Eileen Colgan Simpson (2 January 1934 – 10 March 2014) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

and film

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

. She was best known for her recurring role as Esther Roche on the

RTÉ One RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís ...

soap opera, ''

Fair City ''Fair City'' is an Irish television soap opera which has been broadcast on RTÉ One since 1989. Produced by the public service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), it first aired on Monday, 18 September 1989. It has won several awa ...

''. She also appeared in the RTÉ television drama, ''

Glenroe ''Glenroe'' was a television drama series broadcast on RTÉ One in Ireland between September 1983, when the first episode was aired, and May 2001. A spin-off from '' Bracken'' — a short-lived RTÉ drama itself spun off from '' The Riordans'' ...

'', as Mynah, the housekeeper of the priest. Her other television credits included ''

Ballykissangel ''Ballykissangel'' is a BBC television drama created by Kieran Prendiville and set in Ireland, produced in-house by BBC Northern Ireland. The original story revolved around a young English Roman Catholic priest as he became part of a rural co ...

'', ''

The Hanging Gale ''The Hanging Gale'' is a four-episode television serial which first aired on RTÉ One (Republic of Ireland) and BBC1 (United Kingdom) in 1995. The series was a British–Irish co-production, made by Little Bird Films for BBC Northern Ireland in ...

'' and '' Strumpet City''. She began her acting career in Irish theatre in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

. Colgan then moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, where she appeared in television and radio roles. She also appeared on stage in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. Colgan was a longtime member of the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the pu ...

Players in

from 1971 until 1988. In 1973, she won a

Jacob's Award The Jacob's Awards were instituted in December 1962 as the first Irish television awards. Later, they were expanded to include radio. The awards were named after their sponsor, W. & R. Jacob & Co. Ltd., a biscuit manufacturer, and recipients ...

for Best Television Performance by an Actress for her role in ''Hatchet''. Her

filmography A filmography is a list of films related by some criteria. For example, an actor's career filmography is the list of films they have appeared in; a director's comedy filmography is the list of comedy films directed by a particular director. The ...

included roles in ''

Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx ''Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx'' is a 1970 Irish-American comedy film directed by Waris Hussein and written by Gabriel Walsh. It stars Gene Wilder as the title character, a poor Irish manure collector who falls in love with an Amer ...

'' in 1970, '' My Left Foot'' in 1989, ''

Far and Away ''Far and Away'' is a 1992 American epic Western romantic adventure drama film directed by Ron Howard from a screenplay by Bob Dolman and a story by Howard and Dolman. It stars Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. This was the last cinematography cred ...

'' in 1992, ''

The Secret of Roan Inish ''The Secret of Roan Inish'' is a 1994 independent fantasy-adventure film written and directed by John Sayles. It is based on the 1957 novel ''Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry'', by Rosalie K. Fry. It is centered on the Irish and Orcadian folklore ...

'' in 1994, ''

Angela's Ashes ''Angela's Ashes: A Memoir'' is a 1996 memoir by the Irish-American author Frank McCourt, with various anecdotes and stories of his childhood. The book details his very early childhood in Brooklyn, New York, US but focuses primarily on his life ...

'' in 1999, and '' Tara Road'' in 2005. Eileen Colgan died on 10 March 2014, at the age of 80. She was survived by four children and eight grandchildren. Colgan was the

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can ...

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

Alan Simpson, whom she had married after his divorce from Carolyn Swift. Simpson died in 1980.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Colgan, Eileen 1930s births 2014 deaths Irish film actresses Irish television actresses Irish stage actresses Jacob's Award winners Abbey Theatre