Joseph Tomelty (5 March 1911 – 7 June 1995) was an Irish actor, playwright, novelist, short-story writer and theatre manager. He worked in film, television, radio and on the stage, starring in Sam Thompson's 1960 play ''Over the Bridge''.

Life and career

Born in Portaferry in 1911, he was the son of James Tomelty, a skilled fiddler who was nicknamed "Rollicking"; and the brother of Peter Tomelty, a

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

and recording artist. Tomelty's exposure to music at a young age influenced his work as a playwright, with several of his stage works being named after songs, including ''The Singing Bird'' (1948), ''Down the Heather Glen'' (1953) and ''The Drunken Sailor'' (1954). Tomelty was a co-founder, in 1940, of the Group Theatre in Belfast, and served as its general manager until 1951. He married Lena Milligan in 1942.https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituaryjoseph-to melty-1586249.html They had two daughters together: Frances Tomelty is an actress and the first wife of singer and musician Sting; while Roma Tomelty (d. 22 April 2020) was also an actress.

Works

Plays

*''Barnum Was Right'' (1939) *''Idolatry at Inishargie'' (1942) *''Poor Errand'' (1943) *''Right Again Barnum'' (1943) *''The End House'' (1944) *''All Souls' Night'' (1948) *''The Singing Bird'' (1948) *''Down the Heather Glen'' (1953) *''April in Assagh'' (1954) *''The Drunken Sailor'' (1954) *''Is the Priest at Home?'' (1954) *''A Year in Marlfield'' (1965)

Novels

*''Red Is the Port Light'' (1948) *''The Apprentice'' (1953)

Radio

*''Barnum Is Right'' (1938) *''Elopement'' (1939) *''The McCooeys'' (1948)

Complete filmography

* '' Odd Man Out'' (1947) - 'Gin' Jimmy, the cabbie * ''Shark Island'' (1951) - Seán * '' Treasure Hunt'' (1952) - Poacher * '' The Sound Barrier'' (1952) - Will Sparks * '' You're Only Young Twice'' (1952) - Dan McEntee * '' The Gentle Gunman'' (1952) - Dr Brannigan * ''The Gentle Maiden'' (1953 TV movie) - John Clarke * '' The Oracle'' (1953) - Terry Roche * '' Melba'' (1953) - Thomas Mitchell * '' Meet Mr. Lucifer'' (1953) - Mr. Pedelty * '' Hell Below Zero'' (1954) - Capt. McPhee * '' Front Page Story'' (1954) - Dan * '' Hobson's Choice'' (1954) - Jim Heeler * '' Devil Girl from Mars'' (1954) - Prof. Arnold Hennessey * '' Happy Ever After'' (1954) - Dooley * '' The Young Lovers'' (1954) - Moffatt * '' Simba'' (1955) - Dr. Hughes * '' Bedevilled'' (1955) - Father Cunningham * '' A Kid for Two Farthings'' (1955) - Vagrant * '' John and Julie'' (1955) - Mr. Davidson * ''

Timeslip ''Timeslip'' is a British children's television series, children's science fiction television series made by Associated TeleVision, ATV for the ITV (TV network), ITV network, and broadcast in 1970 and 1971. It was first shown on Monday evenings ...

'' (1955) - Detective Inspector Cleary * '' A Prize of Gold'' (1955) - Uncle Dan * ''

Moby Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 Epic (genre), epic novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is centered on the sailor Ishmael (Moby-Dick), Ishmael's narrative of the maniacal quest of Captain Ahab, Ahab, captain of the whaler ...

'' (1956) - Peter Coffin (voice dubbed by

John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics. He rec ...

) * '' A Night to Remember'' (1958) - Dr. William O'Loughlin * '' Tread Softly Stranger'' (1958) - Joe Ryan * '' The Captain's Table'' (1959) - Dalrymple * '' Upstairs and Downstairs'' (1959) - Arthur Farringdon * ''Next to No Wife'' (1959 TV movie) - Canon Fergus Brodie * '' Life Is a Circus'' (1960) - Joe Winter * '' Hell Is a City'' (1960) - Furnisher Steele * ''

The Day They Robbed the Bank of England ''The Day They Robbed the Bank of England'' is a 1960 British crime film directed by John Guillermin and starring Aldo Ray, Elizabeth Sellars and Peter O'Toole. It was written by Howard Clewes and Richard Maibaum and based upon the 1959 The Day ...

'' (1960) - Cohoun * '' Lancelot and Guinevere'' (1963) - Sir Kaye * '' The Black Torment'' (1964) - Sir Giles Fordyke

''The McCooeys''

Tomelty's family-based radio sitcom ''The McCooeys'' was first broadcast on the BBC Home Service in Northern Ireland on 14 May 1949, becoming the region's most listened-to programme over the next six years. Centre Stage Theatre Company, co-founded by his daughter Roma and her husband Colin Carnegie, revived four of the episodes in a stage version, directed by Michael Quinn and performed in the refurbished Grand Opera House Studio Theatre in February 2022.

References

External links

*
Portaferry - Joseph Tomelty Resource Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomelty, Joseph 1911 births 1995 deaths People from Portaferry Male stage actors from Northern Ireland Male dramatists and playwrights from Northern Ireland 20th-century dramatists and playwrights from Northern Ireland 20th-century male actors from Northern Ireland 20th-century novelists from Northern Ireland Male novelists from Northern Ireland 20th-century British male writers Actors from County Down Writers from County Down