William "Billa" O'Connell (25 December 1929 – 23 September 2021)Cork singer and entertainer Billa O'Connell dies aged 91
Rte.ie; accessed 25 September 2021. was an Irish entertainer from

Cork City Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...

, Ireland. His career earned him Freedom of the City and an honorary degree from

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

Career

The youngest of six children born to William and Julia O’Connell, Billa was best known as a performer in

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

, having made his debut in the Cork pantomime back in 1947. He went on to become a regular cast member of the pantomimes produced at the

Cork Opera House Cork Opera House is a theatre and opera house in Cork in Ireland. The first venue opened in 1855 on Emmet Place (then known as Nelson's Place) to the rear of the Crawford Art Gallery. This original building was destroyed by fire in 1955, and ...

, as well as Summer Revels, an annual variety show which ran for over two decades. Speaking in ''The Irish Times'', he recalled a time when there were "seven or eight" pantomimes operating in Cork, and it was one of the city's most popular forms of entertainment. Also regarded as an accomplished singer, he recorded a number of songs for local charitable organisations. He frequently appeared on '' The Late Late Show'', produced by

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

, Ireland's national broadcaster, as a guest of

Gay Byrne Gabriel Mary Byrne (5 August 1934 – 4 November 2019) was an Irish presenter and host of radio and television. His most notable role was as the first host of '' The Late Late Show'' over a 37-year period spanning 1962 until 1999. ''The Late La ...

. In 2000,

Mercier Press Mercier Press is a publisher based in Cork, Ireland. It is the longest established independent publishing house in Ireland. History The company was founded in 1944 by Seán Feehan and initially published religious books. In 1946 they publishe ...

published O'Connell's biography, ''Just Billa'', written by Michael O'Connor. His monologues were archived by the Cork City Library in 2012. O'Connell was also an entertainment manager for figures like Eamon Kelly and

Dermot O'Brien Dermot O'Brien (23 October 1932 – 22 May 2007) was an Irish céilí and showband musician and singer, as well as a Gaelic footballer who played as a centre-forward at senior level for the Louth senior football team. Gaelic football career ...

Personal life

Beyond the stage, he spent 30 years working as a sales rep for

Beamish and Crawford Beamish and Crawford was a brewery in Cork, Ireland, established in 1792 by William Beamish and William Crawford on the site of an existing porter brewery. In the early 1800s, it was the largest brewery in Ireland. Beamish and Crawford operat ...

. He was married to Nell Cotter, a dancer. They had six children. One of their grandchildren is writer and academic James O'Sullivan, who works at

. He was a close friend of

Jack Lynch John Mary Lynch (15 August 1917 – 20 October 1999) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1966 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979. He was Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1966 to 1979, Leader of the Opposition from 1973 to 1977, ...

, twice elected

Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

, and Paddy Comerford, a locally famed performer. He died on 23 September 2021, aged 91.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:OConnell, Billa 1929 births 2021 deaths Irish male entertainers Mimes Actor-managers People from Cork (city)