Bríd Ní Neachtain (; ; born 1959) is an Irish actress known for ''

Dancing at Lughnasa ''Dancing at Lughnasa'' is a 1990 play by dramatist Brian Friel set in County Donegal, Ireland in August 1936 in the fictional town of Ballybeg. It is a memory play told from the point of view of the adult Michael Evans, the narrator. He re ...

''.

Early life

Born in Rosmuc, Neachtain is a native of

Connemara Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

. She starred in an adaptation of

Máirtín Ó Cadhain Máirtín Ó Cadhain (; 20 January 1906 – 18 October 1970) was one of the most prominent Irish language writers of the twentieth century. Perhaps best known for his 1949 novel , ÓCadhain played a key role in reintroducing modernist literatur ...

's 1948

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

, ''Cré na Cille''. She was educated at Coláiste Chroí Mhuire in

Spiddal Spiddal, also known as Spiddle (Irish language, Irish and official name: , , meaning 'the hospital'), is a village on the shore of Galway Bay in County Galway, Ireland. It is west of Galway city, on the R336 road (Ireland), R336 road. It is o ...

Career

In her late teens, hearing that an assistant stage manager was leaving the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre (), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland () is a theatre in Dublin, Ireland. First opening to the public on 27 December 1904, and moved from its original building after a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the p ...

, she wrote to Tomás Mac Anna, the director, and got the job. On occasion, he gave her small parts in Irish language plays and this later developed into larger roles in both Irish and English. After her performance in ''Silver Dollar Boys,'' Joe Dowling invited her to join the Abbey Actors. She remained with them until the 1990s when she left to work in TG4's soap, '' Ros na Rún.'' She is a former board member of

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

broadcaster,

TG4 TG4 (; , ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television channel. It launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on-demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was initially known as (TnaG), before bein ...

Personal life

She is married to former Senator Fiach Mac Conghail; they have two children. She appeared on an Irish 55- cent stamp in 2008, depicted in a still from ''Cré na Cille''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ni Neachtain, Brid 1959 births Living people 20th-century Irish people 21st-century Irish people Actresses from County Galway Irish stage actresses TG4 people Mac Conghail family