Draft:Stephen Clinch

Clinch was born in Dublin, Ireland. From a young age, he was involved in small crime and became addicted to heroin. He admitted he thought prison to be a 'dosshouse' when he was younger, but quickly discovered what it was really like when he was sentenced to jail.^[1] While in prison, Clinch vowed to get clean and started taking acting lessons and sang in the prison choir.^[2]

Stephen got his first acting role in the 2011 feature Between the Canals, directed by Mark O'Connor and starring opposite Peter Coonan. Clinch and Coonan would star against one another again in the television series Love/Hate. Stephen quickly became a household name for his performance as 'Noely', most infamously being known as the character to rape Fran (Coonan's character) with a pool cue. Coonan revealed the idea for the scene had actually come from Stephen himself, who was taking inspiration from what he'd witness during his own time in prison.^[3]

Stephen would go on to work with Coonan a further two times, starring against him in Stalker and King of the Travellers, both released in 2012 and directed by Mark O'Connor. It was on these films that Stephen would start working with an upcoming John Connors, who he would work with again in the critically acclaimed Cardboard Gangsters.^[4] In 2019, Clinch appeared in the television series 'Darklands', with this marking his fourth time working with Mark O'Connor. Clinch also starred in the movie 'Jack and Ralph Plan a Murder' in 2014^[5] and in the TV3 series 'Darndale-Edge of the Town'.

In 2015, the Irish Independent reported that Stephen Clinch had been arrested alongside another man, for an attempted armed robbery of €50,000 from a bar in Dublin.^[6] This was the first crime Clinch had committed in over 14 years and he would later express his regret, admitting he was on methadone at the time and claiming he simply 'drifted back into the madness', due to an €8,000 debt he had built up. ^[7] Clinch claimed he didn't know the gun was loaded and hadn't wanted to commit the crime in the first place. He also expressed he deepest apologies to the security guard he held at gunpoint.^[8] Clinch was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison but was released on bail.^[9] In total, Clinch has had 17 convictions.^{[citation needed]}

On 24 May 2022, Stephen Clinch died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 52.^[10] The funeral took place on 30 May in Dublin.^[11] long time acting friend John Connors attended the funeral, giving a speech. He claimed Clinch 'Never acted a day in his life' and said he was one of the realist people to work with. Director Mark O'Connor referred to Clinch as 'an incredible actor' and 'one of the funniest people you could ever meet', revealing that Clinch never asked to be paid for any of his roles in O'Connors films.^[12]

Darklands co-star Robbie Breen said Stephen was a character 'on and off the set'. His family adknowledged that Clinch had made mistakes in his life, but stressed they wanted him to be remembered for his work with youth groups, as Stephen had spent much time warning young people about the dangers of addiction. ^[13] Peter Coonan tweeted about Clinch's tragic passing, remembering fond moments with his former co-star. ^[10]

Stephen Clinch at IMDB