Maria McDermottroe
Maria McDermottroe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1952 or 1953 (age 72–73)[1] Sligo, County Sligo, Ireland[2] |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1971 – present |
| Partner | John Costigan |
Maria McDermottroe is an Irish actress, best known for portraying Molly Ivors in John Huston’s The Dead, and Bridey Hannon in Alan Parker’s Angela’s Ashes.
From 1995 to 2000 McDermottroe portrayed Venetia in the hit RTÉ drama serial Glenroe. From 2004 to 2009 she portrayed Mrs. Gilhooley in the RTÉ comedy series Killinaskully, earning a nomination for the Golden Nymph Award for Best Actress in a Comedy at the 2009 Monte-Carlo Television Festival.
Her stage career began with Hilton Edwards and Micheál Mac Liammóir at the Gate Theatre in the 1970s. It was there she became the first Irish woman to appear nude on stage in the Irish premiere of Peter Shaffer’s play Equus. For five subsequent decades “she has embraced playing in most Irish theatres in an acclaimed career as one of Ireland’s finest actors.”[3][4]
Early life
[edit]McDermottroe was born in Sligo town in the 1950s, one of four children (including writer/director Conor)[2] of Eddie and Nora McDermottroe.[2][1][5]
Career
[edit]McDermottroe's first theatre role was in a production of The Merchant of Venice featuring Micheál Mac Liammóir and Hilton Edwards.[6]
Her character in Glenroe was introduced in 1995, as, Venetia, the matriarch of the Crosby family. Venetia later divorced and married divorcé Dick Moran.[7][8]
In Pat Shortt's rural sitcom, Killinaskully, McDermottroe portrayed Mrs. Gilhooley, known for repeatedly not being "in the habit of repeating" herself.[2][9]
She played crime figure John Gilligan's wife in 2003's Veronica Guerin, a film in which her daughter Gina Costigan portrayed the wife of criminal figure John Traynor.[2]
In 2010, McDermottroe's performance in an Eska Riada production of Frank McGuinness's one-woman play Baglady in the Focus Theatre, was described by Jesse Weaver of Irish Theatre Magazine as a "measured, taught, and ultimately arresting ... portrait of an identity nearly dissolving itself".[10]
In 2017, she played Carmel in Isobel Mahon's Boom?.[11]
Her film credits include John Huston's The Dead,[12][13] John Erman's The Blackwater Lightship,[14] and The Winter Lake.[15]
McDermottroe was named "Best Actress", at the 2023 Milan Gold March Awards, for her role in The Carer.[16]
Personal life
[edit]McDermottroe married John Costigan, future Executive Director of Dublin's Gaiety Theatre, in 1979,[1] having first met in 1977.[17] They have two children including writer Nora Costigan and actress Gina Costigan.[18][19] They live in Dún Laoghaire.[20]
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Silver Apples of the Moon | Moira | RTÉ TV Movie |
| 1987 | The Dead | Molly Ivors | |
| 1990 | Dear Sarah | Mrs. Moore | |
| 1991 | Crossed Lines | Katie | Short film |
| 1994 | Widows' Peak | Penitent | |
| 1996 | Trojan Eddie | Rosy | |
| 1997 | Bogwoman | Annie | |
| 1997 | The Boxer | Betty | |
| 1998 | This Is My Father | Mrs. Maney | |
| 1999 | Angela's Ashes | Birdie Hannon | |
| 2000 | Saltwater | Headmistress | |
| 2001 | The Bombmaker | Miss O'Mara | |
| 2001 | Give Up Yer Aul Sins | Peig Cunningham | Animated short |
| 2003 | Veronica Guerin | Geraldine Gilligan | |
| 2004 | The Blackwater Lightship | Madge Kehoe | |
| 2005 | Bumble's Burden | Ma | Short film |
| 2006 | Secret of the Cave | Mrs. MacIntyre | |
| 2008 | Situations Vacant | Mother | |
| 2009 | Swansong: Story of Occi Byrne | Sister Benedict | |
| 2017 | Halal Daddy | Lorraine | |
| 2019 | Saving Grace | Grace | Short film |
| 2020 | The Winter Lake | Tessie | |
| 2020 | Post Love | Cathy | Short film |
| 2022 | Haven | Carmel | Short film |
| 2023 | The Martini Shot | Ethel | |
| 2024 | The Carer | Moira McNamara | Short film |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989-1990 | ScreenPlay | Angela | 2 episodes |
| 1994 | Family | Niamh | Episode: "Charlo" |
| 1995 | The Governor | June Fisher | 2 episodes |
| 1995-2000 | Glenroe | Venetia | Main role |
| 2002 | Give Up Yer Aul Sins | Peig Cunningham | Main role |
| 2004 | Proof | Mrs. Erskine | Episode: "#1.2" |
| 2004 | Foreign Exchange | Mrs. Murphy | Episode: "Hostel" |
| 2004-2009 | Killinaskully | Mrs. Gilhooley | Main role |
| 2011 | Mattie | Mary Elizabeth Carr | 2 episodes |
| 2018 | Taken Down | Irene | 2 episodes |
| 2022 | Smother | Imelda | 3 episodes |
| 2022-2023 | Nova Jones | Granny Nova | 2 episodes |
Theatre
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c Smith, Andrea (13 January 2014). "Bondings: Beyond the curtain call at the Gaiety". Independent.ie.
- ^ a b c d e O'Donoghue, Anne (21 March 2018). "Actress Maria McDermottroe on pursuing her passion". FarmersJournal.ie. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
- ^ "Maria McDermottroe". Decadent Theatre Company.
- ^ "Maria McDermottroe, Actress: When I was 21, I wish I'd known..." Independent.ie. 5 February 2014. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
- ^ "Another act in family drama". Independent.ie. 3 September 2012.
- ^ Gate Theatre Productions Ltd. Hilton Edwards and Micheál Mac Liammóir present... Gate Theatre. 1977. Retrieved 9 January 2025 – via NLI.ie.
- ^ "Emmet Bergin and Maria McDermottroe in 'Glenroe' (2000)". RTÉ Archives. 2000.
- ^ "End of an era of marriages and deaths, but precious little sex". Independent.ie. 6 May 2001.
- ^ "Are Ye Ready to Take a Trip Back to Killinaskully? Prepare for The Movie!". 26 September 2012.
- ^ Weaver, Jesse (9 August 2010). "Reviews | Current | Baglady". ITMArchive.ie.
- ^ "Boom? That busted flush". 17 November 2017.
- ^ "'She is a nasty piece of work....I love her!'". Galway Advertiser.
- ^ Shout, John D. (1989). "Joyce at Twenty-Five Huston at Eight-One. 'THE DEAD.'". Literature/Film Quarterly. 17 (2): 93. JSTOR 43796386. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
- ^ "The Blackwater Lightship". IFI.ie.
- ^ "Maria McDermottroe biography and filmography | Maria McDermottroe movies". Tribute.ca.
- ^ "Milan Gold Awards (2024)". IMDb.
- ^ Jackson, Joe (25 December 2005). "Happy? Oh, yes he is!". Independent.ie. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
- ^ "John Costigan The CV". Independent.ie. 14 December 2003.
- ^ McDermott, Peter (11 January 2018). "Women's time to shine in 'Party Face'". IrishEcho.com.
- ^ "Maria McDermottroe and John Costigan's terrace garden (2018)". RTÉ Archives. 27 February 2018.
