Macdara Ó Fátharta is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, most famous for his role as the villainous publican Tadhg Ó Direáin on the long-running

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

TG4 TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was formerly known ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

, ''

Ros na Rún () is an Irish soap opera produced for the Irish-language television channel TG4. The series is set in a fictional village called Ros Na Rún, located near to An Spidéal, and focuses on the domestic and professional lives of its residents. ...

''.

Biography

A native of

Inis Meáin Inishmaan ( ; ga, Inis Meáin , the official name, formerly spelled , meaning "middle island") is the middle of the three main Aran Islands in Galway Bay, off the west coast of Ireland. It is part of County Galway in the province of Connacht. ...

, Ó Fátharta was born and raised in the historic cottage used by

John Millington Synge Edmund John Millington Synge (; 16 April 1871 – 24 March 1909) was an Irish playwright, poet, writer, collector of folklore, and a key figure in the Irish Literary Revival. His best known play ''The Playboy of the Western World'' was poorly r ...

and

Padraig Pearse Patrick Henry Pearse (also known as Pádraig or Pádraic Pearse; ga, Pádraig Anraí Mac Piarais; 10 November 1879 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish teacher, barrister, poet, writer, nationalist, republican political activist and revolutionary wh ...

early in the twentieth century when they were studying

on the island. On leaving school, Ó Fátharta spent two years with an acting school with 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 pu ...

and subsequently twenty years with the Abbey from 1972 to 1996, while there he acted in plays by John B. Keane,

Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription req ...

, Tom Murphy,

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, Chekov, all of his production involvement can be found in the Abbey archives. In 1975 he appeared in a play by Irish playwright

Teresa Deevy Teresa Deevy (21 January 1894 – 19 January 1963) was an Irish dramatist and writer, who was deaf from the age of 19. Best known for her works for theatre, she was also a short story writer, and writer for radio. Early life Teresa Deevy w ...

called ''Katie Roche'' where he played the part of Jo Mahony. In 1995 Ó Fátharta adapted the seminal novel ''

Cré na Cille () is an Irish language novel by Máirtín Ó Cadhain. It was first published in 1949. It is considered one of the greatest novels written in the Irish language. Title ''Cré na Cille'' literally means "Earth of the Church"; it has also been ...

'' for the stage and later wrote the screenplay for the film version. He has over ten television productions to his credit, and parts in films such as ''

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 cre ...

'', '' The Blackwater Lightship'', and the first-ever

feature film ''

Poitín Poitín (), anglicized as poteen () or potcheen, is a traditional Irish distilled beverage (40–90% ABV). Former common names for Poitín were "Irish moonshine" and "mountain dew". It was traditionally distilled in a small pot still and the te ...

''. He is married to

Eileen Dunne Eileen Dunne (born 28 April 1958) is a retired Irish journalist, newsreader and presenter with Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), Ireland's national radio and television station, where she presented the main television news programmes ''Six One ...

who is a news presenter on

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

Selected filmography

* '' The Blackwater Lightship'' (2004) * ''

Song of Granite ''Song of Granite'' is a 2017 Irish biographical drama film directed by Pat Collins. It was selected as the Irish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated. Plot The origins and rise of sean ...

'' (2017)

Playography

* ''Katie Roche'' (1975)

References

* Macdara Ó Fátharta, An Gúm 2013

External links

* Macdara Ó Fátharta a
The Teresa Deevy Archive
* Macdara Ó Fátharta a
The Abbey theatre Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ofatharta, Macdara Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Irish people 21st-century Irish people Irish male film actors Irish male stage actors Irish male television actors Male actors from County Galway TG4 people