Maureen Delany

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 Theatre School 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 Broadway at the Ambassador Theatre (Broadway), 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.