

tomaintaintheensemblenatureoftheCompany,andalsoconnectstothe

amateur beginnings of the theatre. The preposterous practice was not

confinedtoRiaMooney:in1935theSanFranciscoNewsreviewedBrinsley

MacNamara’sLookattheHeffernansandspokeofthe‘lamentablecasting

ofMaureenDelaneyasabold,younggirl.’(CraigUCDMssLA28/116)While

there is no evidence actresses objected, the reaction ofMooney’s sister

showsthattheridiculousnatureofthecastingdidnotgounnoticedbythe

audience. Mooney’s telling of the event in her autobiography cleverly

displaces any personal shame onto her sister, allowing her to make the

pointwithoutappearingtojudge.Shedidn’tgiveupthepart,thatwasn’t

anoption,norwasobjectingormakingacomplaint.InMooney’saccount:

hersistercried;sheresolvedtofindotheropportunities.

After that reprise of Ducky and other similar roles, Mooney was

weary of playing parts for which she was unsuited and also perhaps of

being infantilized by theAbbeydirectorate. In September 1933 a chance

cametoworkwithHiltonEdwardsandMichaelMacLiammóirattheGate


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Theatreandshegraspedit.IntheirrehearsalroomatthetopofO’Connell

StreetMooneyfoundthemagicthathadexhilaratedherinNewYork:

Therewasthe ‘poetry’of theatre[…]thesameescapefromdullreality; the samemagic windows on to different places, peopleandperiods.(Part2104)

The Gate offered international plays and elegant roles like Lady

Precious Stream in Hsiung’s work of the same name and Gwendoline in

Wilde’s The Importance of being Earnest. AsMcGlone observes, for the

firsttimeever,Mooneyhad‘anentireseasonplayingromanticparts.’(60)

MacLiammóirsawsomethinginherthattheAbbeydirectorsdidn’t;infact,

he saw something she had trouble seeing in the mirror. The woman

MacLiammóir remembers is unlike the dumpy persona she repeatedly

presentsofherself:

Small, with night-black hair and long, slow-glancing green eyes,shehad[…]acuriousintensitylikeasteadilyburninginnerfire,and her acting was poised, shapely and full of intelligence.(MacLiammóir167)

This intense woman was not only focused on acting; at some point she

presentedtheadaptationofWutheringHeightsthatshehadworkedonin

NewYorkwithfellowactorDonaldStauffer.MacLiammóirreadit,andwas

stunned, declaring it ‘by far the best I had ever read’ and noting how it

‘preservedtheessenceofEmilyBronte’smindintothefewfeetoftheGate

theatre.’ (MacLiammóir 167) He cast Mooney as Catherine Earnshaw,

takingtheroleofHeathcliffhimself.

Hugesuccesswasclose,butfragileself-esteemagainthreatenedto

mar her performance.Mooney believed that she was far from ‘an ideal

Catherine’onthebasisthatshewassimply ‘toosmall’andalsostruggled

withthefactthatshekneweverylineandcommainthescript.(Part1105)

As she had with Le Gallienne, Mooney drove herself on relentlessly, a

perfectionist intent on securing the right interpretation of each line and

eachgesture.Herdisciplinewasagiftbut itwasalsoanoose, strangling

her instincts. It wasMacLiammóir who nurtured and supported her. He


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coaxedher to focus onone line, oneobjective, one scene at a time and

easedherbackintoanassuredperformance.

The production was revived in February 1935, when the Irish

Independentcritic‘D.S’notedon13thFebruarythat,‘MissRiaMooneyhas

by a series of slight alterations considerably improved the original

adaptation of the famous novel.’ He also gave the acting honours to Ria

Mooney, and believed ‘her Catherine Earnshaw is greater than Emily

Bronte’s.’ (‘Wuthering Heights’ 6) The Irish Times reviewer that saw the

revivalechoedD.S.’sviewthatCatherineovershadowedHeathcliffinevery

scene,sayingMooneygave‘aperformanceofquiteremarkableforce,and

inthecourseofitsheneverseemstostrikeawrongnote.’(‘TheGate’8)

Nurturedintherehearsalroom,praisedbythecritics,exploringher

full potential, little could tempt Mooney away from the Gate. Except,

perhaps, for one thing: an influential male suitor. During an ‘At Home’

social soirée in 1934, Abbey Theatre Managing Director and poet F.R.

Higgins approached her with the news that they were recasting the

repertoireandwould like to includeher.Theoffer toenticeher included

leadingrolesandtopsalary,althoughinitiallyshewouldperformwiththe

secondcompany,asthefirstcompanywasontour.Mooneylaterclaimed

thatthisopportunitycameatatimewhenshewas‘temporarilyannoyed’

with the Gate directors, but there is no evidence this is anything but a

retrospectiverationalisationofherdecision.(Part1106)Somethingabout

the intervention of Higgins, in charming mode, caused a transformative

shift.Shewasalsoabouttoembarkonalongaffairwiththemarriedpoet.

TheSecondCompany

Buoyedby the regardofHiggins forher talentandher successat

theGate,Mooneynowfeltshecouldconfidentlycontributeherexperience

totheNationalTheatre.ShecamebacktotheAbbeywiththeexpectation

ofbeingaromanticlead,albeitintheNo.2Company,butitwasnotlong

before she was reminded that some of the Abbey Directorate would

foreverconsiderher‘theAbbeywhore’.EthelManninlaternotedthisjibe,


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whichshesawassimply‘good-natured.(ArringtonNLIAcc6548)However,

the identification of Mooney with the playing of prostitutes and other

unrespectablewomenwouldcontinuetoshapehercareerattheAbbey.

One of Mooney’s first castings was in the role of Mrs Katharine

O’SheainW.R.Fearon’splayParnellofAvondale.Inthis,shewasaskedto

performoneofthemostnotoriouswomeninIrishhistory:anEnglish-born

divorcéewhohadapublicaffairwithHomeRulechampionCharlesStewart

Parnell.Theaffair ledto thedownfallof thenationalistpolitical leader in

the1890s, andmanycontinued tobelieve thatO’Sheawasa spy for the

British government. Parnell’s enemies gave his lover the name ‘Kitty

O’Shea’,because‘Kitty’suggestedashorteningofKatharine,butwasalso

Englishslangforprostitute.Dismissingonceagainthescandalandhearsay,

Mooney immersed herself in the text and her role. Research included

visiting Avondale House, Parnell’s ancestral home, with Fearon. She

sensitivelyobservedthehouseanditsinhabitants:

We waited for ‘the girls’ in an over-furnished drawing-room …Thereweredanceprogrammeswithpencilsattached,paperfans,paperchains,antimacassarsonallthemanychairsandsofas,andphotosinframesallovertheroom.Severalofthesephotoswereof the great Irish Leader, but there was none of Mrs. O’Shea.(MooneyPart1108)

The‘girls’werethetwoMissParnells,whostilllivedintheVictorian

stone house in undulatingWicklowhills. This once grand homenow, for

Mooney, ‘seemed to reflect the fortunesof itsowners.’ (Part1108)The

groundswereuncaredfor,thestaffageingandtheinhabitantsrefusingto

live in the present. Both of the ‘girls’were disgusted at the sympathetic

presentationofMrsO’SheaintheplayandlookedonMooneyasaperson

with ‘ratherbadtaste’.(MooneyPart1108)Theymade itclearthatthey

could not understand how a respectable Irish woman would take it on.

Mooney notes with a touch of humour: ‘at least they presumed I was

respectable.’ (Part 1108) For her, notions of respectability had come to

mean little. It was always about interpreting the part the author had

created,givingthecharacterdignityandemotionaltruth.LennoxRobinson,


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as director, cast an actress he knew would relish the part rather than

worryingaboutthehistoricalreputation.

TheopeningsceneofFearon’splayfocusesonthefirstmeetingof

ParnellandKateO’Shea.Mooneyworeanineteenth-centurydressinblack

velvetandchiffon that shehaddesignedandDenisCareyplayedParnell.

Fromthatfirstmeeting,theactionshiftstoWilliamO’Shea’sdiscoveryof

hiswife’saffairandtheplayconcludeswithParnell’sdownfall.AsMooney

observed,theaffairtakesprecedenceoverthepoliticsinFearon’splot.

TheIrishTimesrevieweron2ndOctoberthoughttheplaya‘gallant

failure’.HesaidthatCarey’s ‘physiquewasratheragainsthim’ intherole

buthewas‘competent’whileMooneywas‘excellent’.(‘NewPlay’6)Allof

the critics seemed incapable of seeing past the portrayal of Parnell as

something other, or somethingmore, than a patriotic political leader. A

young actress in the Abbey Experimental Theatre attended and was

mesmerisedbyMooney’sperformance.Sheremembered:

The play itself was little more than documentary, but theirportrayalscarried it toarevelationofpassionseldomseennow.(Finlay177)

In Fearon’s second version, Mrs O’Shea’s part was reduced and Parnell

made the central feature.16Mooneywas disgusted that the part became

nothingmore than ‘a dressed dummy’.(Part 1109) She believed Fearon

destroyed good drama for a political argument and points out, ‘This

productionwasquiteunsuccessful.’(MooneyPart1109)

RelationshipwithF.R.Higgins

OnboardingtheScythialinertotravelfromBelfasttoAmericawith

the Abbey Company in the autumn of 1937, RiaMooney hung over the

railing on deck with producer F. R. (Fred) Higgins. Three convoluted

paragraphs followthis scene in thememoir,asMooney tries toconvince

the reader that their relationship was a familial one—through mutual

relations inTrim,CountyMeath. (Part1113) It’sanattempttopersuade

16ThissecondproductionwasdirectedbyHughHuntinOctober1935


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thereader,andpossiblyherself,thatherconnectionwiththismarriedman

wasinnocuousandabovereproach.Inanappendixtothevolume,Higgins’

place in her heart is fully revealed: he presented her with a silver ring

sometime in the late 1930s. According to her own admission, Mooney

woretheringlikeaweddingtrothuntilthemetalworeaway.(Part1120)

InthecollectionofbooksbequeathedtotheNationalLibraryafter

her death is a book of Higgins’ poetry entitled Arable Holdings. It is

inscribed: ‘ToRia, inaCalifornian twilight, asamemoryofourAmerican

tour.’(MooneyNLIAcc6548)Thepoemhewroteduringthattour,‘AWish

forRia’,hungonthewallofherhideawaycottageinGlencree,Wicklowfor

decades.Knowingthattheirconversationonthatexposedandwindydeck

was not aboutmutual relations, one wants to ask: what did they speak

about?What drew them together? And how did this relationship shape

Ria’scareerandlife?

Higginshadlittlebutdisdainformostoftheactors,tellinghiswife:

Theyarereallylaughableintheirsnobbery,styleandbehaviour—all except Paddy, Delaney and Mulhern and Dossie—I talk tothesemostofall—theothersonlyannoyme.(HigginsNLIMss27,883(7))

Hedoesn’tputMooney ineithergroup,butshe ismentionedelsewhere.

That sea crossing to the United States was a particularly choppy one,

rendering the actors bedbound with nausea. In one letter, Higgins

describedtohiswifehowhevisitedtheactorsintheirsickbedsandthen:

Dr Higgins and Nurse Mooney (she was the only woman whosurvived) went upstairs and […] played House, the boat stillheaving.(HigginsNLIMss27,883(7))

Mooney impressed himwith her strength ofmind, her focus and

poise.Higginswasdelicateandparanoid;hefearedbeingawayfromhome

anddoubtedhisabilitytocope.She,ontheotherhand,wasateasewith

travel andused tomaking thebestof strange surroundings. TheAtlantic

crossingwasn’tnewtoher;shecametobelievethatfreshairandexercise

onboardenabledapassenger toavoidnausea.Regrettably,her reaction

came later. In a cottage on the Aran Islands after a similarly choppy


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crossing,shewokeat4amtofindthewholebuildingheavingandbecame

violently ill. (MooneyPart185)Outwardly strongandworldly,Mooney’s

turbulentmomentswereprivate.

Mooney’s relationshipwithHigginsmayhavebegunearlier,but it

was strengthened during that long period travelling together from

September1937toMay1938.Totherestofthecompany,itwasanopen

secret. While Higgins was dour, rude and often spiteful, Mooney had a

child-likefrankness.Shehadaneasymannerwithstrangersandtheability

tomakefriendshipsandtofosterthem.Atthesametime,shewaserudite,

educated inEuropeantheatreandversed inAmerican literature, through

herexposuretotheHarlemRenaissance.Itmayneverbepossibletofully

explaintheromanticconnectionbetweentwohistoricalfigures,butthere’s

nodoubtthatMooneywasusefultoHiggins.Quiteapartfromhispersonal

demeanour,Higginswasapoetwithlittlepracticaltheatreexperience.

Since her appearance as Rosie Redmond, Mooney was detached

from the other devout Catholic actresses and actors. Now she had been

brought on tour with the first company, having been on stage with the

secondcompany forover threeyears,andshewasoutsideof theactors’

tight-knit circle.Althoughcloseenough tobeprivy towhatwasgoingon

withtheindividualactors,shedidnothaveparticularallegiancestoanyof

them. Such knowledge of personal details and Company gossip was the

kindof informationprizedbytheparanoidHiggins.Atthesametime,her

intimacywiththemantheotheractressesopenlydespisedcutherofffrom

closefriendship.Mooneywascomfortableforeversituatedsomewhereon

theoutsideofthegroup,anditsuitedHigginstohavehisloverthere.

McGlonedescribeshow,followingthedeathofYeats,Mooneyand

‘her poet stood together now at the head of the Abbey.’ (71)While the

imageisattractive,ithasnobasis.MooneymovedaroundbehindHiggins,

perhaps whispering in his ear while they spent the day in Glencree or

gently leading him in different directionswith a prepared argument and

presentationofaparticularscript,butshewasneverfullyvisibletothose

watchingHiggins’strategicmanoeuvers.


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NewYork:FortheSecondTime

OnarrivalattheEdisonHotel inNewYorkintheautumnof1937,

RiaMooneytooktoherhotelbed.TheAbbeyCompanywerestayinginthe

ArtDecohotelonWest47thStreet,merefootstepsfromTimesSquare,and

the others had recovered from their seasickness. Higgins, already under

strainfromthebusinessofthetour,wrote:

For the past two weeks, Ria Mooney is very sick. Doctorsattendinghere.(LuckyformesheisnotinTheFar-OffHills,whichisnow in its thirdweek.) Shehasgone completely limpand theDoctorscannotmakeoutwhatisthematter.(Higgins27,883(7))

Medicsfailedtodiagnoseanything;theillnessmaynothavebeenphysical.

The city had a difficult history for the actress and now she struggled to

cope with it. When she managed to get on stage, she was nothing but

miserableaboutherperformances.Decadeslater,on1stSeptember1953,

sherecalledthetimeandconfessedtofriendTheresaHelburn:

[A]ll the complexes I developed at the Civic Rep Theatre camecrowdingdownuponme.(YCALMss436)

MacLiammóir had nurtured her; the actors of the Abbey Companywere

toowrappedup intheirownaffairs.ArthurShieldstookHigginsontothe

roofgardenofthehotel,twenty-twofloorsupwithaviewoverthelights

of Broadway, and at times dosed him with bromide to calm his nerves.

(Higgins27,883(7))Higginscouldn’tsupportMooney,norcouldtheother

actresses,whohadnounderstandingofthefearthatseizedheronarrival

backtotheplacewhereLeGalliennehadaffectedherconfidencesobadly.

Mooney’s illness in the Edison Hotel coincided with the opening of the

AbbeyCompany’sfirstplayonBroadway:TeresaDeevy’sKatieRoche.

TeresaDeevyandplayingKatieRoche

Inthespringof1935,athin,severe-lookingwomanarrivedoffthe

trainfromWaterfordandheadedfortheAbbeyTheatre.Shereachedthe

theatrejustintimetotakeherseatbeforetheorchestrafinishedandthe

curtainrose.Anyexcitementshe’dfeltonthejourneydissipatedrapidlyin


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thehalf-empty audience. Teresa (Tessa)Deevywas there to see the first

performance of her one-act play The King of Spain’s Daughter and was

accompanied by her sister, Nell. Yet, the programmenotes didn’tmatch

the script she’d submitted and the characters that appeared differed

fundamentally fromthoseshe’dcreated. (DeevyTCDMss10722/8)Tessa

continuedtowatch.Shewatchedfacialexpressions,physicalgesturesand

movements,bothof thoseon the stageand in theaudiencearoundher.

Wherepossible,shereadthe lipsof theperformers.Thewordswereher

own,buttheintonationindecipherable.Despitehowintentlyshewatched,

herdeafnessmeantthatTeresa(Tessa)Deevycouldneverunderstandall

thatwasgoingonaroundher.

Although she’d been submitting plays to the Abbey for over a

decade and had shared first prize in the Abbey Theatre new play

competition in 1932, the Waterford native had thought carefully about

attendingthatperformanceofTheKingofSpain’sDaughter.Shewroteto

herfriend,fellowwriterFlorenceHackett:

I'mafraidnowIshan'tbeuptoseeitinDublin.Faresaresohigh,andtheplayissotinyathing-Thenitwouldmeanstayinganightor so in Dublin - all runs to so much money. (Deevy TCD Mss10722/6)

Whenshechangedhermindanddidtravel,itwasadistressingexperience:

Thehousewaswretched!Youcouldcountthepeople.Ithinktheproduction was good, but the producer’s interpretation of theplaywasverydifferentfrommyconceptionofit.(DeevyTCDMss10722/8)

ProducerFredJohnsonhaderadicatedthe ‘gayair’ thathadbeencentral

to her composition. The ‘light-hearted youth’ she’d called JimHarriswas

now a cruel, careworn man and Mrs Marks ‘a weary apathetic woman,

beatenbytheworld’whileshehadenvisioned‘thebiggenialmothersort.’

(Deevy TCD Mss 10722/8) For Deevy, the only source of solace was that

whenthecentral figure,AnnieKinsella,appearedonthegrassy roadside:

‘Shewasgood,verygood.’(DeevyTCDMss10722/8)Theromanticdreamer,

Annie,wasaged‘abouttwenty’andworeunderherdarkshawlareddress.


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(Deevy The King 23) The actress didn’t have the golden hair Deevy

describedinthescript:shewasplayedbyRiaMooney.

FrankO’Connor,writerandboardmember,hadbeeninterestedin

Deevy’s work since her early submissions. After she wrote Temporal

Powersin1932,hesoughtDeevyoutinthelobbyoftheAbbeytotellher:

I was enchanted by the technique of your play, its deliciousinvention and steady, perfectly controlled progression, itsmasterly climax without a hint of theatre. (Deevy TCD MSS10722/81)

Deevy reliedonher sisterNell to interpret. Shehadbeendeaf since the

age of twenty and although her lip-reading was proficient, her work is

markedbyanabidingfascinationwithhowpeopleconsistentlytryandfail

tofullycomprehendeachother.Intheearly1930s,shewrotetoafriendto

commendaplayshe’dread.Itgivesaninsightintohersenseofdrama:

firstofalldelight in theatmosphere - thedelicious turnof theirtalk-theabsurdityandrealityofthemall.(DeevyTCDMSS10722/1)

The real conflict, as she sees it, is in the ‘actionof the soul.’ (DeevyTCD

MSS10722/1) InwritingTheKingof Spain’sDaughter,Deevy focusedon

the ‘April day atmosphere’ and on holding the absurdity and reality of

Anne Kinsella in careful balance. (Deevy TCD MSS 10722/8) Johnson

eradicatedthefirst,bychangingthesettingtothesummer.Annie’sspirit

was left to Mooney to portray. Joseph Holloway, who attended the

opening night, was uncertain about the play, saying it had ‘an unusual

theme’.(HollowayNLIMss1971)ButHollowaywasconvincedthat itwas

Mooney’s acting which ‘made it seem almost a masterpiece’ as she

‘revealedallthedepthoffeeling.’(HollowayNLIMss1971)

Asalways,Mooneycommittedherselftointerpretingthecharacter

as conceived by the author. The difficulty with playing Annie Kinsella, a

woman forced to choose between indentured labour in the local factory

andmarriage,isthatsheisconsistentlynothingexceptinconsistent.Infact,

the entire script ofTheKingof Spain’sDaughter tends somuch towards


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hyperbole that it’s difficult to read it as a serious situation. Annie is

incapableofrememberingaccuratelythebrideshehasjustseen:

ANNIE. ItwasinpalegoldIsawher.JIM. (Furious)An’ in shimmerin’ green, an’ in flamin’

red,an’inmilk-whitewhenitwillsuityou!(DeevyTheKing28)

Annie’swhimsyoftenslipsintoignorance,andherfancifulimaginationinto

deceit. So much so that, on reading, one can empathize with Jim’s

impatienceandherfather’sanger.However,allindicationssuggestthatit

wasMooney’s subtle talents that gave the character such presence. Her

workonBernard’sL’InvitationAuVoyagemeantthatsheunderstoodhow

toworkwithanapparentabsenceofdrama.SchooledbyLeGallienne in

observingtheslightestshiftsofhumour,intracingemotionalshiftsingear

sothattheyflowedeffortlessly,Mooneywasoneofthefewactressesthat

couldbringasenseofcoherencetotherole.

Given this success with Deevy’s material, it may have been

expected thatMooneywouldbe cast as the leading lady inDeevy’snext

play Katie Roche. However, in 1936 she was cast as the ‘odd little’

unmarriedwomanAmeliaGregg,whois‘somethingoverfifty’andlivesin

fearthatthemarriageofherbrotherwillleaveherhomeless.(DeevyKatie

25) The title role was given to Eileen Crowe and the part of Stanislaus

Gregg, her new husband, to F.J. McCormick. The casting is noteworthy

because it gave the role of a young single Irish female seeking

independence toamarriedwoman:EileenCrowewasmarried todevout

CatholicF.J.McCormick.Onstage,theAbbeydirectoratecouldbeseento

exploreideasoffemaleindependence.Butitwasalwaysinthecontextof

maledecision-makingpowerandshelteredby theoff-stage realityof the

Catholic institution ofmarriage. The play has been discussed in detail in

chaptertwo,butsomedetailsmaybeusefullyrepeatedhere.

Katie Roche explores the same subjects as The King of Spain’s

Daughter in amore protracted form. As the play opens, in the home of

AmeliaGregg,theservantKatieiscontemplatingenteringtheconvent.At


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the same time, she wavers on the idea of marriage to a number of

different men. Katie’s social position is more complicated than Annie

Kinsella’s because of her parentage: hermother was unmarried and the

identityofherfatherremainsamysterytoherformostoftheplay.Stan’s

proposalofmarriagecomeswiththeconfessionthathelovedhermother.

As inTheKing of Spain’sDaughter, there is futile and endless vacillation

betweenchoices,noneofwhichofferKatieanykindofmeaningfulfuture.

KATIE. (goestohim).Isitmetobethewomanbehindyou?Ahelpatyourwork?Isthatwhatyouwant?(Eager.)

STAN. You might indeed: you very well might (socondescendingthatsheisrepulsed).(DeevyKatie40)

AmeliaGregg functions only to point up the other option to Irish

women: unmarried, she manages her brother and the house like his

mother. The spinster sister both welcomes the new wife as an ally and

fears her as a competitor with the power to put her out of the house.

Often,AmeliaandStanspeakofKatieasifsheisarecalcitrantchild:

AMELIA. No, -- but Imean, she does her best. She’s a bravelittlesoul.(DeevyKatie108)

In the play’s final moments, when Stan has ordered Katie to

accompany him to Dublin and she is ‘bitter’ and ‘full of self pity’, it is

Ameliawhourgesheron.Sheencourageshertobebrave,insisting:

AMELIA. […] If you’re brave, you can make it grand. My

dear,youmust!(DeevyKatie113)

Katieleaves‘exultant’and‘almostgaily’,whileAmeliaislefttowatchher

fromthedoorway,asifcontemplatingthemiseryofherownpredicament

incomparison.(DeevyKatie113)

Katie’s triumphantdeparturewithherviolenthusbandhasalways

drawn the focus of readers and critics. It can be overlooked that in

performance,thefinalimageleftbyDeevyis:‘AMELIAstandsatthedoor,

looking after her.’ (Deevy Katie 114)With Crowe andMcCormick in the

wings,RiaMooneyheldthestage.As theunmarried,solitaryAmelia,she


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was left to contemplate the position of Irish women, their lives, their

optionsandtheircapacityto‘makeitgrand’.(DeevyKatie113)

Deevy travelled to Dublin inMarch 1936 to spend a few days in

rehearsal with the Abbey Company before Katie Roche premiered. She

thought the new English producer, Hugh Hunt, to be young but full of

enthusiasmandwasstruckwith the industryand friendlinessof thecast.

Oncetheplaywas‘safelyover’shecouldreflectonthewholeexperience

andtoldFlorenceHacketton5thApril: ‘all this looksas ifyouareright in

sayingthat“Katie”ismybest.’(DeevyTCDMss10722/15)

Deevyhadalwayshopedthatoneofherplayswouldbebroughtto

AmericabytheAbbeyCompany. (DeevyTCDMss10722/12) In1937, the

successofKatieRocheinDublinledtheboardtochoosetheplaytoopen

therepertoireandtheUStourinNewYork.Butthesubtleexplorationof

femaleindependencewasnotpopularwithAmericanaudiences.TheNew

YorknewspaperDailyMirrorwasquicktopickuptheerrorofthatdecision,

reporting on the Abbey’s ‘half-hearted struggle with Teresa Deevy's

shadow of a play Katie Roche, which they unwisely, we think, chose to

opentheircurrentrepertoryengagementhere.’(CraigUCDMssLA28/231)

InNewYork,theAbbeywasassociatedwiththegentlehumourof

comedies suchasRobinson’sTheFar-OffHillsor the traditional charmof

Synge’s Playboy of the Western World. Calling it a ‘shadow’ of a play

suggestsnot that theyweredisturbedby thepatriarchalviolenceof Irish

society,butthattheyfailedtograsptheissuesatstakeandthesubtletyof

Deevy’swriting.Asmentionedabove,Mooneywasstrugglingtoleaveher

hotelbedroomandKatieRochewasdisappointingtheAmericanfansofthe

Company. Higgins decided to replace the play with more crowd-friendly

fare,andfulldetailsofthefailureonBroadwayneverreachedDeevy.

Mooney had inhabited the romantic idealism of Deevy’s heroines

andalsoknewtheharshrealityofthetreatmentofIrishwomen.Shewas

orderedbyErnestBlythetodirecttheplayin1949,andinaneatreversal

ofhistoryshecastEileenCrowe(theoriginalKatie)asAmeliaGregg.Inthat

instance, the nine-week run was a success, making Deevy ‘feel like a


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millionaireforthetimebeing.’ (DeevyTCDMSS10722/49)Mooney,then

thetheatre’sDirectorofPlaysinEnglish,describeditasa‘beautifulplay,’

whichshealwaysthoughtofwith‘tearsinmyheart.’(Part290)

TheWomenofJ.M.Synge:Pegeen&WidowQuin

ManyIrishactressesaspiretoplayallthefemalepartsinO’Casey’s

ThePloughandtheStars inthecourseofalifetime:progressingfromthe

prostituteRosie to newbrideNora, toMrsGogan and finally the elderly

Mrs Burgess covers a life span of performing. For Mooney, her career

progressionbroughtherthroughallthepartsinSynge’sThePlayboyofthe

Western World. With different casts, Mooney played the minor parts:

Honor Blake (1926), Susan Brady (1928/1932) and Nelly Reilly (1936)

beforeher castingasPegeenMike (MargaretFlaherty) in1937. She took

on the role for the US tour that opened that autumn, but the

interpretation that impressed Yeats was largely ignored by US critics.

DuringtheAbbeyTheatreFestivalofIrishDramainAugust1938,sheagain

played Pegeen, this time opposite Arthur Shields as ChristopherMahon.

(Abbey Theatre Database) An important celebration of the Abbey, the

festivalwasalso,inretrospect,afinaltributetoYeats.Tobechosentoplay

Synge’sPegeenat theeventwasanhonourandprivilege. Itwas the last

timesheperformedforYeatsbeforehisdeathinFranceinJanuary1939.

ThereisoneportraitofRiaMooneyhangingintheAbbeyTheatre,

butit isvisibleonlytoperformersandstagehands.Theportraitcurrently

hangs on the wall between dressing rooms two and three (the Ladies’

dressing rooms). The portrait was painted by Gaetanno de Gennaro and

shows, in shocking bright colours, a rounded, beautiful Mooney as the

WidowQuin in 1943. That productionwas designed by Seán Keating, an

establishedartistMooneypersuadedBlythetoemploy.(McGlone78)

In her memoirs, the actress writes of wearing a Spanish-style

tortoiseshellcombinherhairandanembroideredshawltoreferencethe

SpanishdescentofGalwaywomen. (Part271)Keatingwaschargedwith

erroneous costuming,butMooneywas convincedof its authenticity. The


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portrait shows no comb and around her shoulders, there is a traditional

plaidshawl.WhentheproductionopenedonStStephen’sDay1942,both

YeatsandHigginsweredead.(Mooney’sloverpassedsuddenlyinJanuary

1941.)Shewasfacing intoanewyearand launching intoanewphaseof

hercareer.People,deGennaro included,wouldcontinuetooverlookthe

life,imaginationandcolourshebroughttotheIrishstage.

ElizabethConnor,UnaTroyandMountProspect

InMay 1940,Mooney spent amorning trying towrite a letter to

playwright Una Troy to thank her for the gift of an evening bag.Mount

Prospect:ATragedy inThreeActshadbeen stagedat theAbbeyTheatre

weeksearlierandMooneyplayedthecentralroleofMrsKennefick.After

throwingawaytwodrafts,shewrotethefollowing:

You really are much too generous because I feel, honestly andtrulyindebttoyouforhavingwrittenitandtoFrankDermodyforfightingforthepartforme. It’smeantaverygreatdealtome, Ihaven't had such compliments since I was in the Gate, in fact,numbersofpeoplehadforgottenIcouldactuntiltheysawmeas‘MrsK’--soit’sIwhoshouldsendpresents.(TroyNLIMss35,687(9))

Despitetheusualmannerlygratitudeofanactresstoaplaywright,thereis

paininheradmissionthatothershadforgottenherskills.Somequalityof

thisplaywright’sworkcapturedMooney’slatenttalentandre-inspiredher;

theplay,anditsprovenance,offeredhersomethingvital.

The adjudicators of the Abbey Play Competition that year were

George Shiels and P.S. O'Hegarty, assisted by Brinsley MacNamara.

AccordingtoTheIrishIndependent,thefirstprizewassharedbetweenaW.

D. Hepenstall (from Greystones) whose play Today and Yesterdaywas a

comedy of modern Irish life and Connor’sMount Prospect, a tragedy of

middle-class life in an Irish provincial town. (Troy NLI Mss 35,687 (9))

ConnortravelledfromClonmeltoaccepttheprizeandshehadlunchwith

LennoxRobinsonintheUnicornrestaurantthefollowingday.Althoughthe


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prizeoffiftypoundswassharedequally,someweekslater,on12February

1940,RobinsoncorrespondedprivatelywithConnortosay:

[I]t should of course have the whole prize, but we Directorspreferred to leave the judgment to other people and so couldonly accept their opinions. […] I think you have written atremendousplay.Yourwomaninit isasgreat,andgreater,thanStrindberg’sTheFather.(TroyNLIMss35,687(9))

Robinsonwasalreadyconcernedaboutcasting theeldestsonand

DermodyhadtofightforMooneytohavetherole.(Therewereactresses

closer inage to thecharacter, suchasCraigandDelaney.)Butwithparts

assigned,theplaywasstagedforthefirsttimeinApril1940.Itdrewgood

houses and played for a second week. London Tatler attended the

premiereanddeftlysummarisedhowtheplay‘dealswithakindoffemale

TartuffeintheIrishbogs’andhad‘setDublintalking.’(TroyNLIMss35,687

(9))InattendancethatnightwereLordLongford(oftheGateTheatre)and

wife;BrinsleyMacNamara;thepainterCharlesLamb(arelativeofConnor);

theLennoxRobinsons,‘aninterestingpair’;HigginsandMrsGeorgeYeats,

‘Dublin'smostinveteratefirst-nighter’.(TroyNLIMss35,687(9))

Muchof the talkabout theplay centredon the fact that theplay

was based on a novel that had been banned in Ireland by the Censor,

before being published in England. All of the action takes place in the

drawingroomofagrandhouse–‘MountProspect’–inanIrishprovincial

town. Robinson believed the playwright captures ‘all the quality of

snobbish,country,countyCork.’(TroyNLIMss35,687(9))

ThefirstscenestagesthereadingofMrKennefick’swill,whenthey

learnthehouseistobesharedbyhissecondwifeandstepsonRexwithhis

children fromhis firstmarriage,PeterandMary.Earlyon,MrsKennefick

revealsherattachmenttoherhome:

MrsKennefick:IwassoproudwhenIcameherefirstasEdward'swife--asyouknow,Kate,Iwaspastthirtyandnothandsomeatmy best and it seemed as if God had forgotten me. And then,after all, he made me Mrs Kennefick of Mount Prospect. Thishousehasbeenmyhomeforsolong-I'veworkedandcaredforitfortwenty-threeyears-Ifeelit’salivewithme...(TroyMountProspect8NLIMss35,687(9))


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Gradually,thestrangetendenciesofPeterandMarybecomeapparentand

the audience is left guessing to the motives of all involved. Sharing the

house,asMrKennefickwished,seemsanimpossibleresolution.Mooney’s

characterisapiousmemberoftheLegionofMaryandtheVincentdePaul

society,whorulesherchildrenwithmedicine,eggflipandadomineering

presence. In thenovelonwhich theplay isbased sheopenlydeclares: ‘I

couldneverliveoutofIreland,Rex.Mykindwouldnevergetonawayfrom

here.’(TroyProspectNovel544NLIMss36,685(2))

WhilePeterstrugglestorunthesolicitors’officeinheritedfromhis

father,Rexiscarousing.PeterinsistsRexislazyanduseless;MrsKennefick

argues Peter works too hard and needs to find help. She embodies

practicalsenseandmaternaldevotion.MrsKennefickalwaysknowswhat

isbestforherstep-children,asshealoneholdsthesecretoftheirinherited

madness.Tensions risewhenword reachesMountProspect thatagirl in

thevillageispregnantwithRex’schild,althoughshehadbeendatingother

meninabidtoconcealherstate.Yet,contrarytotheconventionalending

inwhichtruemotivesmayberevealedandevilforcesousted,thingstakea

different turn.Thepregnancy subplot isneatly sidesteppedwitha timely

motorcaraccident,sothatallfocusremainsonthefamilyunit.HughHunt

calledDeevy’sIrelanda‘twilightworld’ofromanticfemaledreamers,but

Connor’scountrysideisaplaceasblackasnight.(157)

ConnorunderstoodthesocialpressuresonIrishwomenduringthis

time.Tosome,shewasMrsWalsh,wifetotheGPinClonmelinTipperary.

Toothers,shewasthebannednovelistElizabethConnor,withavidreaders

across theUK and Europe. Toher family of artist relations, shewasUna

Troy: the name she was given at birth. Reading the plot of her banned

novelMountProspectalongside theplay reveals thehighlyaccomplished

nature of the adaptation, dramatizing material that could be staged

without scandal while still holding an audience’s attention. Her subtle

touch shapes each of her female characters into fascinating individuals:

strong,dynamicwomen. Ineach case, there is amarkedgap, adramatic


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space,betweenwhotheyareandwhotheypurporttobe.Earlyintheplay,

Mrs Kennefick confesses to a female friend the strain of motherhood:

‘Sometimes I get so tired, thinking of others… But I shouldn’t say that.’

(TroyMountProspect10NLIMss35,687(9))

In the novel, Mary is a married woman who has left Mount

Prospect with her husband. Hermarriage is unhappy, however, and she

realizes that the feminine ideal she has worked to achieve bores her

husband.Shehasanepiphany:

At least, she knew now that she could make no change in herhusband;shecouldchangeonlyherself.(TroyProspectNovel468NLIMss36,685(2))

After much thought, Mary decides there is only one remedy for her

‘agonizingly dull’ union: ‘She must, of course, commit adultery.’ (Troy

ProspectNovel469NLIMss36,685(2))

Marital infidelityandfemaleemancipationofanykindareexcised

from the play. In the stage adaptation, Mary is a fragile girl, almost a

prisonerathome.ShewantstobecomeadoctorandtellsMrsKennefick:

Mary. I could you know,Mother. I gotmyMatric at schooland it would be quite easy – … I want to go away. Iwantalifeofmyown.(TroyMountProspectAct1Scene2NLIMss35,687(9))

Despite opposition, Mary does talk back to her stepmother. Unlike the

idealistic and hopelessly imaginative heroines penned by Deevy, Connor

writeswise and cunningwomen,who seeboundaries that canbe gently

pokedwithoutfulltransgression.Atonepoint,shesharesthisexchange:

MrsKennefick. You'renotfittedforthisworld,child.Mary. Whounfittedme?

(TroyMountProspectAct1Scene2NLIMss35,687(9))

At the same time, the violence of the novel is tempered for the

stage. In the book, Peter kills Rex in a clear display of the ‘strength of

insanity’. (TroyProspectNovel558NLIMss36,685(2))Whentheygather

athisbedsideinthefinalscene,MrsKennefickisconvulsedwithgriefand

‘Maryreeled,swayedandleantheavilyonthebed.’Thefinalorderisthen


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amaternalpleadrivenby love,griefanddesperation,anddelivered in ‘a

croakingwhisper’:‘Mary...takeyour...handsoffthe...whitequilt.’(Troy

ProspectNovel563NLIMss36,685(2))

Intheplay,Petertakingouthisrageonthedrawingroomfurniture

isthemostviolentsectionoftheaction.MrsKennefickwatchesfromaside,

calmandstately. In the final lineofdialoguebefore thecurtain falls, she

requests the drawing room door be closed lest the servants overhear.

Frompagetostage,thereisaclearshiftinemphasisfromfemaledesireto

social propriety. Connor couldn’t stage female emancipation, but she

presentedfemalepowerinaformpalatabletotheAbbeydirectorate.

ThetheatrecriticfromtheIrishTimeswasstunnedby‘thegripand

compulsion of the moving and very human story’ on 23 April 1940 and

hopedtheproductionsignalled‘therebirthoftheseriousplayintheAbbey

Theatre.’(‘Abbey’4)GabrielFallonthoughtMooney’sperformance‘oneof

her best’ but dismissed the character of Mrs Kennefick as ‘almost fully

drawnandnearlycredible.’(TroyNLIMss35,687(9))Robinson’sreadingof

thecharacter(quotedabove)ismoreastute:sheisacomplex,unflinching

portraitofanIrishwomaninfullcontrolofherhome,herfamilyandher

future. The audience’s sympathy for the widow is manipulated by the

playwrightateverystepoftheaction.

MountProspectisadarkandeeriethriller,amorbidanalysisofIrish

small-town society and a callous dissection of the Irish mother figure.

WhileElizabethConnorwouldgoontofuturesuccesswithhernovels,itis

ahugelosstotheNationalTheatrethatsheshiftedherattentionfromthe

stage.SheunderstoodthatthestageoftheAbbeyTheatrewasnotaspace

for the things she wrote about in her fiction: female emancipation,

infidelityandpower.MaryKennefickcanmeddlewithsuchissuesbecause

shewillbedeclared‘mad’attheendoftheplay.

The part of Mrs Kennefick presented Mooney with a challenge

worthyofhertalents,andsherosetoit.Foraroleofsimilarstature,she

hadtowait forMrsTyrone inEugeneO’Neill’sALongDay’s Journey Into


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Night.Thatproductionopenedin1959,buttherewouldbechallengesina

differentformbeforeshereturnedtothestageasaperformer.

TheAbbeySchoolofActing

Intheautumnof1935,RiaMooneywasappointedtheDirectorof

theAbbeySchoolofActing.Robinson’salcoholismhadbecomeintolerable,

but those who expected M. J. Dolan to replace him were surprised by

Mooney’s designation. Given her history with the school and her

experience in New York, it was a position to which she knew she was

ideallysuited.Italsobroughtinanadditionalsalary,whileshecontinuedto

performwiththeCompanyonthemainstage.

Afterrehearsingduringtheday,Mooneytrampeddownthestairs

tothePeacockTheatre,thesmallerstudioonthesamesiteastheAbbey,

to leadclasses.Shebeganthetermwithhighideals,someofwhichwere

lost in the daily toil necessary to keep the school operating. In February

1936, shepresented to theboardhernew scheme for the school,which

included classes in the theory of acting, the practice of acting and a

separate class for the juvenile leads. (Minute Books NLI Acc 3961) The

schemewasunanimously accepted, aswasherproposal that SaraPayne

(with a musical accompanist) give a class once a week in rhythmical

movement.(MinuteBooksNLIAcc3961)

Frank O’Connor would repeatedly interfere in her work, but

Mooneydismissedherirritationwiththeintrusiontofocusonrecapturing

therespectfulobservationandgentlementoringthatshehadexperienced

at the Civic Repertory in New York. Students, she insisted, should be

allowedtofeeltheirwayintoparts.Theyshouldbeallowedtoexperiment

witheverykindofrole,eventhosethatmaynotostensiblysuitthem.

In a step outside ofO’Connor’s comprehension,Mooney directed

her charges with what she termed ‘poor movements’, or inadequate

stagingandgestures.Thiswasbasedonthetheorythattheirconceptionof

thecharactercouldnotthenrelyonoutwardgesturesormovements.The

student had to focus on fully inhabiting themindof the character.Once


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completely secure and confident in the interior life of the character,

Mooney would assist the young actors with natural and minimal

movements.(Part269)Inhermemoirs,Mooneyreiteratesherbeliefthat

while only the ‘original creator’ could give somebody talent: ‘If you

couldn'tteachtoact,youcouldteachsomeoneHOWtoact.’(Part268)

Itisthehighesttributetoherworkduringthoselongeveningsthat

not only did many future stars of the Abbey stage emerge from her

tutelage, but the enthusiasm and professionalism of her charges

engenderedacompany.Adoptinga logothatmergedthetraditional Irish

wolfhoundswith amodern, geometric form, in 1937Mooney’s students

formedAET:theAbbeyExperimentalTheatre.

ExperimentingwithForm

The concept of an experimental theatre group at the Abbey had

beenintheairforsometime,butitwasonlyinthespringof1937thatthe

ideatookformalshape.MooneylearntthataseniorstudentattheSchool

ofActing,CecilFord,wasorganizingrehearsalsatnightwiththeintention

of a public production. At first, Mooney believed the endeavour was

prematurebutshewaswonoverbyFord’senthusiasmandindustriousness.

Together, director and student came to agree on a scheme for staging

playsbyforeignauthorsthatwerenotwelcomeattheAbbey.W.B.Yeats

thoughtof theAETas ‘a theatrewhichwould“tryout”plays rejectedby

theAbbey’.(Saddlemyer467)Robinsonlaterdismissedtheplaysstagedby

theAET as ‘not impressive’ but said that at least ‘the Theatre has never

beenguiltyofquenchingyoungtalent.’(Ireland’sTheatre154-5)

The students of the Abbey School financed this experiment

themselves. Each student was a shareholder in the Society, with small

weekly contributions constituting a share. They produced the plays,

designed their own sets, made and painted the scenery and, when

necessary, created theirowncostumes.Frontofhouse, they ran thebox

office,thepitcafé,andtheyusheredpeopletotheirseats.TheDirectorsof

the Abbey chose the plays and provided the Peacock Theatre free of


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charge.HughHuntandMooneyalsohadarighttovetoproductionsthat

didn’tmeetacertainstandard.(ThereisnoevidenceHuntwasinvolved.)

A photograph of the AET Group during the production of

Harlequin’sPositionsshowsatotaloffifty-eightstudentswithavastrange

inage:thirtysevenmenandtwentyonewomen.(Fitzgerald)Therewasa

smallmanagingcommittee,comprisingsixstudentsandRiaMooney.One

of those serving on the committee was amarried womanwith a young

family at home (Josephine Fitzgerald); another a young lady with an

ordinary day job (Shela Ward). George Yeats spoke of them all

affectionately,urgingherhusbandtosendatelegramtowishthemluck:

The‘Experimentalists’havebeenworkingwiththeenthusiasmoffanatics and the sense which fanatics do not usually possess.(Saddlemyer467)

The students directed the first productions (in April 1937), but in

1939MooneytookonthedirectionofJackYeats’Harlequin’sPositions.Ian

R.Walshproposesthatthisproductionofthefirstplayofthewell-known

artistwasapprovedbyHigginsafterthedeathofW.B.Yeats.(41)Infact,

weeksbeforethedeathofhisbrother,theplaywrightwasincontactwith

Mooneyabouttheproduction,orapossibleone.JackYeatssenthernotes

ofsceneswhileworkingonit,withthedisclaimer:‘Theyareprobablymuch

too elaborate, though they may be of use as suggestions.’ (Berg Mss

170B6454)Hecontinuedtosendlettersof inquiry,butrehearsalsdidnot

begin until April 1939. The followingmonth, he added some lines to the

script.Fourtimesheattendedrehearsals,‘eachtimewithmorerespectfor

thewaythecompanycarriedthedaysalong’.(Pyle154)

Harlequin’sPositionsostensiblypresentsaconventional‘strangerin

thehouse’plot,but itworks ina radicallydifferentmode. It’sadramatic

piecewholly dependent on images rather thanwords, verymuch in the

moderniststyle,andthusitappealeddirectlytoMooney’ssenseofcolour

and shape. From the first reading, Mooney felt Jack Yeats ‘could have

contributedasmuchtotheIrishtheatreashedidtoIrishpainting.’(Part2

111)Thestudentswereencouragedtorestricttheirmovementasmuchas


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possible and to speak the words with ‘intelligence and conviction.’

(MooneyPart 2111) The playwright himself believed that ‘acting’ in the

traditionalsensewouldbefataltothescript.Instead,‘dialoguemustflow

from one actor to another each becoming nothing but an agent and

putting all of Yeats into his words.’ (Pyle 154) The dialogue should be

nothingbutwords;theexpressiononlythatofthedramatist.

Mooney was a conduit between the playwright and cast. Both

writerandactorsneededconfidencebuildingaswellasadisciplinedhand.

Asshe introducedthestudents toa text theyhadneverseenthe likeof,

shehadtoendowthemwiththetechniquesandassurancetoworkinthis

radicallynewmode.Simultaneously,sheworkedwithYeatstoensureher

interpretationoftheworkwastohissatisfaction.Meanwhile,sheassured

theAbbeydirectorateof anupcoming success.Performing thisbalancing

actbetweenallinvolved,therewaslittletimetoconsidercritics’opinions.

Intheevent,the IrishTimes journalisttreateditasashowcasefor

the Experimental Theatre actors, saying ‘It givesnearly everymemberof

thecasttheopportunityofplayingaleadingpartinatleastoneofthefive

acts.’ (‘The Peacock’ 6) He lamented that parts of the play ‘might have

beenbetterinthehandsofmoreexperiencedperformers,’andopinedthe

playwas‘astrangepieceofmaterial.’(‘ThePeacock’6)

Mooney’s powers of persuasion, particularly after the death of

Higgins,hadtheir limits.WhenshedirectedJackYeats’playLaLaNoo in

May1942,theproductionwouldhaveonlyoneperformancetoproveitself.

That Sunday night, the curtain rose to show a dingy bar where seven

women had gathered to take shelter from the rain. Coming from the

nearbyathleticsports,thesewomenmeetastrangemanandthepublican.

There is much of the traditional ‘peasant quality’ familiar to the Abbey

audiencesinLaLaNoo,butalsomanydeparturesfromthisstyle.

Thecolourschemeofthesetisdistinctive.Thebaranddresserare

‘dingy blue’, at the window hangs a ‘dingy claret-coloured cotton half-

curtain’, and the door and outside shutter are ‘green’. (Yeats 1) Seven

women, ranging in age from nineteen to fourty-five, advance to the bar


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wheretwomensit.Yeatshasnotonlyconsideredthephysicalaspectsof

eachwoman,butheincludesnotesoncolour:onewears‘heathertweed’

andanothera‘greyfelthat’.(Yeats1)Thepublicanhasa‘slightlybluechin’

whilethestrangerdrinkingwithhimhasa‘red-greymoustache’.(Yeats1)

The traditional tale that seems tobeopeningup slips rapidly into

somethingclosertoabsurdism.Thedialoguedoesnotadvancetheplot;it

hinders it. SomecommentatorshavecalledYeats’drama ‘pre-Absurd’on

this basis. (Gaddis Rose 35) The women have meandering discussions

about American hats and bald men. The men’s conversations about

motorcars, bicycles and submarines have only the most tenuous of

connectiontotheaction.Atthesametime,Yeatsmeditatesonthemoral

issuesbroughtupbyWorldWarII,throughthemusingsofhischaracters:

1stWOMAN: [W]e are getting into the way of thinkingverylittleofalife.Holdingittoocheap. (LaLaNoo10)

Andlater:STRANGER: Theworldawayfromusthisdayisfullofterrible

cruelthings.(LaLaNoo23)

Mooney’sattractiontothepieceisevident—notonlyinthecolour-

scapeoftheset,butinthepainterlyarrangementofthewomenonevery

entrance,andthegentle,abstractprogressof theplotwith itsmodernist

agenda.MuchofJackYeats’philosophyondramaiscapturedinonelineof

dialogue.The ‘5thWoman’declares: ‘Dreamsdon'tgobycontraries.They

speak the truth.’ (La La Noo10) Regrettably,much of the audiencewas

confusedbytheending,whichpresentsthesenselessdeathofthestranger

ashetriestodrivetheothersaway.

If Jack Yeats’ drama was ‘dream-like’, his concept of drama was

concrete. Mooney had artistic vision; she understood his theories,

appreciatedhisartandherdevotiontohisworkwassteadfast.Despiteits

reception, Yeats knew how hard she had worked, without support from

Abbeydirectors.InalettertoMooneydated3February1944,hesaid:

I do certainly know that it was yourself who interested F.R.HigginssufficientlyinLaLaNootoputiton.(BergMss170B6454)


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Themorningafter thepremiere, JackYeatssentMooneyanote fromhis

FitzwilliamStreethome:

Thankyouverymuchfortheproductionyoumadeof‘LaLaNoo’tosaytheplaygot‘everychance’isnotquiteenough-youaddedto it. Anytime the opportunity comes Iwould like you to say tothecompanythatIbelieveeveryoneoftheplayersmadetheplay.(BergMss170B6454)

He insisted the play had been given every opportunity, but he knew it

hadn’tmade an impression on the board or on the audience,whowere

baffled.JackYeatstoldMooneyon3February1944thathebelieved:

any audience, whose skulls weren't filled with crumpledcellophane alone, and were well shepherded into a not-too-bigtheatre would get entertainment out of any of my plays - thatwere produced as well as La La Noo was produced. (Berg Mss170B6454)

Mooneycouldnotchangethecontentsofskulls,orconvinceinanyother

waythanhonouringthescriptinproduction.Shealsohadtorecognizethat

thelimitsofherinfluenceintheNationalTheatrewerebecomingapparent.

Thefollowingyear,JackYeats’playIntheSandwasrejectedandshecould

donothingforit.ItwasfinallystagedbytheExperimentalTheatregroupin

1949andwasnotprofessionallyproduceduntil1964.

TheGaietyTheatre

Ria Mooney always responded respectfully to strong leadership.

SeánO’Casey,EvaLeGallienne,W.B.YeatsandF.R.Higgins:Allrecognised

thetalentsofthisthoughtful,hard-workingactressandweretreatedwith

veneration in return. Ernest Blythe, however, who replaced Higgins as

ManagingDirectoroftheAbbeyTheatrein1941,testedherpatienceand

sappedherusuallyboundlessenergy.Underhim,sheenteredaperiod in

her career of gradual and painful disempowerment. Blythe was an ex-

MinisterofFinance,whohadearnedthepositionattheAbbeyasaresult

ofhissecuringthetheatre’sannualsubsidy.Buthehadlittletimeforthe

‘poetryoftheatre’thatMooneyprized;hewasintentonusingthetheatre


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to resurrect Irish as the national language. He viewed the Abbey as ‘an

instrumentofnationaldefence.’(Dowling163)

The general gloom ofWorldWar II and the Irish Emergency was

extending over Dublin, and now when Mooney escaped to her hut in

GlencreeattheweekendsitwastogrieveinprivateforHiggins.Although

shestruggledthroughafewproductionsunderBlythe,bothasdirectorand

performer,shewasreadytoleavetheinstitution.Achancecamewhenthe

ManagingDirector of theGaiety Theatre decided to start his own acting

school.Mooneyappliedfortheposition.

A portrait of Louis Elliman, once the Managing Director of the

twelve-hundred-seatGaietyTheatreatthetopofGraftonStreet,stillhangs

abovethestairsleadingtothedresscircle.Theglasscovercatchesthelight

ofthechandeliersandalmostobscuresthethinfaceandbaldheadofthe

painter’ssubject.Ellimanhasanaquilinenoseandwearsasuitmoresuited

toanundertakerthanatheatremogul.Thisseriousexpressionchallenged

Mooneywhileitalsopromisedfullsupportforthisventure.Soon,shewas

auditioningfivehundredapplicantsforthegroupofyoungperformersthat

wouldbeexposedtohertechniquesformentoringtalent.

Although a touch resentful of being pressurised to show results

soonerthanplanned,MooneyrosetoElliman’ssummonsandstagedafull-

scaleproductionofHeijermann’sTheGoodHope.Shehadbeencastinthis

play at the Civic Repertory, and again would draw on Le Gallienne’s

technique and the confidence this experience gave her. Therewere two

castsunderherdirection:oneperformedfortheSundaymatineeandthe

second for the evening performance. To cater for the students without

parts in the main show, she directed Robinson’s one-act play Crabbed

Youth and Age to be performed on the same day. After her retirement,

MooneystillcouldnotconcealthedelightshefeltwhenEllimanchidedher

for putting professionals on the stage and claiming theywere amateurs.

(Part269)

Mooney’s workload was continually dictated by her desire to

expresshercreativitywhilealsoearningenoughmoneytosustainnotonly


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herselfbutnowherfamilydependentsalso.Thus,whilerunningtheGaiety

SchoolofActingsheacceptedworkfromRoibéardO’FaracháinandAustin

Clarke in theirDublinVerse Society. Thepositionwaseffectively a ‘stage

manager’, blockingmovement, and it increased herworkload to at least

forty-two hours aweek. Butwithmuch of her days spent drilling young

actorsinmovement,shewashappytoworksolelywithlanguageandverse

inthisadditionaltask.

Asadirector,Mooney’svisualsensehadalwaysbeenprimary.This

period of working intensely with actors and verse drama reinforced her

understanding of how actors use rhythm and voice. Mooney had learnt

vocal technique directly from W. B. Yeats, when performing his verse

dramas, and now she had thematurity to reflect on his teaching. Yet, it

seemsinevitablethatshewouldquicklygrowrestlesswiththestrictform

andleavethesociety(newlychristenedtheLyricTheatre).

Onceagain,timeawayfromtheAbbeyTheatrehadgivenMooney

time to heal her broken heart, after Higgins’ death.With thewar finally

over,lifepromisedbetterthings.MacLiammóirandEdwardsre-stagedher

adaptationofWutheringHeightsattheGaietyandtwoyearslater,shewas

askedtodirecttheLondonproductionofO’Casey’snewplayRedRosesfor

Me.Todate,shehaddirectedonlythreeprofessionalproductionsonthe

Abbeymainstageandanumberof studentproductions.BronsonAlbery,

whohadcometoDublin toengageadirector forRedRoses forMe,may

haveseenaburgeoningtalent.Alternatively,hemayhavenotedthatshe

wasoneofthefewpeoplepreparedtoworkwiththeirascibleplaywright.

Mooney’s devotion toO’Caseyhadnotwavered sincehe assisted

her stint looking for work in London in the 1920s. Now, she took to

correspondingwithhimregularlybyletterandeventuallyvisitinghisfamily

homeinDevontodiscussherideasforstagingRedRosesforMe.Working

patiently but determinedly with him to make cuts in the script and to

inculcate the cast in the uncompromising expressionismof some scenes,

shewaslargelycreditedwiththesuccessoftheplay. ItraninLondonfor

seventeenweeks.Mooneybecameannoyedbyalackofdisciplineamong


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theactorsastherunprogressed,buttheproductionestablishedherasa

directorofnote.Doorsmayhavebeenopened in theUKby thesuccess,

but Mooney had an agreement with Elliman. She returned to Dublin to

stageanotherversionofRedRosesforMeattheGaietyTheatre.

In1947,Mooneyhadadelight tingedwithnostalgiawhenanold

charge from Le Gallienne’s company of apprentices arrived in Dublin for

her new cast. BurgessMeredith, now anAmerican star of the stage and

screen,hadbeencast in the leading role inWinterset,aplaybyMaxwell

Anderson.His glamorouswife PauletteGordon accompaniedhim toplay

opposite him. Also turning up for rehearsals under her direction at the

Gaiety were her old mentor Michael MacLiammóir and seasoned actor

Anew McMaster. She was finally granted casts and production budgets

worthyofherexperience,butinhermemoir,Mooneygivestheimpression

thatshewasnotoverlyenamouredwithherpoweras ‘director’. Instead,

Mooney enthuses about the latest developments in light and sound

technology. (Part 2 84) Immersed in the process, she had little time to

reflectonherachievements.Andasalwayswiththeatre,thepleasureofa

successfulrunendedalltoosoon,leavingheronceagainatacrossroads.

Burgess Meredith wanted to include Mooney in his plans for a

theatrecompanyinHollywood,whiletheEnsembleTheatreinLondonhad

sought her out as a potential teacher of actingwith the responsibility of

directingeverythirdplay.Shehadestablishedaninternationalreputation

butMooneyknewboththethrillandpainfulrealityofsuchtenuousoffers;

andshewasno longeryoungenoughto liveonginandchocolateasshe

had inherearlyadventures. (JohnstonTCDMss10066/287/2633)As she

pondered this dilemma and the potential implications of leaving Dublin,

the Abbey Theatre entered stage left again, this time in the person of

RoibéardO’Faracháin.Mooneyalwaysclungtothenarrativeofthetheatre

thathadcompelledher fromayoungage.Shehadaffixedanarrativeof

magical import, of real significance, to the Irish National Theatre. She

sought to position herself as a part of that tradition and that story; no

matterhowgrimtherealitythatremainedherambition.


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O’FaracháinhadnoposttoofferMooneywhenheapproachedher.

Indeed, the board were seeking a Director of Plays fluent in the Irish

language;butthenotionofMooneyleavingthecountrytousehertalents

elsewhereleftthemdisgruntled.Theboardsomehowagreedtoofferhera

position, most likely consenting to Blythe’s demand that it be a holding

positionuntilanIrishspeakerpresentedhimself.ForBlythe,hiringMooney

was a strategicmove to assist in silencing the criticism appearing in the

newspapers in1947.Theminor scandal followed in thewakeofValentin

Iremonger'soutburstfromthestallsoftheAbbeyaboutthequalityofthe

productions. ‘Ria was behind it, you see,’ Blythe asserted years later to

Vincent Dowling, who was then on the Players’ Council. (Dowling 161)

Blytheadvised,‘Graspthetalonandthebirdislost!’(Dowling161)

To those looking on, Mooney’s work in the theatre was all-

consuming,butshedidhaveafamily lifefewknewabout.Shecontinued

tolivewithherfatherandaunt.Astheygrewelderly,shearrangedahouse

move to a small newhome inGoatstown, a suburb in the shelter of the

DublinMountainsonthesouthsideofthecity.InOctober1953,Mooney

told a friend in an exasperated tone ‘I am theMAN of this household.’

(YCALMss 436) To use ‘this’ rather than ‘the’may suggests therewas a

‘household’whereshewasnotthedecision-maker:theAbbeyTheatre.

OnemayspeculateastoBlythe’struemotivesinofferingMooney

thepositionattheAbbey,butinretrospectitseemsshehadnointention

of taking any post other than Director of Plays in English at the Irish

NationalTheatre.Thus,inJanuary1948sheonceagainwalkedthroughthe

lobbyoftheAbbey,totakeuptherole.Mooneyshowsgratitudefor ‘the

privilegeofworkingformyowncountry’,althoughshehenceforthworked

fortheAbbeydirectorate,somethingarguablydifferent.(Part285)

Whileshewas‘theman’athome,atthetheatre,Mooneyremained

thequietandunassumingifsecretlyfurious‘littlewoman’,doingherbest

forproductionsbetweentheIrish-languagepantomimesthathadbecome

astapleoftherepertoire.Shefoughttomaintainartisticstandardswithout

anysupport–practicallyoremotionally.Mooney’sdayswerelongandfull,


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but seldom joyful. The day, or night if she had towatch a performance,

endedwiththelongbustripouttoGoatstown.There,shewascalledonto

bethecheerful,practicalprovider.Oneofherbusinessletters,senttoNew

York in April 1955, had already been used as shopping list onwhich she

remindedherselftobringhomecoffeeandfruitcup.Atweekends,iftime

andweatherallowed,shewouldpotterinthegarden.

AfterafireattheAbbeyTheatreintheearlyhoursof18July1951,

a crowd gathered to survey the charred remains of the building. Among

themwasaweary,disillusionedandopenlyupsetRiaMooney.Shetrudged

through the stalls, looking at the burnt-out roof and scorched walls. To

Mooney’s dismay, some of the theatre staff gathered accused her of

predicting thedisaster,of forseeing thedestructionof the theatre, likea

witch.(Part2102)Hermemoirrecountsthisanecdotewithobviouspain,

yetinsomewaysMooneywasasoothsayerandvisionary.Theoldbuilding

hadbeenavitalpartofherlife;itscurrentstatewasdestroyingher.

That day brought excruciating pain for all she’d lost, butMooney

recognizedthepotentialfornewlifetorisefromtheashes.Thatnight,she

performedinthePeacockTheatre.MayCraigwasnotavailabletoplayMrs

Gogan, and Mooney replaced her. The audience loudly applauded the

gallantcastintheirmakeshiftcostumesonthecrampedstage.Afterwards,

theydrankchampagnebroughtbya relativeofLadyGregory.Thatnight,

Mooneywasdeterminedpositivechangewascoming.(Part2104)

AftertheFire

In 1953, a letter from an old colleague in the New York Theatre

Guild, TheresaHelburn, arrivedat theAbbey. Itwasabusiness letter for

the Director of Plays, requesting a script by Louis D’Alton. One evening,

miserable but buoyed by nervous exhaustion, Mooney responded. In

comparisonwiththeguardedproseofhermemoir,theletterisaninsight

intoherpersonalthoughts.On27October1953Mooneywrote:

I wish you'd let me work for you in New York, our NationalTheatre is so hopelessly mismanaged that it is the grave of all


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one’s hopes; ideas are smothered at birth and to speak thelanguage of the Theatre is to be looked upon as an arty artypersonwithgrandioseideas-forsixyearsIhavebeenasavoicecrying in thewilderness. ItwouldbeheaventohaveaSchoolofActinginNewYork.(YCALMss436)

Atthispoint,theCompanyhadtakenrefugeintheQueen’sTheatre.(This

supposedlytemporaryarrangementwouldlastforalmostfourteenyears.)

To Mooney’s despair, the repertoire was full of plays that were

‘monotonouslyalike’. (Part2113)Helburn’spolitereplyquietlykilledthe

ideaofreturningtoNewYork.Onreflection,Mooneytoldher:

AsamatteroffactI'dDIEfromthestrainoflifeinyourenormouscapital.HowyoustandthepaceIdonotknow!(YCALMss436)

Thewomencontinuedtocorrespond,Mooneydelightingintheconnection

withtheinternationaltheatreworld,andhappytoshareher‘Parisplans’.

(YCALMss436)O’Casey’sThePloughandtheStarsagainwasprovidinga

joyouschallenge.ShewasdirectingaproductionthatwouldopentheParis

Festival in May. Blythe had even been persuaded to allow Michael

O’Herlihytodesignnewsets.Tobeworkingona‘good’playwas,Mooney

toldherfriendinApril1955,‘aholidayforallofus!’(YCALMss436)

The production was more than a holiday: the Abbey Company

received third prize in the festival, behind China’s Opera de Peking and

Brecht’s Berliner Ensemble. European newspapers contained positive

reviews, but Mooney returned to the Queen’s Theatre after this

exhilarating reprieve to find that Dublin audiences thought little of the

prestigiousawardandthestatusitbrought.

EugeneO’Neill’sLongDay’sJourneyIntoNight

Ernest Blythe was delighted to bring back Frank Dermody as

companydirector,inplaceofMooney,inthespringof1959.Itwasnotan

act of chicanery; Mooney conceded the position for something more

valuable—theroleofMrsJamesTyroneinEugeneO’Neill’splayLongDay’s

Journey Into Night. After years of pressure from Mooney and from the

ambitious youngVincentDowling,Blythe conceded to stage theplay.He


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thought the project a harmless caper, which at worst could temporarily

distract fromhis own agenda.With nounderstandingof thedevotionof

thissmallteamtotheepicfamilydrama,heindulgedtheactors,hopingto

benefitfromthedealinthefuture.

The text demanded a thirteen-week rehearsal period, extended

from the usual twelve days that had becomemanagement (or Blythe’s)

policy. Six days a week, three to five hours a day, the cast rehearsed.

Dowlingremembers:

Even after the official rehearsals, in pubs or restaurants orwalking the streets, afternoons, evenings and even nights, TP[McKenna] and I and often Philip [O’Flynn]went on teasing outthis long, tightlywoven,profoundlypersonal,painfulmaterialofO'Neill'swithFrankDermody.(Dowling203-4)

Whilethemenpacedthestreetstogether,recitingO’Neillinthepubsand

darkstreetsaroundDublin,Mooneyworkedalone.

MrsMaryCavan JamesTyrone, themother, is fifty-fouryearsold.

Shehasa facethat is ‘distinctly Irish intype’and is ‘still striking’. (O’Neill

12) In hermemoirs,Mooney devotes less than a page to describing the

challengeofthepart.Sherecallsattendingtopracticalproductionworkin

themornings, before rehearsing for the afternoon and thenmemorizing

linesuntillateinthenight.Inprivaterehearsalsathome,ittooktwoanda

half hours to speak the lines on cue with a friend. While recording the

practicalfacts,theageingactresssaysnothingofthephysicalandmental

strugglesduringtheproductionthatmanyothersinthecastremember.

MooneystudiedO’Neill’sdescription:

Her voice is soft and attractive. When she is merry, there is atouch of Irish lilt in it. Hermost appealing quality is the simple,unaffected charm of a shy convent-girl youthfulness she hasneverlost-aninnateunworldlyinnocence.(O’Neill13)

But this charm is laced with ‘extreme nervousness’, much of which the

charactercarriesinherhands.Theyareknottedwithrheumatism‘sothat

now they have an ugly crippled look’. (O’Neill 12) Mrs Tyrone is ever

conscious of and humiliated by her fingers. As well as the lengthy

monologuestomemorise,withthemelodiousvocalworkshewasknown


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for, Mooney tried to perfect the physical characteristics of a morphine

addict, focusing on how she held her hands to conceal their deformity.

Such delicate work she had seen before; this echoes Le Gallienne

concealingherburnthandsonthestageovertwenty-fiveyearsbefore.

Dermody never stopped making demands of his male actors,

tirelesslyworkingonmovement,onthepoetryofthetextandonfinding

the perfect stage images to carry the story over the four and a quarter

hours running time. With Mooney, he worked differently: ‘He gave her

notesanddirectionquietlyandprivately,indeferencetoherage,hersex

andher position as producer of theAbbey.’ (Dowling 206)Dowling does

notcountenancethatDermodymayhavebeenactingindeferencetoher

experience and acting skills. Dermody worked with her as she had

mentoredothers:quietly,respectfully.

For the first time in many years, Mooney was an ordinary cast

member.Thedetached,disciplinedpersonashehaddevelopedasdirector

begantocomeawayassheincreasinglyreliedonherfellowactors.Some

came to her Goatstown home to help her with line runs; others gently

supportedherbackstageduringtherunwhenshewasstrugglingwiththe

dialogueandwithnerves.TheactressKathleenBarringtonrecalled (inan

interview with McGlone) how marvelous she was in rehearsals, how

magical towatchwhile reciting lines, buthowon stage somediscomfort

set in. (McGlone 184) Her old insecurity, her faltering belief in her skills

whentheaudiencesatontheothersideoffootlightshadnevergoneaway.

Old age and weariness exacerbated the problem. Her terror that her

performancewouldn’tbe‘perfect’hauntedher.

Despite the 6.30pm curtain-up and a running time of over four

hours,theaudiencewaspromptandattentiveattheopeningperformance

intheQueen’sTheatreon28thApril1959.The Irish Independentadmired

allthecast,sayingMooneyusedhervoice‘beautifully’andwas‘superbin

thenervousdesperationandmovinginthefinalwitlessnessofthemother.’

(‘ExcellentActing’10)Butratherthanbreakingnewground,theAbbeywas

seen tobeploughing ‘rather poor soil’.(‘ExcellentActing’ 10) LongDay’s


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Journey Into Night was replaced on 11th May with John Murphy’s The

Country Boy. Somehow, Mooney had found time and mental energy to

directthisnewplaywhilespendingoverfourhoursonstageeachnight.

Inoneofthoseaudiencesthatsettledintotheirseatsearlywasan

engineeringstudentwhowasspendingtoomuchtimehangingaround in

thedramasocietyofUniversityCollegeDublin.PatrickLaffanwasstunned

by the production: the mammoth text performed without cuts and the

mesmerising lead actress. Even this inexperienced student recognised

whiletheseweren’t‘thestarriestactors’,somethingspecialwashappening

attheAbbey; itwasamajorbreakthroughforthe institution. (Laffan)For

Laffan,‘thesheersincerityoftheproductionwascompelling.’

Laffanhadnoideathatnightthatwhentheplaywouldberevived

threeyearslater,hewouldbeinthewings.HejoinedtheCompanyinthe

summerof1961,auditioningforBlytheandMooneylessthanaweekafter

hisgraduation.FortheDublinTheatreFestivalin1962,therewasarevival

ofLongDay’s Journey IntoNight; itwas tobeperformedat theQueen’s

Theatreonalternatenightsfortwoweeks.Mooneywouldstillbethesmall,

feisty, sexywomanLaffan rememberedwatching fromthestalls,but this

timehewouldbepromptingherfromahiddenspotinthewings.Indeed,

hewouldbetryingtoprompther,assheflaileddesperatelywithlinesand

cues.Itwasoftenimpossibletosaveher,evenwithhispresencestageleft

andanofficialstagemanagerpromptingfromstageright.

During that revival, thecharacter’sextremenervousnessbegan to

seepintoreallife.SomebodynoticedthatMooney’sbalancewasunsteady

assheblockedsceneswiththedirector.Therewererumoursofafallfrom

the stage when she appeared using a cane to help her walk, although

nobody ever asked questions. McGlone interviewed a number of actors

withvividmemoriesoftheproduction.Theaccountsvaryintheirdepiction

ofherstate;manyreturntotheoneword:vulnerable.(McGlone185)

In the three years after the Irish premiere of Long Day’s Journey

IntoNight,Mooneydirectedsixnewplaysat theAbbey.Nervousanxiety

wasnowcausingherincreasedspatesofmemorylossandshewasnotably


Page258of307

weaker and openly disillusioned. Her isolation was compounded by

tensionsbackstage: theactorsweremoving towards a strike, demanding

more money in tandem with an improved artistic regime. The newly-

establishedPlayers’Council soughtmorecontemporaryplayswith longer

rehearsalperiods,andsomeofthemostinfluentialmembersthoughtlittle

of Mooney’s old-fashioned discipline. There were malicious complaints

that‘shecouldn’tdirecttraffic’.(Dowling164)Buttherewasstillworkfor

Mooneytodoandhersenseoftheatreremainedimpeccable.

BrianFriel’sTheEnemyWithin

Withhisusualdistasteforanythingslightlyunconventional,in1962

ErnestBlythepassedofftoMooneyanewplayentitledAnEnemyWithin.

Shehadbeenrepeatedlyoverlookedasadirectorfornewproductionsand

hadchosentobeartheslightstoherreputationwithsilentdignity.Despite

herfrailty,whenshereadthescriptbyfirst-timeplaywrightBrianFriel,she

was captivated by the tale of St Columba and his struggle to choose

betweenthemonasticlifeandhishome.

TheEnemyWithinstagesanimaginedlifeofStColumbaandsome

of his faithful followers in Iona in 587AD.With warmth and wit, it puts

modern dialogue into the mouths of these mythic figures. Although it

didn’tachievethesamelevelofpopularsuccessasFriel’slaterPhiladelphia,

HereICome,itbearsthemarksofagrowingdramaticconsciousness:fluid

dialogue, compelling characters and emotional ambition. The action is

gentle;thedramaisintheconflictsbetweenthecharacters.Mooneycast

RayMacAnally in the lead and assembled a strong team of male actors

aroundhim.Shearrivedintothetwelve-dayrehearsalperiodknowingthat

someofthoseactors(suchasDowling)hadlittlerespectforhermethods,

but shewas intent on honouring Friel’swork.Mooneywas amongst the

firsttoidentifythetalentofoneofIreland’sforemostplaywrights.

Laffan,whoappearedinonesceneofthatproduction,remembers

Frielasawell-heeledschoolteacherwithanacerbicwit,drivingtheentire

cast around Derry in his posh new motorcar. (Laffan) Mooney didn’t


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accompanytheall-malecompanyonthattourtoFriel’shometown.Laffan

also remembers the script as being ‘kind of perfect’ and the cast were

deemed ‘outstanding’ by critics. (Laffan) Although he felt the play had

weaknesses, the Irish Press critic was adamant on 7 August 1962: ‘Ria

Mooney’svigorousdirectionalsohelpstomakethisplayoneofthemost

adult and interesting the Abbey has given us recently.’ (‘Fine Study’ 6)

AdultandinterestingwerefeaturesthatdrewMooneytoplays.

The final production she directed at the Abbey,Copperfaced Jack

(1963), was plagued by rows about unauthorized script changes and a

general disrespect for the author that smacks of Blythe rather than the

ever-courteousMooney.HughHuntclaimsshehadanervousbreakdown;

thereisnoevidenceofthis.(Hunt185)Atagesixty,Mooneyresignedher

positionofDirectorofPlaysinEnglish,whenher‘wayatlastbecameclear’.

(Part2116)Thiscarefullychosenphraseconcealsthetruth,butpersonal

friends believe that Mooney finally retired only when she had secured

moneyfromanoldfriendinAmericatosupportherself.(Laffan)

With her relatives passed away, Mooney now lived alone in

Goatstown, infirm and increasingly reclusive. Having awoken from ‘the

nightmare’ofher last fewyearsattheAbbey,shespenttimewritingher

memoirs. (Part 2116) Sporadically, she attended the theatre,where she

was amused by the huge number of production staff listed in the

programmes. The Abbey’s new building she thought: ‘functional – and

quitewithoutcharacter’.(Part2116)

All her life, the theatre was Mooney’s home; now it offered no

solace.Infact,nothingdid.InJuly1969,shewrotetoMaryO’Malleyofthe

LyricTheatreinBelfast,tellingherofthedeathofMrsKickErlanger(once

RitaRomelli).Shetoldher,‘Idon'tknowwhatIwouldhavedonewithout

myfriendinAmerica.’(LyricArchiveT4/851)Grief-stricken,Mooneywrote

toO’Malley:‘Ihavelostalldesireevertotakepartinanyperformance,in

any capacity.’ (Lyric T4/851) Old friends and colleagues did their best to

help,butherhealthdeterioratedrapidlyandRiaMooneydiedon3January

1973.Sheleftbehindhermemoirs,completedbutunpublished.


Page260of307

ClosingScene

TherewasapartyhostedbyMrsMartinBeck inanapartmenton

West55thStreet inNewYork in June1956,withMooneyas theguestof

honour, accompanied by her once-intimate friend Mrs Milton (Kick)

Erlanger (Rita Romelli).Mooneywas spending amonth’s holiday in New

Jersey. These women had known each other since their thirties, when

Mooney’sartisticconsciousnesshadstartedto takeshape.This time, the

fifty-three-year-oldMooney,asuccessfuldirector,arrived inNewYorkby

airplane.Yetdespitetheexternalchanges,Mooneybelieved:‘Womenwill

never change. The fashionsmay change butwomenwon’t.’ (Part 2119)

She always found in her New York circle affection and warmth that

energizedandrejuvenatedher.AsMooneytoldHelburninJune1956:

I can’t tellyouhowhappy Iwas tobeback [inNewYork]again.How all that warm friendship one receives in America lifts andenlarges the spirit.My debt to your country increases with theyears.(YCALMSS436)

ForthewomeninMrsBeck’shousethatevening,itwasatimetocatchup,

torememberoldtimesandsharenewplans.

ThereisatemptationtotracetheoriginsofMooney’stheatrework

tooneartistictheory,butinfactthereareseveral.FromYeatsandtheFay

brothers, sheunderstood theworkofAndreAntoine’s Théatre Libre and

the style of performance at the Abbey. Working with Le Gallienne and

Nazimova, shegaineda firmgrounding inStanislavski, a theoreticalbasis

adapted by the Civic Repertory theatre. Le Gallienne combined

Stanislavski’ssystemwiththesemi-religiousartisticprinciplesofEleonora

Duse. Although Le Gallienne intimidated her,Mooney learnt much from

her. Duse championed the destruction of the ego, the complete

abandonmentof thepersonal toallowthebodyserveahigherpoweron

thestage.RiaMooneyfollowedthatpath.Shealsoadmiredthe idealsof

the Civic Repertory: the notion that everybody, regardless of financial

circumstancesor social status, had the right to access art and theatreof

thehighestqualityandtoappreciateitsbeauty.


Page261of307

WithLeGallienne,Mooneytrainedasanimplicitlyfeministdirector

and teacher, guiding and mentoring others to come to their own

understanding of their craft and aiding their individual creation of

characters.Likehermentor,Mooneyimplementedaprofessionalrehearsal

processwithwell-honed technique, intellect, empathy and respect at its

core. The failure of this regime at the Abbey Theatre arguably is more

revealing of the artistic environment there under Blythe’s management

thanofMooney’stalent.OutsideofIreland,itshouldberemembered,her

directionofO’Casey’sThePloughandtheStars in1955wassoesteemed

thatitputtheAbbeyCompanyinthesamerankastheBerlinerEnsemble.

Mooney brought back with her from the US a firm grounding in

Stanislavski technique alongwith a clear understanding of the European

philosophiesof actingandherworkalsobore themarkof LeGallienne’s

strident feminism. She did her utmost to impart these ideals in Dublin,

where itwaspermitted.While it isnotappropriate todeemher the first

ArtisticDirectoroftheAbbeyTheatre,asthetitledidnotexistduringher

tenure,Mooney could claim the title of the first feminist director at the

IrishNationalTheatre.Todate,thiscontributiontoIrishtheatrehistoryhas

neverbeenacknowledged.FemaleartisticdirectorsLeliaDoolanandGarry

Hyneswould follow in her footsteps, bothwith a clear understanding of

whatMooneyhad aimed to achievewith her directing and teaching and

whereshehadmetresistancewithintheinstitution.

At the same time as she developed her acting craft, Mooney

increasingly drew on modernist aesthetics and abstract art. She was a

radicalmodernistinherartandherthinking;fewinDublinunderstoodthis

mode at that time. She always moved enthusiastically into the future

holding firm to the principles she’d adopted in her youth. By day, she

workedwithIrishdramatistsandactorssteepedinconservativedramaand

bynight,sherehearsedwithnichegroupsexploringexperimentalmodes.

Outofthisdensecomplexofinfluences,shedrewanaestheticofbeautiful

simplicity. It is characteristic of Mooney that the only documented

evidence of her theories is found in a personal letter she wrote to a


Page262of307

student.Encouraginghimtocontinuetoworkonhistalent,Mooneywrote

to actor Pat Laffan on 25 June 1962 in a letter he keeps in a private

collection:

Followyour instinct and listen to criticism, then try to analyse thatcriticism in stage terms. Work, so far as acting is concerned, islearninglines,movingeasilyandnaturallyincharacterandRELAXINGINTO THE PART. Stupid people often make better actors than themore intelligent because they are less likely to work too hard onanalysingcharacterandleavetheiractingtoinstinct.(Laffan)

This simplicity of method can be traced directly to her casting as Rosie

Redmond inThePloughand the Stars.Aboveall else,Mooney sought to

understand,inhabitandhonourthemindsofindividualwomen:

I knewhowwomenbehavedwhen theywore these [costumes],whattheyworeunderneathoriftheyworeanything.BestofallIbelievedIknewwhatwentoninsidetheirheads.(Part2119)

Stanislavski believed: ‘empathy can be a more powerful prompt to

creativity than personal emotion.’ (Carnicke 3) Mooney followed this

teaching. Knowingwhatwas going on inside the heads and feelingwhat

was going on inside the hearts of Irish women, everything else became

possibleforRiaMooney.

Conclusion CiaraO’Dowd

Page263of307

Conclusion

In November 1959, Arthur Shields paid a visit to Dublin from Los

Angelesandhereportedbacktohisthirdwife,Laurie,thathe’dhaddinner

witholdcolleaguesfromtheAbbeyCompany:EileenCrowe,MayCraigand

MaureenDelaney.HesharedwithLauriehisenjoymentoftheir‘two-hour

talkaboutoldtimes’.(ShieldsT13/A/519)Manyoftheoldtimesdiscussed

featuredthreeactressesnottherethatnight:FrolieMulhern(died1939),

AideenO’Connor(died1950),andRiaMooney.

Thecozyscenefrom1959,withCraigandCroweunitedandsharing

memories with an old friend raises the question: can such longevity of

careerbedeemedsuccess?Onthesurface,CraigandCrowewouldappear

to have managed their careers and balanced their personal lives (and

religious faith)with their dramatic art in a form that brought themboth

fulfillment, stability and comfort. Privately, we do not know. Neither

woman lefta recordof their thoughts.Onecouldgo furtherandsuggest

thatthismanagementoftheircareerandpersonalliveswasconnectedto

theconditionsandconstraints imposedontheirgenerationofwomen:to

their theatre and social training. They were successful, but they had

inheritedandinternalizedpersonalandprofessionallimits;everythingthey

achieved and all they chose to forego was placed within these invisible

parametersforwomensetbyIrishsocietyduringtheFreeStateperiod.

If one accepts that this is the case, then the later generation of

womenstruggledbecausetheydidn’tfollowtheirpredecessorsclosely.Or,

perhaps,we could say, they chose to struggle rather than follow theold

model.Wemay view themas victimsof changing times, or casualties of

baddecisions.ButassetoutinChapter1,Ichoosetofocusontheagency

of these women. All were part of the first wave of professional Irish

actressesthatsoughttoberecognizedfortheirtheatricalworkandnotfor

their lifestyle. They developed artistic integrity and technique that

demanded a full separation of their theatrical performances from their

personallives,whensuchseparationwasnotgrantedtothemattheAbbey.


Page264of307

O’Connormadeabidfora lifethatwasasyetoutofthereachof

Irish women: a theatre actress, living in Hollywood with a man already

married to someone else. It may have been bound to end in

disappointment,butthere ismuchtoadmire inherdeterminationto live

her life differently.Mulhern passed away before she could establish her

career, but many of her happiest and most successful experiences also

were inAmerica.Mooneyexperiencedtheexoticismandthedisciplineof

performingwithLeGallienneandtheCivicRepertoryTheatreCompany,as

wellasworkingasa leadactressat theGateTheatreand teachingmany

generationsofactors inNewYorkand inDublin.Sheearnedher livingas

an implicitly feminist director with the Gaiety Theatre, the Experimental

TheatreGroupinthePeacockTheatreand,inthelatteryearsofhercareer,

at the Abbey Theatre. Despite opportunities elsewhere, she persisted in

returning to use her talents in the IrishNational Theatrewhere shewas

invariablymistreated.Hercontribution to theworkof the institutionand

totheatreingeneralhasnotbeenrecognizedforitscomplexityandvariety.

Itmaybethatthekeytounderstandingthecomplexandprecarious

position of an Irish actress in theAbbey Theatre of the 1930s lies in the

distinction between the amateur and professional performer, and how

thesepositionscanbemappedontothepublicandprivatespheresoflife

in Irelandduring theFreeStateperiod.Aspreviouslynoted, thematerial

and class conditions of the time enforced the ideological separation of

‘public’and‘private’(orfamilial)spheres.(O’Dowd33)Eventssuchas‘At

Homes’ provided light entertainment in a respectable, private space

occupiedforthemostpartbythemiddleandupper-classes.Other forms

of‘theatre’(thosedemandingpaymentforentranceandcompensationfor

performers)werepublicandthereforeperceivedasmorelicentiousspaces.

The work in the public arena was rarely deemed to be contributing to

national culture or professional artistic endeavours. Mooney and others

havespokenofthe‘AtHomes’,wheretheyperformedsketchesandsongs

indrawingroomsforeveningentertainment.Theywereall‘play-acting’or,

in the terms of Deevy’s plays, participating in ‘theatricals’ – a whimsical


Page265of307

hobbyforaclasswithleisuretime.TheAbbeyTheatreofthistimehovered

betweentwospaces:neitherwhollyprivatenordangerouslypublic.

To draw once again on Morash and Richards’ concept of

representationalspace,theAbbeyofthe1930sprovidedatheatricalspace

forwomentofullyemoteinaprotected,liminalplace,to‘play’withideas

of choiceandexperimentwith liberationwithouteverposinga threat to

thesocialorder.(7)Inthisspace,whichmirroredbutyetwasdistinctfrom

social reality, they could demonstrate power that was not in any way

‘truthful’inthecontextoftheIrishFreeState.Theycould‘represent’ideas

of female liberation and independence, without embodying them. The

actresses of the Company in the 1930s were at the centre of this clash

between ‘representational’ and ‘conceived’ space.Womenwhodared to

embodysuchideasratherthanto‘represent’them,whoshowedpassion,

independenceoranydefianceofnationalfeminneidealsintheirlivesoff-

stage,werereprimandedandremindedoftheirsubordinateposition.

Much like the demarcation of ‘public’ and ‘private’ space, the

delineation of ‘amateur’ and ‘professional’ status in the Abbey Theatre

Company is inherently problematic. In its true sense, amateur denotes a

love or passion for an activity; this activity does not provide a wage.

Professionaldenotesa certain levelof skill or competencyacquired from

formaltraining;italsosuggeststhatitisthemainandpaidoccupation.

Initsearliestform,theAbbeyCompanywascomprisedofshopgirls

(such as the Allgoods) and civil servants (e.g., Barry Fitzgerald and F.J.

McCormick)whoperformedintheirsparetime,rehearsingintheevenings

andperformingatweekends.(Itisusefultorememberthatbothofthese

actors adopted stage names to protect their employment.) The Dublin

Drama League was another group of people who met to rehearse and

performintheAbbeyonthetheatre’s‘darknights’ofSundayandMonday.

Butinthiscircle,being‘amateur’oftendenotedasocialclassthatwasnot

inneedof theperformers’ (generallymeasly)wage. Theactorswerenot

workersbeingpaidfortheirtimeandindustry.Rather,theycoulddevote


Page266of307

theirinteresttodramaticendeavourswithoutfinancialcompensation;they

contributedtimeandeducatedintelligencetodevelopmentIrishculture.

Theactresses inthisstudycamefromdisparatesocialclasses,and

the biographies of this thesis demonstrate how their gender, class and

practical(material)circumstancesshapedtheirartisticcareers.Croweand

Craig retained respectable positions as Catholic wives and mothers, by

carefulmanagementoftheirtheatricalcareersandpublicpersonae.Their

societal role never detracted from their commitment to the National

Theatre; their acting did not affect their social integrity. 17 Craig, in

particular, could not be deemed a ‘professional’ as she never received

adequate compensation for her labour; yet she was a full-time actress.

Mulhern’s social class alsoallowedher to investher timeand interest in

herperforming,withouteverbeingdependentonthewagesshereceived.

When Mulhern threatened to leave Ireland and end the light evening

entertainments that she provided to raise funds for the church, there is

clearevidencethatherfamilyintervened.(ShieldsT13/A/150(41))

As middle-class girls, O’Connor and Mooney most readily fit the

categoryofworkingactorsdevelopingacraft.Theyretainedtheirposition

through tireless work, on and off the stage, to maintain themselves

financially. Both biographies show evidence of reading and an on-going

interest in theoriesdevelopingaroundacting,performance, teachingand

in theatreoutsideof Ireland.At thesametime, thebreadthofMooney’s

career and her commitment to theatre marks her out as a radical

modernistartistratherthanaworking-class‘labourer’witha‘craft’.

Mooney, Mulhern and O’Connor were successful in forging

professional and personal lives with forays into independence and

liberation, very different from thewomen that came before them. They

wereexposed to the rolemodelsof certainAmericanwomen thathada

lasting impactontheirownsenseofselfandpotential.Overseas, intheir

17ThepremiereofSeanO’Casey’sThePloughandtheStars in1926,itshouldbenoted, is the exception that highlights this rule by demonstrating the effects oftransgressingsuchpublic/privateboundaries.


Page267of307

work and lives, they sought to be recognized as professional performers

and theatre artists, not merely ‘Abbey actresses’. They set the path for

generationsofactressesthatwouldcomeafterthem,providingthemodel

for Irishwomenthatseekto impressontheworldtheir talentandspirit,

andtoassertthemselvesasperformersworthyofinternationalhonours.

Theporousdistinctionsbetween‘public’and‘private’andbetween

‘professional’ and ‘amateur’, the overlaps and exceptions, make the

careersandlivesoftheAbbeyTheatreactressesofthe1930saparticularly

complex group to study in depth. It is necessary to assert that this

commentaryonIrishsociety,andtheexplorationofanactress’sprecarious

position within in, comes from an in-depth study of individual lives. In

seeking out the individual, the particular circumstances of five women,

clear patterns emerged. The induction of these patterns allows a new

understandingofthelivesandworkoffemaleperformersintheFreeState.

As previously referenced, Gough has cited Irish history as

presenting a challenge when it comes to separating women’s objective

reality from their allegorical images and metaphoric constructions. (7)

Jacksonhasalsodrawnattentiontothe‘schismbetweenthestudyofthe

historical and the study of contemporary feminist performance.’ (174) I

argue that this composite biography, which incorporates elements of

theatre history and of performance theory, serves as a form of feminist

historiography,takingonthechallengetoexplorethe intersectionofreal

and allegorical female lives and present a range of female performances

fromthesameperiodofhistory. JoanWallachScotthassetoutthe ideal

formforfeministhistory.Scottstatesthishistoryshouldbe:

not therecountingofgreatdeedsperformedbywomenbut theexposureofthesilentandhiddenoperationsofgender.[…]Withsuch an approach, the history ofwomen critically confronts thepoliticsofexistinghistoriesandinevitablybeginstherewritingofhistory.(ScottGender27)

Thisthesisseekstocontributetosuchare-writingofIrishtheatrehistory.

It does so to produce a re-constituted archive of Irish theatre that may

alloware-writingofthefutureforIrishwomen.

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Page268of307

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---. LockoutDublin:1913.Dublin:Gill&MacmillanLtd,2000.Print.

Zemon-Davis, Natalie. ‘“Women's History” in Transition: The European

Case.’FeministStudies.Vol.3.3/4.(Spring/Summer1976):83-103.

Print.

InterviewsConducted

Laffan,Patrick.PersonalInterview.Dublin.3July2013.

Mulkerns,Val.PersonalInterview.Dublin.13July2012.

McCullough,Mary.PersonalInterview.Dublin.9April2010.

Nowlan,Alma(neeFitzgerald).PersonalInterview.Dublin.April2010.

Slott,Susan.PersonalInterview.Dublin.1October2011

Shields,Christine.PersonalInterview.Hollywood,California.18th/19th/20th

September2011.

Appendix1:ArchivalNotes CiaraO’Dowd

Page287of307

Appendix1:ArchivalNotes

Chapter1:ResearchMethodologies,ArchivesandTruths‘Role., n.’OEDOnline. Oxford University Press, September 2015. 25 September

2015.SaddlemyerA.,ed.‘LetterfromW.B.YeatstoJ.M.Synge.2December1906.’WB

YeatsandGeorgeYeats:TheLetters.174.Chapter2:EileenCroweandMayCraigActualisinganAbsenceSaddlemyer,Anne,ed.‘LetterfromGeorgetoWBYeats19September1937.’WB

YeatsandGeorgeYeats:TheLetters.491–492.‘Abbey Archives Database.’ Abbey Theatre—Amharclann naMainistreach.Web.

<http://www.abbeytheatre.ie/archives/person_detail/14326>.‘EileenCroweInterview.’BostonEveningTranscript.29April1933.AbbeyTheatre

Scrapbooks.NLIMss25,489-25,523.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.BackgroundO’Donnell,F.J.H.‘KingdomofGod’EveningHerald.22October1923:2.Web.Letter fromF.R.Higgins toMayHiggins.19September1937.CunardWhiteLine.

NLIMss27,883(7).NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.ADoll’sHouse‘IbsenPlayattheAbbey.’IrishIndependent.23March1923:4.Web.‘AbbeyTheatre.’TheIrishTimes.23March1923:4.Web.‘EileenCroweInterview.’BostonEveningTranscript.29April1933.AbbeyTheatre

Scrapbooks.NLIMss25,489-25,523.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.NorainSeanO’Casey’sInTheShadowoftheGlenNotitle.NewYorkWorldTelegraph.December31934.AbbeyTheatreScrapbooks.

NLIMss25,489-25,523.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.SeanO’Casey’sTheShadowofaGunman‘”TheEmperor Jones”at theAbbey:Mr.Mayne'sConceptionof theNegro.’The

IrishTimes.26July1927:6.Web.ActingPersonaandStyleofPerformance‘AbbeyPlayersinBelfast.’IrishIndependent.1May1934:10.Web.SeanO’Casey’sThePloughandtheStarsAbbey Theatre. Bound Volume recording salaries paid to actors 1923 – 1927.

AbbeyTheatreDigitalArchiveatNUI,Galway.ADM_00004384,p4.AbbeyMinuteBooks.14February1936.NLIMssAcc3961,v4.NationalLibraryof

Ireland,Dublin.TheHollywoodFilmofThePloughandtheStarsLetter fromO'Casey toFord.London.29March1936. JohnFordPapers. Indiana

University,LilyLibrary,Indiana.


Page288of307

TeresaDeevyandKatieRocheThe Cambridge Gownsman. 20 February 1937. Papers of May Craig. IE UCD

LA28/219.UCDArchives,Dublin.ReviewofThePlayboyof theWesternWorld.20February1937. Shields

Family Papers, T13/A/560. NUI Galway, James Hardiman LibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

‘TheTheaters.’AbbeyTheatreScrapbooks:Vol27:AmericanTour1937–38.NLIMss.25,511-23.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.

Atkinson, Brooks. ‘The Play: The Abbey Theatre Players Open an Engagement.’NewYorkTimes.4October1937:17.Web.

FinancialMattersAbbey Theatre. Bound Volume recording salaries paid to actors 1923 – 1927.

AbbeyTheatreDigitalArchiveatNUI,Galway.ADM_00004384,p4.TelegramfromParkertoFord.6June1951.JohnFordPapers.IndianaUniversity,

LilyLibrary,Indiana.MayCraig–Background‘PersonalReminiscences.’PapersofMayCraig. IEUCDLA28/238.UCDArchives,

Dublin.‘ScriptofMrsGroganandtheFerret.’PapersofMayCraig.IEUCDLA28/226.UCD

Archives,Dublin.‘Abbey Archives Database.’ Abbey Theatre—Amharclann naMainistreach.Web.

<http://www.abbeytheatre.ie/archives/person_detail/14326>.ReviewofProfessorTim.IrishTimes.5November1930.PapersofMayCraig.

IEUCDLA28/116.UCDArchives,Dublin.San FranciscoNews.2 April 1935.Papers ofMay Craig. IE UCD LA28/116. UCD

Archives,Dublin.Cork Examiner. 22 October 1935. Papers of May Craig. IE UCD LA28/116. UCD

Archives,Dublin.‘TheWordsUpontheWindowPane’.IrishIndependent.18Nov1930:12.Web.‘InterviewwithMayCraig.’BostonGlobe.July1938.PapersofMayCraig.

IEUCDLA28.UCDArchives,Dublin.Stiegler,W.G.‘IrishPlayerCombinesStage&HomeLife.’NoTitle.23December

1931.PapersofMayCraig.IEUCDLA28/219–1.UCDArchives,Dublin.Warfel, G. Interview.Detroit News. 23 February 1933. Papers of May Craig. IE

UCDLA28/231.UCDArchives,Dublin.TheWidow–MargaretGillanbyBrinsleyMacNamaraBoston Globe. January 1938. N.p. Papers of May Craig. IE UCD LA28/219. UCD

Archives,Dublin.‘AbbeyTheatre,Dublin-MrBrinsleyMacNamara'sNewPlay.’ IrishTimes.July20

1933:10.Web.‘AuditorLaidtoRest.’IrishIndependent.1July1933.N.p.PapersofMayCraig.IE

UCDLA28/219-4.UCDArchives,Dublin.‘ActingwithBreakingHeart.’LeitrimObserver.8July1933:6.Web.DublinEveningMail.28February1934.PapersofMayCraig.IEUCDLA28/219-1.

UCDArchives,Dublin.TheCambridgeGownsman.20Feb1937.PapersofMayCraig. IEUCDLA28/219

UCDArchives,Dublin.


Page289of307

Chapter3:AideenO’ConnorIntroductionPhotoofAideenO’Connor.c.1933.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/B/130.NUIGalway,

JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.NoTitle.TheDetroitNews.24January1935.AbbeyTheatreScrapbooks:Volume

26 American Tour 1935.NLIMss 25,511-23. National Library of Ireland,Dublin.

FBI Civil Fingerprint Card. Shields Family Papers, T13/A/469.NUIGalway, JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

FamilyBackgroundCensusof Ireland1911.TheNationalArchivesof Ireland.N.d.Web.Accessed22

March2010.www.census.nationalarchives.ieUSVisaApplication.August1940.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/465.NUIGalway,

JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.LettertoVincentO’Connor.4March1935.SanFrancisco.ShieldsFamilyPapers,

T13/A/436. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.

Adjudications’SheetfortheSchoolofActing.c.1925.M.J.DolanPapers.NLIMss.22,556.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.

LetteraddressedtoU.O’Connor.27April1933.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/445.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

Postcard addressed to U. O’Connor. 22 August 1933. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/446. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.

Letter fromA.O’Connor to E. Choates. 24 January 1943.Shields Family Papers,T13/A/155(15).NUIGalway, JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

Cosgrave, M. Mercy Congregational Archivist. Message to the Author. 10 Dec2013.Email

FlorenceHackett Letter. ‘Landscape’Waterford. 31 January 1935.Teresa DeevyPapers.TCDMss10722/5.TrinityCollegeDublin.

TheAmericanTourof1934-1935AbbeyTheatrelettertoArthurShields.27December1934.ShieldsFamilyPapers,


ContractwithAlber&WickesInc.,ofBostonMassachusetts,USA.14August1934.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/106(1).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

Abbey Theatre Press Release. 17 August 1934. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/108(1). NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.

LettertoEileenandMaeveO’Connor.23March1935.HotelSirFrancisDrakeSanFrancisco. Shields Family Papers, T13/A/437. NUI Galway, JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

‘Scythiaarriveshereadaylate.’DailyBostonGlobe(1928-1960).9October1934.13.Web.

NoTitle.AbbeyTheatreScrapbooks:Volume26AmericanTour1935.Mss25,511-23.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.


Page290of307

Detroit Evening Times. 23 January 1935. Abbey Theatre Scrapbooks: Volume 26American Tour 1935. NLI Mss 25,511-23. National Library of Ireland,Dublin.

LettertoE.&M.O’Connor.4March1935.SirFrancisDrakeHotel,SanFrancisco.Shields Family Papers, T13/A/437. NUI Galway, James Hardiman LibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

DetroitNews.24January1935.AbbeyTheatreScrapbooks:Volume26:AmericanTour1935.Mss25,511-23.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.

DetroitTimes.22January1935.AbbeyTheatreScrapbooks:Volume26:AmericanTour1935.NLIMss25,511-23.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.

DetroitNews.24January1935.AbbeyTheatreScrapbooks:Volume26:AmericanTour1935.NLIMss25,511-23.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.

Chicago Herald. 22 January 1935. Abbey Theatre Scrapbooks: Volume 26AmericanTour1935.Mss25,511-23.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.

San Francisco News. 2 April 1935. May Craig Papers. IE UCDA LA28/116. UCDArchives,Dublin.

LetterfromW.O’GormantoV.O’Connor.4March1935.SirFrancisDrakeHotelSan Francisco. Shields Family Papers, T13/A/436. NUI Galway, JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

LettertoE.&M.O’Connor.4March1935.SanFrancisco.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/437. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.

BetweentheToursLettersofF.R.Higgins.TheCarrollClub Inc.,120MadisonAvenue,NYC.NLIMss

27,897(2).NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.UnknownNewspaper.N.d.AideenO’Connor’sScrapbook.ShieldsFamilyPapers,


FolioNotebooksofSeanO’CaseyV.6.39.NewYork:TheHenryW.andAlbertA.BergCollectionofEnglishandAmericanLiterature,TheNewYorkPublicLibrary.

UnknownNewspaper.N.d.AideenO’Connor’sScrapbook.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/560. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.

Diariesof JosephHolloway. July - September1936.NLIMss1969:347.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.

AbbeyTheatreMinuteBooks.3558.AbbeyTheatreDigitalArchive.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

DiariesofJosephHolloway.19August1936.July-September1936.NLIMss1971:342.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.

Unknown Newspaper. N.d. A. O’Connor’s Scrapbook. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/560. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.

Shields,L.ManuscriptofSaturday’sChild.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/512.17.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

Unknown Newspaper. N.d. A. O’Connor’s Scrapbook. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/560. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.


Page291of307

OntheLondonStageProduction Image. Shields Family Papers, T13/B/202. NUI Galway, James

HardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.Unknown Newspaper. N.d. A. O’Connor’s Scrapbook. Shields Family Papers,

T13/A/560.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

The Cambridge Gownsman. 20 February 1937. IE UCD LA: May Craig PapersLA28/219-3.UCDArchives,Dublin.

Manuscript of Saturday's Child... Has Far ToGoby LB Shields. 8. Shields FamilyPapers, T13/A/512. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.

JournalofDenisJohnston.March1927.William(Denis)JohnstonPapers.TCDMss10066/165.164.TrinityCollegeDublin.

SaddlemyerA.,ed. ‘Letter fromGeorge toWBYeats.19March1937.’WBYeatsandGeorgeYeats:TheLetters.460.

Treanor,A.‘BehindtheAbbeyScenes.’IrishPress.28July1938.Web.Saddlemyer, A. ed. ‘Letter from George toWB Yeats. 19March 1937.’W.B. &

GeorgeYeats:TheLetters.460-4611937PocketDiarykeptbyShields.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/372(1).

NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.TheAmericanTourof1937/38Letter fromF.R.Higgins toMayHiggins.19September1937.CunardWhiteLine.

NLIMss27,883(7).NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.LetterfromF.R.HigginstoMayHiggins.24October1937.CunardWhiteLine.NLI

Mss27,883(7).NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.LetterfromF.R.HigginstoMay.24October1937.HotelEdisonNewYork.NLIMss

27,883(7).NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.Letter to E. O’Connor. November 1937. New York. Shields Family Papers,


DanceHallsandLiminalityCatholicBulletin.October1936.VolXXVINo10.795McGlinchy,J.PPVF.‘Maxims&CounselsfortheChristianFamily.’

CatholicBulletin.December1934.VolXXIVNo12.999‘Survey by Dublin Senior Justice – Edward J. Little.’ The Irish Times. 7 February

1938.4.Web.TheUSTourContinuesLettertoE.O’Connor.HotelEdison,NewYorkCity.28thNovember1937.Shields

Family Papers, T13/A/439. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.

Saddlemyer,A.ed.‘LetterfromGeorgetoWBYeats.21December1937.’W.B.&GeorgeYeats:TheLetters.511

LettertoE.O’Connor.HotelEdison,NewYorkCity.28thNovember1937.ShieldsFamily Papers, T13/A/439. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.

Saddlemyer,A.ed.‘LetterfromGeorgetoWBYeats.26July1938.’W.B.&GeorgeYeats:TheLetters.544


Page292of307

Bulliet, C.J. Unknown Newspaper. February 1938. Abbey Theatre Scrapbooks:Volume 26 American Tour 1935. Mss 25,511-23. National Library ofIreland,Dublin.

LettertoE.O’Connor.St.Louis.February1938.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/441.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

Letter to E. O’Connor. Philadelphia. 31 January 1938. Shields Family PapersT13/A/440. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.

LettertoE.O’Connor.St.Louis.February1938.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/441.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

Images from the Abbey Tour. 1938. Shields Family Papers, T13/B/326 andT13/B/327. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.

Letter to E. O’Connor fromA. O’Connor. Saint Louis. 24 February 1938. ShieldsFamily Papers, T13/A/441. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.

Letter to E. O’Connor from A. O’Connor. San Francisco. 4 March 1938. ShieldsFamily Papers, T13/A/442. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.

San Francisco, c.1938. Shields Family Papers, T13/B/320. NUI Galway, JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

Unknownlocation.c.1934.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/B/303.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

Unknownlocationc.1937.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/B/202.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

Letter to E. O’Connor. San Francisco. 4 March 1938. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/442. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.

Letter to E. O’Connor fromA. O’Connor. Saint Louis. 24 February 1938. ShieldsFamily Papers, T13/A/441. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.

Letter to E. O’Connor. 4 March 1938. San Francisco. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/442. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.

Letter to Eileen and Maeve O’Connor. Hotel Sylvania, Philadelphia. 31 January1938. Shields Family Papers, T13/A/440. NUI Galway, James HardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

LettertoEileenandMaeveO’Connor.Minneapolis.18April1938.ShieldsFamilyPapers, T13/A/444. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.

LettertoE.O’Connor.HotelClark,LosAngeles.5April1938.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/439. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.

AnEmergencyApproachesLettertoE.andM.O’Connor.Minneapolis.18April1938.ShieldsFamilyPapers,


Dent,A.‘AbbeyTheatreDramaFestival.’UKSpectator.18August1938:15.Web.‘WhatDoesItMean?’EveningHerald.11August1938:N.p.Print.


Page293of307

LetterfromS.RichardstoD.Johnston.Dublin.1927/28.Papersof(William)DenisJohnston.TCDMss10066/287/2649.TrinityCollegeDublin,Dublin.

Letter to Eddie Choate. Abbey Theatre, Dublin. 28 April 1939. Shields FamilyPapers, T13/A/150 (20). NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.

Saddlemyer,A.ed.‘LetterfromGeorgetoWBYeats.26July1938.’W.B.&GeorgeYeats:TheLetters.544

LettertoE.Choate.AbbeyTheatre,Dublin.28April1939.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/150(20).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

Letter from F.R.Higgins of TheNational Theatre Society Ltd to J. FitzGerald. 12September1939.Dublin.Copygiventotheauthor.

Clive,K.‘EchoesoftheTown.’TheIrishTimes.26August1938.4.Web.‘FromTheDramaMailbag.’NewYorkTimes.29January1939.X3.Web.JournalsofAideenO’Connor.PrivatecollectionofChristineShields.SpringMeetingPlaybill.ShelahRichardsPapers.ITA/128/1/1.

DublinCityLibraryandArchive,PearseStreet,DublinKinshipandFriendshipLetter to V. O’Connor. 4 March 1935. Sir Francis Drake Hotel San Francisco.

Shields Family Papers, T13/A/436. NUI Galway, James Hardiman LibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

LetterfromK.SwifttoM.Lasker.BendOregon.6June1940.Folder259.PapersofMary Lasker. Columbia University, Rare Books & Manuscripts; ButlerLibrary,NewYork.

‘Reminiscences.’PapersofMayCraig.IEUCDLA28/240.UCDArchives,Dublin.LetterfromK.SwifttoM.Lasker.Bend,Oregon.10March1940.Folder259.The

Papers ofMary Lasker. ColumbiaUniversity, RareBooks&Manuscripts;ButlerLibrary,NewYork.

LetterfromK.SwifttoM.Lasker,Bend,Oregon.29December(1941?).Folder544.The Papers of Mary Lasker. Columbia University, Rare Books &Manuscripts;ButlerLibrary,NewYork.

LettertoM.LaskerfromK.Swift.Oregon.10March1940.Box259.ThePapersofMary Lasker. Columbia University, Rare Books & Manuscripts; ButlerLibrary,NewYork.

LettertoE.Choate.Dublin.April1939.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/150(21).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

Letter to E. Choate. May 1939. Ranelagh, Dublin. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/150(28).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

LettertoE.Choate.May1939.Dublin.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/150(27).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

Letter to E. Choate. May 1939. Ranelagh, Dublin. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/150(28).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

LettertoE.Choate.28April1939.AbbeyTheatre,Dublin.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/150(20).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

LettertoE.Choate.June1939.Cork.ShieldsFamilyArchive,T13/A/150(44).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

LettertoE.Choate.21June1939.Dublin.ShieldsFamilyArchive,T13/A/150(41).


Page294of307

NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.LettertoE.Choate.25May1939.Dublin.ShieldsFamilyArchive,T13/A/150(30).

NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.LettertoE.Choate.May1939.Dublin.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/150(28).

NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.Telegram from A. O’Connor to E. Choate with reply. New York. Shields Family

Papers, T13/A/150 (43). NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.

Letter to E. Choate. 21 June 1939. Ranelagh, Dublin. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/150(41).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

PreparingforNewYorkLetter to E. O’Connor. 4 March 1938. San Francisco. Shields Family Papers,


LettertoE.Choate.29June1939.Cobh,Cork.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/150(46).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

LettertoE.Choate.June1939.CobhCo.Cork.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/150(44).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

Letter to C. Shields. 17 February 1953. Convent ofMercy, Cobh. Shields FamilyPapers, T13/A/518 (1). NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.

Kindred Manuscript. Shields Family Papers, T13/A/124. NUI Galway, JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

LetterfromShieldstoE.Choate.HollywoodAthleticClub.23August1939.ShieldsFamily Papers, T13/A/151 (27). NUI Galway, James Hardiman LibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

Neuffer,E.‘In45thstreetapartments,timeofchangeforactors.’NewYorkTimes.4January1988.Web.

USDepartingAlienIncomeTaxReturn.28February1939.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/452 (1) & (2). NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.

LettertoE.Choate.AbbeyTheatre,Dublin.28April1939.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/150(21).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

Letter to E. Choate. New York City. April 7 1939. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/150(4).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

LetterfromK.SwifttoM.Lasker.9September1946.Folder544.PapersofMaryLasker. Columbia University, Rare Books & Manuscripts; Butler Library,NewYork.

LettertoM.LaskerfromK.Swift.Oregon.10March(1940?).Folder259.PapersofMary Lasker. Columbia University, Rare Books & Manuscripts; ButlerLibrary,NewYork.

LettertoE.Choate.Hollywood,California.12January1943.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/155(15).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

LettertoP.V.Carroll.NewYork.19Sept1939.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/151(32).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

Shields,C.Messagetotheauthor.16March2010.Email.


Page295of307

PocketDiarykeptbyArthurShields.1939.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/372(3).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

Various Equity Contracts. November 1938 – 1941. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/454. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.

Letter to E. Choate from A. Shields. 23 August 1939. Hollywood Athletic Club.Shields Family Papers, T13/A/151 (27). NUI Galway, James HardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

LettertoA.Shields.NewYorkCity.1941.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/153(57).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

‘NewsoftheStage:“HeavenlyExpress”.’NewYorkTimes.18April1940.Web.LettertoA.Shields.NewYorkCity.1941.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/153(57).

NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.LifeinHollywoodLettertoM.Lasker.Bend,Oregon.May1943.PapersofMaryLasker.Folder544.

ColumbiaUniversity,RareBooks&Manuscripts;ButlerLibrary,NewYork.LettertoE.Choate.California.23August1941.ShieldsFamilyArchive,T13/A/154

(6).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.MedicalBillsforA.O’Connor.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/471.

NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.Letter to E. O’Connor. 24 February 1938. Saint Louis. Shields Family Papers,


JournalsofAideenO’Connor.Showntotheauthor.PrivateCollectionofChristineShields.

Letter to E. Choate from A. Shields. 15 October 1940. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/153. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.

Morehouse,W.‘Amusements:BroadwayAfterDark.’NewYorkSun.21February1941:6.Web.

Atkinson, B. ‘The Play: Barry Fitzgerald Appears in 'Tanyard Street.’ New YorkTimes.February51941:16.Web.

LettertoM.Lasker.Bend,Oregon.May1943.Folder544.PapersofMaryLasker.ColumbiaUniversity,RareBooks&Manuscripts;ButlerLibrary,NewYork.

LettertoE.Choate.California.23August1941.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/154(6).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

LettertoM.Lasker.BendOregon.May1943.Folder544.MaryLaskerPapers.ColumbiaUniversity,RareBooks&Manuscripts;ButlerLibrary,NewYork.

LettertoE.Choate.California.23August1941.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/154(6).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

Letter from Shields to E. Choate. Hollywood, California. 14 April 1941. ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/154(3).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

JournalsofA.O’Connor.Showntotheauthor.PrivateCollectionofC.Shields.LettertoM.Lasker.VanNuys,California.ChristmasDay.Folder259.MaryLasker

Papers. Columbia University, Rare Books &Manuscripts; Butler Library,NewYork.

Letter to E. Choate. California. 26th December 1941. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/154(44).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.


Page296of307

Letter from Kay Swift. Shields Family Papers, T13/A/467. NUI Galway, JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

Letter to E. Choate. 20 January 1942. Hollywood. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/155(3).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

Letter toE.Choate.25May1942.Hollywood. Shields FamilyPapers, T13/A/155(9).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

LettertoE.Choate.23August1941.California.ShieldsFamilyArchive,T13/A/154(6).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

Letter to E. Choate. 1942. Hollywood, California. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/155(12).NUIGalway, JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

PhotoAlbumofC.Shields.Copiesgiventoauthor.PrivateCollectionofC.Shields.JournalsofA.O’Connor.Showntotheauthor.PrivateCollectionofC.Shields.LettertoE.Choate.12January1943.Hollywood,California.ShieldsFamilyPapers,

T13/A/155(15).NUIGalway, JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

LettertoE.Choate.25January1943.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/155(15).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

Laboratorybloodtests.October1943.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/366.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

Letter to E. Choate. 12 November 1943. California. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/155(19).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

Letter to E. Choate. 26April 1943.Hollywood, California. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/155(23).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

LettertoM.Lasker.BeverlyHills.9September1946.MaryLaskerPapers.Folder544.ColumbiaUniversity,RareBooks&Manuscripts;ButlerLibrary,NewYork.

Weber,K.Messagetotheauthor.16March2013.Email.Letter to E. Choate. October 1946. California. Shields Family Papers, T13/A/155

(28).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.PhotoAlbumofChristineShields.Copiesgiventoauthor.PrivateCollection.DeathCertificateforA.O’Connor.4July1950.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/472.

NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.LettertoA.Shields.28January1947.California.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/241.

NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.LetterfromV.JacobsontoA.Shields.20February1950.California.ShieldsFamily

Papers, T13/A/211 (7). NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.

1950 Pocket Diary kept by Arthur Shields. California.. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/372(10).NUIGalway, JamesHardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.

LetterfromA.ShieldstoE.Choate.2July1950.California.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/156. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.

LetterfromM.Judge.June1949.California.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/450.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

InterviewwithC.Shields.Hollywood,California.September2011.


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DeathCertificateforA.O’Connor.4July1950.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/472.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

Letter from B. Mortished to A. Shields. 8 July 1950. Dublin. Shields Papers,T13/A/252 (1).NUIGalway, JamesHardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.

CodaLetter to E. and M. O’Connor. 23 March 1935. San Francisco. Shields Family

Papers, T13/A/437. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.

Chapter4:FrolieMulhern(1907–1939)

IntroductionAbbeyTheatreScrapbooks:Volume27:AmericanTour1937-38.NLIMss25,511–

23.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.Columnist Judy O’Grady wrote thatMulhern “talks with her eyes”. The Detroit

News.24January1935.AbbeyTheatreScrapbooks:Volume26:AmericanTour1935.NLIMss25,511-23.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.

FamilyandBackgroundLetter fromA.O’Connor to E. andM.O’Connor. 23March1935. San Francisco.

Shields Family Papers, T13/A/437. NUI Galway, James Hardiman SpecialCollections,Galway.

Censusof Ireland1911.TheNationalArchivesof Ireland.N.d.Web.Accessed22March2010.www.census.nationalarchives.ie

26September1933.AbbeyTheatreScrapbooks:Volume27:AmericanTour1937-

38.NLIMss25,511–23.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.TheAmericanTourof1934/35‘Abbey Theatre Press Release.’ 17 August 1934. Shields Family Papers,

T13/A/108(1). NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.

UnknownPaper.N.d.AbbeyTheatreScrapbooks.Volume26:AmericanTour1935.NLIMss25,511-23.Dublin:NationalLibraryofIreland.

Letter to E. and M. O’Connor. 23 March 1935. San Francisco. Shields FamilyPapers, T13/A/437. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.

Chicago Herald. 22 January 1935. Abbey Theatre Scrapbooks: Volume 26:American Tour 1935. NLI Mss 25,511-23. National Library of Ireland,Dublin.

Letter to E. and M. O’Connor. 23 March 1935. San Francisco. Shields FamilyPapers, T13/A/437. NUI Galway, James Hardiman Library SpecialCollections,Galway.

DetroitPress.24January1935.AbbeyTheatreScrapbooks:Volume26:AmericanTour1935.NLIMss25,511-23.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.

Chicago Herald. 22 January 1935. Abbey Theatre Scrapbooks: Volume 26:American Tour 1935. NLI Mss 25,511-23. National Library of Ireland,Dublin.


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TheAmericanTourof1937/38No title. New York Times. 17 September 1937. Shields Family Papers,

T13/A/561(17).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanSpecialCollections,Galway.Saddlemyer,A.ed.‘LetterfromGeorgetoW.B.Yeats.19September1937.’W.B.

YeatsandGeorgeYeats:TheLetters.491-492Letter from F.R. Higgins to May. Wednesday 22 September. Samaria, Cunard

White Line. Letters of F.R. Higgins.Mss 27,883 (7). National Library ofIreland,Dublin.

Dayton,D.‘MaureenDelany:OffStage.’NewYorkSun.6December1934.PapersofMayCraig.UCD:LA28/116.UCDArchives,Dublin.

UnknownPaper.N.d.AbbeyTheatreScrapbooks:Volume27:AmericanTour1937-38.NLIMss25,511–23.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.

Letter to E. O’Connor. 31 January 1938. Philadelphia. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/440.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanSpecialCollections,Galway.

Letter to E. O’Connor. 24 February 1938. Saint Louis. Shields Family Papers,T13/A/441.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanSpecialCollections,Galway.

UnknownNewspaper.N.d.AbbeyTheatreScrapbooks:Volume27:AmericanTour1937-38.NLIMss25,511–23.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.

SanFranciscoNews.2April1935.PapersofMayCraig.IEUCD:LA28/116.UCDArchives,Dublin.

PhiladelphiaInquirer.N.d.AbbeyTheatreScrapbooks:Volume27:AmericanTour1937-38.NLIMss25,511–23.28.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.

PhotooftheAbbeyCompanyontour.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/B/327.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanSpecialCollections,Galway.

Undated Image. Elbert A. Wickes Theatre Arts Collection: Box 4 Folder 17.ClaremontCollege,Honnold/MuddSpecialCollections,California.

LettertoE.Choate.21June1939.Dublin.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/150(41).NUIGalway,JamesHardimanSpecialCollections,Galway.

AftertheUSTourof1937/38

‘PopularAbbeyActressDead.’FermanaghHerald.24November1939:8.Web.LetterfromA.ShieldstoE.Choate.Dublin.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/150(30).

NUIGalway,JamesHardimanSpecialCollections,Galway.Rynne, M. Pilgrims. Act III. 10. Mary Rynne Collection. NUI Galway, James

HardimanSpecialCollections,Galway.‘EnnisWoman’sFirstPlay.’IrishIndependent.11thOctober1938:12.MaryRynne

Collection.NUIGalway,JamesHardimanSpecialCollections,Galway.LetterfromA.ShieldstoE.Choate.Dublin.ShieldsFamilyPapers,T13/A/150(27).

NUIGalway,JamesHardimanSpecialCollections,Galway.Unknownpaper.N.d.AbbeyTheatreScrapbooks:Volume27:AmericanTour1937-

38.NLIMss25,511–23.37.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.Shields,Christine.Messagetotheauthor.16March2010.Email.‘LateMissMulhern.’TheIrishIndependent.20November1939:8.Web.‘DeathofAbbeyActress.’TheIrishIndependent.18November1939:11.Web.‘PopularAbbeyActressDead.’FermanaghHerald.24November1939:8.Web.Hogan.R.&M.J.O’Neill,eds.Holloway’sIrishTheatre.Volume31938-44.38


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Chapter5:RiaMooney(1903–1973)

MemberoftheAbbeyTheatreCompanyLetter fromF.R.HigginstoMay.19Sept1937.NLIMss27,883(7).CunardWhite

Line.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.Temperament:MooneyandLeGallienneLetter to Pat Laffan from Mooney. 25 June 1962. Private Collection of Patrick

Laffan.TheInfluenceofAllaNazimovaAtkinson,Brooks. ‘ThePlay: InPastelShades.’NewYorkTimes.5October1928:

17.Web.OutsideofRehearsals‘Rita Romilly Benson Dead at 79; Actress Taught at Arts Academy.’ New York

Times.7April1980:D11.Web.EndofDaysinNewYorkAtkinson,Brooks.‘PlaysandPlayersoftheMid-Februarystage.’NewYorkTimes.

15Feb1931:105.Web.LettertoE.O’Connor.23March1935.MailedfromSanFrancisco.ShieldsFamily

Papers, T13/A/437. NUI Galway, Hardiman Library Special Collections,Galway.

AftertheCivicRepertoryTheatreCorrespondencebetweenS.O’Casey&R.Mooney.7OB5715.TheHenryW.and

Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature, The NewYorkPublicLibrary,NewYork.

San FranciscoNews. 2April 1935.Papers ofMayCraig. IEUCD: LA28/116.UCDArchives,Dublin.

‘WutheringHeightsRevived.’IrishIndependent.13February1935:6.Web.‘TheGateTheatre:WutheringHeightsRevived.’IrishTimes.13February1935:8.TheSecondCompanyEthel Mannin to F.R. Higgins. 9 February 1939. Ria Mooney Papers, Acc 6548.

NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.‘NewPlayattheAbbey:ParnellofAvondale.’IrishTimes.2October1934:6.Web.Letters fromF.R.HigginstoMay.Sept/October1937.NLIMss27,883(7).Cunard

WhiteLine.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.LettersfromMooneytoT.Helburn.TheatreGuildArchive.YCALMSS436Box139

f-1.3656.YaleCollectionofAmericanLiterature,BeineckeRareBookandManuscriptLibrary,Connecticut.

TeresaDeevyandplayingKatieRocheHolloway,J.August1936.N.p.NLIMss1971.NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.Review ofKatie Roche.DailyMirror. 13 October 1937. Papers ofMay Craig. IE

UCDLA28/231.UCDArchives,Dublin.ElizabethConnor,UnaTroyandMountProspectLettertoE.Connor.24May1940.UnaTroyPapers.NLIMss35,687(9).National



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LetterfromL.RobinsontoE.Connor.12February1940.UnaTroyPapers.NLIMss35,687(9).NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.

ReviewofMountProspect.LondonTatler.15May1940.UnaTroyPapers.NLIMss35,687(9)NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.

Letter from L. Robinson to E. Connor. 2 Feb 1940. Una Troy Papers. NLI Mss35,687(9).NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.

‘AbbeyTheatre:MountProspect.’IrishTimes.April231940:4.Web.Fallon,GabrielTheIrishMonthly.28May1940.UnaTroyPapers.NLIMss35,687

(9).NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.TheAbbeySchoolofActingAbbey Minute Books. 14 February 1936. Dublin: NLI Acc 3961, v4, 1924-32.

NationalLibraryofIreland,Dublin.AbbeyMinuteBooks.6March1936.Dublin:NLIAcc3961,v4,1924-32.National

LibraryofIreland,Dublin.Saddlemyer, A. ed. ‘Letter from G. Yeats to W.B. Yeats. 3 April 1937.’W.B. &

GeorgeYeats:TheLetters.467Photograph of The Abbey Experimental Group. Josephine Fitzgerald. Private

Collection.LettertoRiaMooneyfromJackYeats.19January1939.170B6454.HenryW.and

Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature, The NewYorkPublicLibrary,NewYork.

‘ThePeacockTheatre.’TheIrishTimes.Jun061939:6.Web.TheGaietyTheatreLetterfromMooneytoT.Helburn.27October1953.TheatreGuildArchive.YCAL

MSS 436 Box 139 f-1. 3656. Yale Collection of American Literature,BeineckeRareBookandManuscriptLibrary,Connecticut.

AftertheFireLetter to T. Helburn from R. Mooney. 1 Sept 1953. The Theatre Guild Archive.

YCALMss436Box139 f-1.3656.YaleCollectionofAmericanLiterature,BeineckeRareBookandManuscriptLibrary,Connecticut.

Letter fromR.Mooney to T.Helburn. 7April 1955.TheatreGuildArchive.YCALMSS 436 Box 139 f-1. 3656. Yale Collection of American Literature,BeineckeRareBookandManuscriptLibrary,Connecticut.

EugeneO’Neill’sLongDay’sJourneyIntoNight‘ExcellentActingbyAbbeyPlayers.’IrishIndependent.29April1959:10.Web.BrianFriel’sTheEnemyWithin‘FineStudyofSaintInNewPlayAtAbbey.’IrishPress.7August1962:6.Web.Letter to M. O’Malley. 2 July 1969. Goatstown, Dublin. Lyric Theatre Archive.

T4/851.NUIGalway,HardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.ConclusionLetterfromA.ShieldstoL.Shields.November71959.ShieldsFamilyPapers,

T13/A/519.NUIGalway,HardimanLibrarySpecialCollections,Galway.

Appendix2:InterviewwithPatLaffan

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TranscriptionofRecording/Notes3July2013 7BeechwoodPark,DunLaoghaire11am-coffeeandbunsCurrentlysufferingboutsofanxiety-panicattacks.‘I'ddofilmingbutIcouldn'tdostagework.’English-basedfilmingjobsonly.‘Shedidn'ttalkalotaboutherself-NoneofusknewanythingaboutAmericaetc.’‘Iwasin3playsdirectedbyher.’PromptedherinLongDaysJourneyIntoNight.Didan interviewintheAbbeywithherandBlythe-aweekafter leftEngineering inUCDOnway to Connecticut - to directDeirdre of the Sorrows - claimed to have earlierdraft.TheBuddhist-thenow-havingthewilldoingtheworkoftheimagination.GaietySchool-continuationofRia'sworkandteaching...Bythen,early1960s-shewasbeingeasedout.November1961:BrianFriel'sTheEnemyWithinAwfulplay:CopperFacedJackShewasbeingmuscledout-FrankDermodyandTomasMacAnnaMooneyevercamebacknearthetheatreafterherretirement.Neededmoneytokeepherfather.‘RiaremindsmegreatlyofNinetteDeValois(fromWicklow)’‘Shewassmall,feisty,attractive,sexywomaninheryouth.’DeirdreMulrooney:DocumentaryonYeatsanddance.(perhapssimilarity=Yeats’affectionforRia).BrianFriel'sTheEnemyWithin3weeksrehearsalperiod:theplaywas‘kindofperfect’.AllknewitwashighqualityDePaorwomantoconsultoncostumesetcPlayworked-diditinDerry


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Friel:Well-heeledschoolteacherwithfancycar-drovethemaroundDerry‘Cutebejaysus’.Stillhammeringawayupthere(inDonegal)Blythewasincrediblyconventional-itwasmore'artistic'-didn'ttakeoffintermsofaudiences(alright;wellreviewed)buttheplaydid-especafterPhiladelphiaVincent Dowling’s animosity to Ria Mooney: She told him he'd a tinny voice orsomethinglikethatandshekeptcastinghimasvillains-heplayedIggyinMacAnna'splays-knownas'PQ'or'PissQuick'Dowling.RiaMooneygotLaffanajobonGuinnessad-wrotetothankherandsentflowers–shesentletterfromCunardLineinreply(June1962–copyprovided.)AppearedinLoversMeeting-wasarevival;didn'tknowshehadbeeninoriginal;half-witwoman;denturesflewout–didn’tmatterbecauseitwasincharacter.Still in college when he saw Long Day’s Journey – ‘We knew it was a hugebreakthroughfortheAbbey’–Theyweregiven2monthstorehearse–‘Theyweren'tthestarriestactors-butthesheersincerityoftheproductionwascompelling.’RevivedinnewAbbey:whenhepromptedMooneyfromstageleft(withofficialstagemanagerstageright).Couldn'tprompther–‘shewasallovertheplace.’Betweenfirstandsecondtime,shewasputontranquilizers-mayevenhavesaid itherself,althoughhecan’tbecertainofthat.LaffandirectedLongDay’sJourneywithSiobhanMcKenna-shewasn'tgreat-Oncemarvelousinrehearsalsandmayhavebeendrunkthattime.MooneymuchmorecontainedinO’Neill–‘Sheknewwhereshewasat.’Keptscrapbooksfrom1964onwards.Pretty sure themoney came from the US for her to retire - she didn’t hide thesethings.Ongoodishtermswithsomeoftheolderactresses.NotsureifEileengotonwithher---GottoknowandlikeEileenCrowe-inShadowofaGunman–Laffanhadnotrainingandshehadagoathim.MichaelO'Briainwasgoingawayforafilmandtheyneededtoreplacehim-playranonforthewholesummer.MayCraigandEileenCrowedidn'tspeaktoeachother-askedforseparatedressingrooms.Craigwas‘Aniceoldone-usedtohelpwithmakeupetc.’ShelahRichards-usedtomeetherinDunLaoghaire‘lookingforgossip.’


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‘The history of the Abbey is the history of the country - everything reflects oneverythingelse.’ArthurShieldssawmeinLennoxRobinson'sFarOffHills(inparthehadoriginated).EileenCrowe:wonderful inLennoxRobinson–Hertimingwaswonderful–Shewasmarvellousinlightplays–butoverthetopinO'Casey.ShewasRobinson'sfavouriteactresses-healmostwrotepartsforher.LennoxRobinsonwasagreatcraftsmen,oneofthebest.Iwouldn'tbeabitsurprised[ifMooneywasalesbian.]Thatwholemovmentinthestates-JunaBarnes.Therewasa‘touchofthesapphicabouther.’RiaputtingabouttherelationshipwithHiggins-thatmayhavebeenexaggerated.Thetheatrehasalwaysbeenaretreatforgaypeople-theGatebecameghettoised–‘Youcouldn’tgetinunlessyouweregay!’TheAbbeywasnever - noonewith a gay agendahasever thrived - PatrickMasontried-GarryHynesdidn'tlastlong-sheworkedbestinstudiosituations.She's a fantastic survivor - so powerful - as is Lynne Parker. Both have a sense ofhumour.When joined Queens - 1st: Lower dressing room - after a few months, invited upstairstothedressingroomthere.Drinkbeingtaken-outsidetoilet–Peoplehavingagoatyouandsettingyouup.NeverbeeninaproductioninLondonwhentherewasn’tarowfromthefirstday.TheFar-OffHills:therewastalkofturningitintoamusicalbutitneverhappenedMorrison‘madedogsarseofTheBigHouse’andnotinterestedanymore.ChurchStreet:stageversionintheQueensandthenafilmversion.HughHunt:quitedry-butveryefficient-wasinthewar-veryyoung,straightfromOxford - father killed inWorldWar 1 - cousin of Cruickshanck - Irish connections -fatherinvolvedin1912Curraghmutiny.Dermodyleft-Blythegothimoutofascandalwhenheaccostedsomeoneinapublictoilet -disappeared to London - found jobas clerk inBritishRailways. Talentedbutnotabletosellhimself.RiaMooney was brought in to clear up the situation with Lennox Robinson - verymessywithdrink.GoodproductionofPloughandtheStars-welldesignedandacted-quitepowerful–‘Ithadalotofballsaboutit.’-O'Herlihywasanarchitecturalstudent.She had a good eye for actors – ‘She was a worker.’ - Maybe the Abbey wasn'tsuitableplacebutsheneededtowork-atAbbeycouldauditionandgetstart.

Ciara O'Dowd B.A. (Mod.) M.A. 09232113 Doctoral Scholar of ...

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Transcript of Ciara O'Dowd B.A. (Mod.) M.A. 09232113 Doctoral Scholar of ...