Patricia Boylan (12 March 1913 – 23 February 2006) was an Irish actor and journalist.

Early life

Patricia Boylan was born Patricia Clancy in

Coalisland Coalisland () is a small town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, with a population of 5,682 in the 2011 Census. Four miles from Lough Neagh, it was formerly a centre for coal mining. History Origins In the late 17th century coal deposits ...

, County Tyrone on 12 March 1913. Her parents were Patrick, a general and wholesale draper and Justice of the Peace, and Anne Clancy (née Treanor). She was the 10th child of 12 children, four girls, and eight boys. The family moved to

Dungannon Dungannon () is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the second-largest town in the county (after Omagh) and had a population of 14,340 at the 2011 Census. The Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council had its headquarters in the ...

, and then

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, where Boylan attended St Patrick's Girls' Academy. Enjoying studying English, and developing an interest in acting, she doorstepped

Arthur Shields Arthur Shields (15 February 1896 – 27 April 1970) was an Irish actor on television, stage and film. Early years Born into an Irish Protestant family in Portobello, Dublin, Shields started acting in the Abbey Theatre when he was 17 years old. ...

during his visit to Belfast pretending to be a journalist. She wrote up the meeting, and it was published in ''The'' ''Irish News''. Boylan attended the Municipal Technical College, learning typing and shorthand. She trained as a nurse at

Leeds General Infirmary Leeds General Infirmary, also known as the LGI, is a large teaching hospital based in the centre of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, and is part of the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Its previous name The General Infirmary at Leeds is still ...

from 1932 to 1936, graduating from the Royal College of Nursing, London. She moved with her parents to Clonliffe Road,

Drumcondra, Dublin Drumcondra () is a residential area and inner suburb on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is administered by Dublin City Council. The River Tolka and the Royal Canal flow through the area. History The village of Drumcondra was the central a ...

in 1937 and she successfully auditioned for the Abbey Theatre's School of Acting.There she studied alongside Wilfred Brambell, Valentine Iremonger, Phyllis Ryan,

Dan O'Herlihy Daniel Peter O'Herlihy (May 1, 1919 – February 17, 2005) was an Irish actor of film, television, and radio. With a distinguished appearance and rich, resonant speaking voice, O'Herlihy's best known-roles included his Oscar-nominated portraya ...

, and briefly,

Maureen O'Hara Maureen O'Hara (; 17 August 1920 – 24 October 2015) was a native Irish and naturalized American actress and singer, who became successful in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood from the 1940s through to the 1960s. She was a natural ...

Career

Boylan wrote up a profile of

Lennox Robinson Esmé Stuart Lennox Robinson (4 October 1886 – 15 October 1958) was an Irish dramatist, poet and theatre producer and director who was involved with the Abbey Theatre. Life Robinson was born in Westgrove, Douglas, County Cork and raised in ...

, the director of the School, for ''

The Irish Press ''The Irish Press'' (Irish: ''Scéala Éireann'') was an Irish national daily newspaper published by Irish Press plc between 5 September 1931 and 25 May 1995. Foundation The paper's first issue was published on the eve of the 1931 All-Ireland ...

'' (30 September 1937). These occasional writing jobs helped to pay her school fees. Robinson chose her as part of a group to create a verse-speaking class, and Boylan appeared as Deirdre in the radio play ''Deirdre of the sorrows'' by

J. M. 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 ...

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 transmitt ...

. She was one of the original members and honorary secretary of the Dublin Verse-Speaking Society, founded in December 1939 by Austin Clarke and

Robert Farren Robert Farren ( ga, Roibeárd Ó Faracháin; 24 April 1909 – 29 December 1984) was an Irish poet. Farren was a native of County Dublin, where he worked as a school teacher and was a director of broadcasting at Raidió Teilifís Éireann. He was ...

. Boylan gave poetry recitals at the

Abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

and Peacock theatres, as well as appearing on the Monday night poetry show, ''Poetry Anthology'', on Radio Éireann for 25 years. She met Henry Boylan in Radio Éireann in 1941, and they married on 18 September 1941 in Dublin. They had two daughters, Anna and Catherine, and two sons, Hugo and

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

. She worked as an editorial assistant for '' Woman's Life'', ghost writing an agony aunt column and managing beauty pageants. Boylan was a regular contributor on talk shows and Radio Éireann productions from the 1940s onwards. She wrote as "Darina" for ''The'' ''Irish Press'' social column, contributed to ''

The Hibernia Magazine ''The Hibernia Magazine'' was a magazine published in Ireland, initially as a monthly magazine then fortnightly. The Magazine was started in 1937 had a Catholic ethos, being supported by the Knights of Saint Columbanus It was edited and owned by ...

'', was the editor of ''Creation'', and wrote for ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'', the ''Irish Press'', the '' Irish Arts Review'' and '' Books Ireland''. She published a book on the history of the United Arts Club, ''All cultivated people: a history of the United Arts Club'', in 1988, and a memoir, ''Gaps of brightness'', in 2003. She was a member of the Irish Contemporary Arts Society. Boylan died on 23 February 2006 in Dublin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boylan, Patricia 1913 births 2006 deaths People from Coalisland 20th-century Irish women writers Abbey Theatre Irish stage actresses Irish radio actresses Actors from County Tyrone