Joan O'Hara (10 October 1930 – 23 July 2007) was an Irish stage, film and television actress. She was one of Ireland's most popular actresses and was, at her death, recognisable to television viewers as Eunice Dunstan, a gossip in ''

Fair City ''Fair City'' is an Irish television soap opera which has been broadcast on RTÉ One since 1989. Produced by the public service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), it first aired on Monday, 18 September 1989. It has won several awa ...

'' on

RTÉ One RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís ...

Career

O'Hara was a member of the Abbey Players and performed in many plays in the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the p ...

in Dublin, including those by

Seán O'Casey Seán O'Casey ( ga, Seán Ó Cathasaigh ; born John Casey; 30 March 1880 – 18 September 1964) was an Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes. ...

Lady Gregory Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (''née'' Persse; 15 March 1852 – 22 May 1932) was an Irish dramatist, folklorist and theatre manager. With William Butler Yeats and Edward Martyn, she co-founded the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, ...

and W.B. Yeats. She appeared as Maurya in the

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

film ''

The Dawning ''The Dawning'' is a 1988 British drama film based on Jennifer Johnston's novel, '' The Old Jest'', which depicts the Irish War of Independence through the eyes of the Anglo-Irish landlord class. It stars Anthony Hopkins, Hugh Grant, Jean Simmon ...

''. She appeared in a number of other films, including

Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...

's ''

Far and Away ''Far and Away'' is a 1992 American epic Western romantic adventure drama film directed by Ron Howard from a screenplay by Bob Dolman and a story by Howard and Dolman. It stars Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. This was the last cinematography cr ...

'', '' Da'', ''

Footfalls ''Footfalls'' is a play by Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work ...

'', ''

Home is the Hero ''Home Is the Hero'' is a 1959 Irish drama film directed by Fielder Cook. It was entered into the 9th Berlin International Film Festival. Cast * Walter Macken – Paddo O'Reilly * Eileen Crowe – Daylia O'Reilly * Arthur Kennedy – Willie O ...

'' and just before her death, '' How About You''. In this her final film, she starred with

Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress and activist. Throughout her career spanning over seven decades, Redgrave has garnered numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Television Award, tw ...

and her friend

Brenda Fricker Brenda Fricker (born 17 February 1945) is an Irish actress, whose career has spanned six decades on stage and screen. She has appeared in more than 30 films and television roles. In 1990, she became the first Irish actress to win an Academy Awar ...

. More recently, O'Hara was best known for appearing in the popular Irish television

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

'', broadcast on

. She joined the soap in 1994, portraying the character Eunice Dunstan until her own (O'Hara's) death in 2007. Thus she was described as both one of Ireland's most popular actresses and as one of the finest actors of her generation on her death. She admired in particular Samuel Beckett,

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...

and Ingmar Bergman. While she took a no-nonsense approach to her craft, famously giving the advice that when in doubt, one should relate to the fireplace, she was educated at the Abbey School of Acting and had a deep appreciation and knowledge of theoretical approaches to acting and was an admirer of the European and American

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

. As actor

Alan Stanford Alan Stanford (born 1949) is an English-Irish actor, director and writer. He has worked in the theatre for many years, including a 30 year association with the Gate Theatre as both actor and director. He is well known for playing George Manning ...

said after her death, "She had the most amazing energy. She was in the truest sense one of the last of the greats".

Personal life

O'Hara was born and raised in Finisklin, Sligo, the daughter of Major John Charles O'Hara, a civil engineer and sometime officer in the British Corps of Royal Engineers and his wife, Mai (née Kirwan). One of her sisters,

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

(born 1935), is a soprano and harpist. She attended the same Ursuline

convent school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...

as fellow actress and friend, Pauline Flanagan. O'Hara lived most of her life in Monkstown, Dublin, with a stay in London, with her husband, poet and architect Francis J. Barry. The couple had four children: Siubhan, Jane, Guy, and Sebastian, an author and playwright, whose works include ''

The Steward of Christendom ''The Steward of Christendom'' is a 1995 play written by Irish playwright Sebastian Barry. It focuses on Thomas Dunne, loosely based on Barry's great-grandfather, the former chief superintendent of the Dublin Metropolitan Police, now (1932) conf ...

'', and the Man Booker Prize-shortlisted novels ''

A Long Long Way ''A Long Long Way'' is a novel by Irish author Sebastian Barry, set during the First World War. Plot synopsis The young protagonist Willie Dunne leaves Dublin to fight voluntarily for the Allies as a member of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, leavin ...

'' and ''

The Secret Scripture ''The Secret Scripture'' is a 2008 novel written by Irish writer Sebastian Barry. Plot summary The main character is an old woman, Roseanne McNulty, who now resides in the Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital. Having been a patient for some fift ...

''. O'Hara was a year-round sea-swimmer.

Death

Joan O'Hara Barry (she kept her maiden name as her stage name) died in Dublin on 23 July 2007 of complications from a blood clot, aged 76. Her death was announced on RTÉ News the following day.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ohara, Joan 1930 births 2007 deaths Actresses from Dublin (city) Irish film actresses Irish soap opera actresses Irish stage actresses Irish television actresses People from County Sligo 20th-century Irish actresses 21st-century Irish actresses

Career

Personal life

Death

See also

References

External links