Sheila Manahan (1 January 1924 – 29 March 1988) was an Irish actress on stage and screen. She was associated with the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in the 1940s, and had supporting roles at least ten films between 1948 and 1965. She also acted in radio productions and television programs.

Early life

Manahan was born in Dublin on New Year's Day in 1924, the daughter of Captain John Manahan. She attended the ''Scoil Mhuire'', and was bilingual in Irish and English. She began acting in plays as a teenager.

Career

Manahan was an actress with the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre (), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland () is a theatre in Dublin, Ireland. First opening to the public on 27 December 1904, and moved from its original building after a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the p ...

in Dublin during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1948 she was in the original cast of Christopher Fry's '' The Lady's Not For Burning'', in London. In 1952 she starred in Margaret Macloud's comedy ''Quest'' in London. On radio she acted in

Sean O'Casey Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Hiberno-English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angli ...

plays. Among her film roles were Shelah Flaherty in '' Saints and Sinners'' (1949), Ann Willingdon in ''

Seven Days to Noon ''Seven Days to Noon'' (also known as ''Ultimatum'') is a 1950 British political thriller film directed and produced by John and Roy Boulting and starring Barry Jones, Olive Sloane and André Morell. It was written by Frank Harvey and Roy Bou ...

'' (1950), Rose Moresby (sister to

Jean Simmons Jean Merilyn Simmons (31 January 1929 – 22 January 2010) was a British actress and singer. One of J. Arthur Rank's "well-spoken young starlets", she appeared predominantly in films, beginning with those made in Britain during and after the ...

's character and wife to

William Hartnell William Henry Hartnell (; 8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975) was an English actor, who is best known for portraying the first incarnation of the Doctor, in the long-running British science-fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' from 1963 t ...

's character) in ''Footsteps in the Fog'' (1955), Esther's mother in ''

The Story of Esther Costello ''The Story of Esther Costello'' is a 1957 British drama film directed by David Miller and starring Joan Crawford, Rossano Brazzi and Heather Sears. It was produced by Miller and Jack Clayton. The screenplay by Charles Kaufman was based on ...

'' (1957), and Mrs. Jenkins in ''

Only Two Can Play ''Only Two Can Play'' is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Sidney Gilliat starring Peter Sellers, Mai Zetterling and Virginia Maskell. The screenplay was by Bryan Forbes, based on the 1955 novel '' That Uncertain Feeling'' by Kingsley Amis ...

'' (1962), with

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show''. Sellers featured on a number of hit comi ...

and

Mai Zetterling Mai Elisabeth Zetterling (; 24 May 1925 – 17 March 1994) was a Swedish film director, novelist and actress. Early life Zetterling was born in Västerås, Sweden to a working class family. She started her career as an actor at the age of 17 at ...

. On television, she was in an adaptation of

Frank O'Connor Frank O'Connor (born Michael Francis O'Donovan; 17 September 1903 – 10 March 1966) was an Irish author and translator. He wrote poetry (original and translations from Irish), dramatic works, memoirs, journalistic columns and features on as ...

's 1939 story "First Confession", broadcast on ''

Thirty-Minute Theatre ''Thirty-Minute Theatre'' was a British anthology drama series of short plays shown on BBC Television between 1965 and 1973, which was used in part at least as a training ground for new writers, on account of its short running length, and which ...

'' in 1969. Her last television role was as Peter Blake's mother in '' Dear John''.

Personal life

Manahan married film technician James Stafford Northcote in 1949; they divorced in 1961. In 1962 she married her second husband, the Scottish actor

Fulton Mackay William Fulton Beith Mackay (12 August 1922 – 6 June 1987) was a Scottish actor and playwright, best known for his role as prison officer Mr Mackay in the 1970s television sitcom ''Porridge''. Early life Mackay was born in Paisley, Renfrew ...

. "They were an incredible welcoming, inclusive couple", recalled actor Brian Cox in 2022. "They were like my real family, my surrogate parents in many ways." Her husband died from stomach cancer in 1987 at the age of 64, and she died from colon cancer in west London on 29 March 1988, also at the age of 64.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Manahan, Sheila 1924 births 1988 deaths Irish film actresses 20th-century Irish actresses Actresses from County Dublin