| Maureen Delany | |
| Birth Name: | Maureen Barry O'Delany |
| Birth Date: | 1 December 1888 |
| Birth Place: | Kilkenny, Ireland |
| Death Place: | London, England |
| Occupation: | Stage and screen actress |
| Othername: | Daisy Delany |
| Spouse: | Peter O'Neil |
Maureen Barry O'Delany (1 December 1888 - 27 March 1961), professionally known as Maureen Delany and also billed as Maureen Delaney, was an Irish stage actress and screen actress of British films [1] [2]
She was born in Kilkenny, Ireland, daughter of Barry Delany, who died when she was three months old. She was educated in Galway and originally intended to train for the opera, as she had a fine singing voice. However, she was accepted into the Abbey School of Acting by Lennox Robinson. She made her debut on the stage in Edward McNulty's comedy The Lord Mayor in 1914.[3]
She quickly gained a reputation as a noted comic actress and singer. She became identified with Maisie Madigan in Juno and the Paycock and Bessie Burgess in The Plough and the Stars (both by Seán O'Casey), as well as the Widow Quin in Synge's Playboy of the Western World.[3] In 1959 she was nominated for a Tony Award for her part in the play God and Kate Murphy.[4]
She also appeared in a number of plays by Irish playwright Teresa Deevy which were staged at the Abbey Theatre, A Disciple[5] in 1931, Temporal Powers[6] in 1932, Katie Roche[7] in 1937, which toured to the Ambassador Theatre, New York, USA, this play also toured to the Arts Theatre, Cambridge, England also in 1937,[8] Temporal Powers[9] in 1937, In Search of Valour[10] in 1947. She died in her room at a London Hotel on 27 March 1961 and was predeceased by her husband Peter O'Neill, whom she married about 1947; there were no children.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 | Land of Her Fathers | ||
| 1935 | His Family Tree | Nellie Oulihan | |
| 1947 | Odd Man Out | Theresa O'Brien | |
| Captain Boycott | Mrs Davin | ||
| 1948 | The Mark of Cain | Daisy Cobb | |
| So Evil My Love | Curtis | ||
| 1948 | Another Shore | Mrs Gleeson | |
| 1949 | Saints and Sinners | Postmistress | Uncredited |
| Under Capricorn | Flo | ||
| 1950 | Night and the City | Anna O'Leary (Blackmarket) | Uncredited |
| 1952 | The Holly and the Ivy | Aunt Bridget | |
| 1956 | The March Hare | Bridget | |
| Jacqueline | Mrs McBride | ||
| The Long Arm | Mrs Stevens, the daily help | ||
| 1957 | The Rising of the Moon | Old Woman | |
| The Story of Esther Costello | Jennie Costello | ||
| The Scamp | Mrs Perryman | ||
| 1958 | Tread Softly Stranger | Mrs Finnegan | |
| The Doctor's Dilemma | Emmy |