Val Vousden or Bill MacNevin (29 January 1885 – 6 June 1951) was an Irish actor, poet, and playwright.

Early life and family

Bill MacNevin was born William Francis Maher MacNevin on 29 Jan 1885 on College Street,

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...

, he was later known by his stage name Val Vousden. His mother, Eliza Maher, was a teacher in St Joseph's National School. He debuted on stage in 1891 as Tiny Tim in ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. ''A Christmas C ...

'' in Carlow Town Hall, going on appear in small productions under the guidance of Julia Kelly. He was schooled in the local Christian Brothers National School and

Mungret College Mungret College was a Jesuit apostolic school and a lay secondary school near Limerick, Ireland. Located on the western outskirts of the modern-day suburban town of Raheen, it was operational from 1882 until 1974 when it closed as a school f ...

, Limerick, before joining the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

as a clerk in 1904. He left the Engineers in 1905, being discharged on medical grounds, going on to join a drama troupe which toured Ireland and England, performing under the name Bartley Hynes. He returned to Carlow in 1910 to appear in the Deighton Hall on Burrin Street in ''Penny Readings''. He later produced a sketch, ''Art and Laughter'', in the Town Hall. He left again to tour with Carrickford Repertory Company until 1914. Vousden joined the army in 1914 at the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, serving in France and rising to the rank of Regimental Sergeant Major of the

Welsh Regiment The Welch Regiment (or "The Welch", an archaic spelling of "Welsh") was an infantry regiment of the line of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1969. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of ...

. He married fellow actress, Pearl O'Donnell, touring the country performing together. The couple had three daughters, Sheila, Mona and Patricia.

Acting career

Returning to Ireland, he joined Roberto Lena's company in Newbridge and then acted for a season with the Queens in Dublin, by which time he was using the stage name Val Vousden after 19th century Irish entertainer Valentine Vousden. For the next three years he was with the O'Brien and Ireland Company, working with May Craig and

Peadar Kearney Peadar Kearney ( ga, Peadar Ó Cearnaígh ; 12 December 1883 – 24 November 1942) was an Irish republican and composer of numerous rebel songs. In 1907 he wrote the lyrics to "A Soldier's Song" ( ga, " Amhrán na bhFiann", italics=no), now t ...

. After the advent of radio broadcasting in Ireland, Vousden presented the first light entertainment show, being a regular contributor to Irish radio until his death. He taught elocution lessons in a number of schools and colleges. He wrote a number of plays, sketches, and poems published as a volume entitled ''Recitations, Monologues, Character Sketches and Plays'', and wrote his autobiography, ''Val Vousden's Caravan''. Vousden regularly acted as part of the Abbey Players in the Abbey Theatre. He acted in a number of films, including ''

Irish Destiny ''Irish Destiny'' is a 1926 film made in the Irish Free State, directed by George Dewhurst and written by Isaac Eppel to mark the tenth anniversary of the Easter Rising. A cut version was released in Britain, entitled ''An Irish Mother''. The f ...

'' (1926), '' Captain Boycott'' (1947), ''

Odd Man Out ''Odd Man Out'' is a 1947 British film noir directed by Carol Reed, and starring James Mason, Robert Newton, Cyril Cusack, and Kathleen Ryan. Set in Belfast, Northern Ireland, it follows a wounded Nationalist leader who attempts to evade polic ...

'' (1947), and ''Uncle Nick''.

Later life and legacy

Vousden died on 6 June 1951 in Clonskea Hospital, Dublin, and was buried in

Glasnevin Cemetery Glasnevin Cemetery ( ga, Reilig Ghlas Naíon) is a large cemetery in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland which opened in 1832. It holds the graves and memorials of several notable figures, and has a museum. Location The cemetery is located in Glasne ...

. The 50th anniversary of his death was marked 9 June 2004 in the Carlow County Library.

References

External links

RTÉ Radio 1 documentary ''From Val Vousden Till Now''Scripts by Vousden in the Great War Theatre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vousden, Val 1885 births 1951 deaths 20th-century Irish male actors Irish male film actors Irish male stage actors Irish male poets Irish male dramatists and playwrights Writers from County Carlow 20th-century Irish poets 20th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights 20th-century male writers Actors from County Carlow