Marie Kean (27 June 1918 – 29 December 1993) was an Irish actress of stage and screen whose career spanned over 40 years. ''

The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...

'' called her one of Ireland's most impressive actresses, and "an artist of considerable emotional depth and theatrical command."

Life

Kean grew up in the village of

Rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

, and was educated at Loreto College,

North Great George's Street North Great George's Street () is a street on the Northside of Dublin city first laid out in 1766 which connects Parnell Street with Great Denmark Street. It consists of opposing terraces of 4-storey over basement red-brick Georgian townhouses ...

, Dublin. She learnt her craft at the

Gaiety School of Acting The Gaiety School of Acting (GSA) is a drama school located on Essex Street West in Temple Bar, Dublin, Ireland. It was founded by theatre director Joe Dowling in 1986. Organisation and location The Gaiety School of Acting was founded in 198 ...

and was part of 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 ...

company until 1961. Kean's leading role as the kindly matriarch, Mrs. Kennedy, in the

Radio Éireann Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

serial drama, ''

The Kennedys of Castleross ''The Kennedys of Castleross'' was an Irish serial drama or soap opera, about a family from Castleross, broadcast on Raidió Éireann from 1955 to 1973. The serial was devised by Arks advertising agency on behalf of its client, Fry-Cadbury. T ...

'', made her famous throughout Ireland. She starred in the programme for the duration of its 18-year run. In 1968, Kean won a

Jacob's Award The Jacob's Awards were instituted in December 1962 as the first Irish television awards. Later, they were expanded to include radio. The awards were named after their sponsor, W. & R. Jacob & Co. Ltd., a biscuit manufacturer, and recipients ...

for her performance as Winnie in

RTÉ television RTÉ Television is a department of Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), the Republic of Ireland's state controlled national broadcaster. Its first channel was Teilifís Éireann, which began broadcasting on 31 December 1961. Since the 1960s, RT ...

's production of

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 features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...

's play ''Happy Days'', a role she had previously performed on stage and which she described later as her favourite part. Among her other television roles was that of Mrs. Conn Brickley, Bridget's mother, in an episode of the Irish RM called "The Boat's Share". Kean's many stage appearances include performances in the plays of Synge,

O'Casey O'Casey is a common variation of the Gaelic ''cathasaigh'', meaning ''vigilant'' or ''watchful'', with the added anglicized prefix ''Irish name#Surnames and prefixes, O of the Gaelic ''Ó'', meaning ''grandson'' or ''descendant''. At least six ...

and Friel. She took the lead role of Maggie Polpin in the 1969 world première of John B. Keane's play '' Big Maggie'' at the

Cork Opera House Cork Opera House is a theatre and opera house in Cork in Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the Nort ...

In 1978 she won the State of New York best actress award for her performance in what has become Keane's most successful play. Arguably her most memorable film role was as Barry's scheming mother in

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

's ''

Barry Lyndon ''Barry Lyndon'' is a 1975 period drama film written, directed, and produced by Stanley Kubrick, based on the 1844 novel ''The Luck of Barry Lyndon'' by William Makepeace Thackeray. Starring Ryan O'Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Leonard ...

''. She also played a bigoted Irish shopkeeper in

David Lean Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Widely considered one of the most important figures in British cinema, Lean directed the large-scale epics ''The Bridge on the River ...

's ''

Ryan's Daughter ''Ryan's Daughter'' is a 1970 British Epic film, epic Romance film, romantic drama film directed by David Lean and starring Robert Mitchum and Sarah Miles. The film, set between August 1917 and January 1918, tells the story of a married Irish ...

''. Her final movie appearance was in

John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter, actor and visual artist. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered ...

's ''The Dead'' (1987), in which she played the part of Mrs. Malins. Marie Kean died in

Donnybrook, Dublin Donnybrook () is a district of Dublin, Ireland. It is situated on the southside of the city, in the Dublin 4 postal district, and is home to the Irish public service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It was once part of the Pemb ...

at the age of 75. Her husband, William Mulvey, predeceased her in 1977.''The Irish Times'', "Abbey, RTÉ actress dies in Dublin", 30 December 1993

Filmography

References

External links

*
Marie Kean at Irish Playography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kean, Marie 1918 births 1993 deaths Abbey Theatre Irish stage actresses Irish film actresses Irish soap opera actresses Irish radio actresses Irish television actresses Jacob's Award winners People from Fingal 20th-century Irish actresses Actresses from County Dublin