Ria Mooney (1903 – 3 January 1973) was 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 ...

stage and screen actress, artistic director 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 p ...

(1948-1963) and director of 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 ...

. She was the first female producer at the Abbey Theatre.

Life

She was born in

Rathmines Rathmines () is an affluent inner suburb on the Southside of Dublin in Ireland. It lies three kilometres south of the city centre. It begins at the southern side of the Grand Canal and stretches along the Rathmines Road as far as Rathgar to t ...

, a suburb of Dublin. She started acting as a child, sang with the Rathmines and Rathgar Musical Society as a teenager, and studied art at the

Dublin Metropolitan School of Art The National College of Art and Design (NCAD) is Ireland's oldest art institution, offering the largest range of art and design degrees at undergraduate and postgraduate level in the country. Originating as a drawing school in 1746, many of th ...

. She was invited to join the Abbey Theatre in 1924 and acted alongside some of the great names of the day, such as

Cyril Cusack Cyril James Cusack (26 November 1910 – 7 October 1993) was an Irish stage and screen actor with a career that spanned more than 70 years. During his lifetime, he was considered one of Ireland’s finest thespians, and was renowned for his in ...

Maire O'Neill Maire O'Neill (born Mary Agnes Allgood; 11 January 1886 – 2 November 1952) was an Irish actress of stage and film. She holds a place in theatre history as the first actress to interpret the lead character of Pegeen Mike Flaherty in John Mill ...

and F. J. McCormick in numerous plays. She played the part of Rosie Redmond in ''

The Plough and the Stars ''The Plough and the Stars'' is a four-act play by the Irish writer Seán O'Casey that was first performed on 8 February 1926 at the Abbey Theatre. It is set in Dublin and addresses the 1916 Easter Rising. The play's title references the Sta ...

'' on 8 February 1926, when the players were attacked during a riot in the theatre. She went on to play prominent roles in the period's most important Irish plays by

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 ...

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 ...

, Carroll, Shiels,

Robinson Robinson may refer to: People and names * Robinson (name) Fictional characters * Robinson Crusoe, the main character, and title of a novel by Daniel Defoe, published in 1719 Geography * Robinson projection, a map projection used since the 1960 ...

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 Synge. After spells abroad and at the

Gate Theatre The Gate Theatre is a theatre on Cavendish Row in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1928. History Beginnings The Gate Theatre was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir with Daisy Bannard Cogley and Gearóid Ó Lochlai ...

she was put in charge of the new Peacock Theatre and the Abbey Experimental Theatre Company at the Abbey in 1937. Her memoirs allude to an affair with the poet F. R. Higgins (Fred) who was on the board of the Abbey. Ria and Fred had discovered they were related, as third cousins, due to a chance conversation when they were both travelling to America together. She was shocked at his sudden death of a heart attack in 1941. After Higgins' death

Ernest Blythe Ernest Blythe (; 13 April 1889 – 23 February 1975) was an Irish journalist, managing director of the Abbey Theatre, and politician who served as Minister for Finance from 1923 to 1932, Minister for Posts and Telegraphs and Vice-President of ...

was named managing director. She left the Abbey in 1944 to direct the Gaiety School of acting. In January 1948 she became resident producer at the Abbey. It was a difficult time for the Abbey, and Mooney had to contend with a demanding manager, Ernest Blythe, with whom she did not see eye-to-eye. An unexpected blow was the death of F. J. McCormick in 1947. Then on 17 July 1951, fire destroyed the Abbey Theatre.Haggerty, Bridget.
Irish Landmarks: The Abbey Theatre
. irishcultureandcustoms.com. Retrieved on 1 January 2013. The company leased the old Queen's Theatre in September and continued in residence there until 1966. Mooney took the opportunity to employ younger actors, many of whom she knew from her time teaching at the Gaiety. Among them were

Ronnie Masterson Ronnie Masterson (4 April 1926 – 10 February 2014) was an Irish actress. Masterson was born in Dublin. She trained at the Abbey Theatre and first appeared on stage there in 1944. At the Abbey, she met and then married actor Ray McAnally in 1 ...

, Joan O'Hara,

Ray McAnally Ray McAnally (30 March 1926 – 15 June 1989) was an Irish actor. He was the recipient of three BAFTA Awards in the late 1980s: two BAFTA Film Awards for Best Supporting Actor (for ''The Mission'' in 1986 and ''My Left Foot'' in 1989), and ...

, Philip O'Flynn, Angela Newman,

Bill Foley William Foley is an American photojournalist whose work has been recognized by several national and international awards, including a Pulitzer Prize and International Press Freedom Awards. He has worked on assignment in 47 countries, with a p ...

and Doreen Madden. Between 1948 and 1963, seventy-five new plays were produced at the two Abbey locations; most of these were directed by Mooney, and most received excellent reviews from the Dublin critics. In 1947 she helped with the setting up of the

Radio Éireann Players The Radio Éireann Players (RÉP) were a repertory company for radio in Ireland, formed in 1947, which performed in regular drama productions for Irish broadcaster, Radio Éireann. After the depredations of the war-time years and a devastating fir ...

.Maurice Gorham, 40 Years of Irish Broadcasting, Talbot Press, 1976

Productions of plays

* 1932: Temporal Powers * 1935: The King of Spain's Daughter * 1936: The King of Spain's Daughter * 1936: Katie Roche * 1937: Temporal Powers * 1937: Katie Roche

References

External links

* * Ria Mooney a
The Abbey Theatre Archive
* Ria Moonay a
The Teresa Deevy Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mooney, Ria Abbey Theatre Irish stage actresses Irish film actresses Irish theatre directors Theatre people from Dublin (city) Irish producers 1903 births 1973 deaths 20th-century Irish actresses

Life

See also

Productions of plays

References

External links