Maureen Toal

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Maureen Toal
Born(1930-09-07)7 September 1930
Died24 August 2012(2012-08-24) (aged 81)
Dublin, Ireland
OccupationActress

Maureen Toal (7 September 1930 – 24 August 2012) was an Irish stage and television actress whose professional career lasted for more than sixty years.[1][2]

She was born in 1930 and was originally from Fairview, Dublin.[2] Toal began performing at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 1946, when she was just sixteen years old.[1] She became a fixture at the theatre, portraying Bessie Burgess in The Plough and the Stars and the Widow Quinn in The Playboy of the Western World.[1] She also appeared in several one woman shows, including Baglady, which was written by Irish playwright Frank McGuinness.[1]

Another playwright, John B. Keane, wrote the role of Mame Fadden in his play, The Change in Mame Fadden, specifically for Toal. Hugh Leonard also penned characters in his plays A life and Great Big Blonde with the intention of casting Toal in the parts.[1] Toal was best known to Irish television audiences for her role as Teasy McDaid on RTÉ One's Glenroe during the 1990s.[1]

Honours[]

The University College Dublin awarded Toal an honorary doctorate in literature in 2010.[citation needed]

Personal life[]

In 1952, she married fellow Irish actor Milo O'Shea; they divorced in 1974 [3]

Death[]

Maureen Toal died in her sleep at her home in Sandycove, Dublin, on 24 August 2012, two weeks before her 82nd birthday.[1] She was survived by her sons, Steven and Colm O'Shea; two sisters, one brother, and three grandchildren.[2]

Filmography[]

Year Title Role Notes
1958 Rooney Kathleen O'Flynn
1961 Only the Wind Mrs. Collins
1962 A Guy Called Caesar Lena
1967 Ulysses Zoe Higgins
1969 Otley Landlady
1970 Paddy Clair Kearney
1978 On a Paving Stone Mounted
1984 Summer Lightning Dolly St.Leger
1996 Snakes and Ladders Rose

Partial playography[]

  • Bláithín agus an Mac Rí (1953)
  • A Slipper for the Moon (1954)
  • A Flea in Her Ear (1979)
  • A Life (1979)
  • Baglady (1985)
  • Yerma (1987)[4]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g "'Greatest' actor Maureen Toal dies". The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Noted actress Maureen Toal dies". RTÉ News. RTÉ. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
  3. ^ "Maureen Toal: obituary". The Irish Times. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  4. ^ "MAUREEN TOAL 1930 - 2012". www.irishplayography.com. Retrieved 2020-04-24.

External links[]

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