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Deirdre Donnelly

Deirdre Donnelly is an Irish actress of stage and screen. Best known for her work on television, from 1975 to 1979 she portrayed Kathy Peters on the long-running RTÉ drama serial The Riordans. From 1996-2001 she starred as Siobhan Mehigan on the BBC comedy-drama series Ballykissangel. She has had recurring roles on ', Fair City, Brassic, The Virtues, Striking Out, The Frankenstein Chronicles, The Clinic, The Irish R.M., and Last of the Summer Wine.

Donnelly made her film debut in Academy Award winner Joseph Strick’s 1977 film A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, adapted from the James Joyce novel of the same name. She would go on to have supporting roles in Attracta, The Fantasist, The Lilac Bus, Cracks, Rialto, and Barber. Also a veteran stage actress, Donnelly has appeared in numerous plays, including more than 50 productions with the National Theatre of Ireland.

Early life

Donnelly is the third of four daughters. Her father was from Rathfarnham, Co. Dublin, and her mother from Castleblaney, Co. Monaghan. Her sister Terry Donnelly is also an actress.

Donnelly grew up in Cullenswood House, Ranelagh, and was educated at Mount St. Anne's School in Milltown, South Dublin. She studied for two years at the Brendan Smith Theatre Academy and a further two years at the Abbey Theatre School of Acting.

In 2004, Donnelly completed postgraduate studies at UCD, receiving a first-class master's degree in Modern Drama Studies.

Credits

Theatre

Film and television roles

  • The Riordans (1974 - TV Series - RTE) as Cathy.
  • The Last of Summer (1978 - TV Series - RTE) as Jo.
  • Farmers (1978 - TV Drama - RTE) as Nuala.
  • Miracles and Miss Langan (1979 - TV Drama - RTE) as Miss Langan.
  • Criminal Conversation (1981 - Feature Film - BAC Films) as Margaret.
  • Painted Out (1982 - TV Drama - RTE) as Maura Doyle.
  • Attracta (1983 - Feature Film - BAC Films) as Geraldine Carey.
  • The Irish RM (1984-85 - TV Series - RTE/Channel 4) as Miss Fraser.
  • The Fantasist (1986 - Feature Film - ITC Films) as Fionnuala O'Sullivan.
  • Molloy (1989 - TV Series - RTE) as Mrs. Molloy.
  • Connemara (aka La Rouge) (1990 - Feature Film - Lapaca Films) as La Reine.
  • The Hamster Wheel (1993 - TV Drama - BBC NI) as Jeanette.
  • Runway One (1995 - V Drama - BBC) as Mrs. Connaughton.
  • Ballykissangel (1996-2001 - TV Series - World Productions/BBC) as Siobhan.
  • Legend (2006 - TV Series - RTE) as Bernie Molloy.
  • The Clinic (2006-07 - TV Series - RTE) as Carol O'Dwyer.
  • Cracks (2009 - Feature Film - Scott Free/Element Pictures) as Miss Lacey.
  • Homemade (2012 - Short Film - Park Films) as Joan.
  • Quirke (2014 - TV Series - BBC/RTE) as Sister Dominic.
  • Amber (2015 - TV Series - RTE) as Maureen O'Donoghue.
  • The Frankenstein Chronicles (2015 - TV Series - ITV) as Mrs. Townsend.
  • Goodbye, Darling (2016 - Short Film - Fantastic Films) as Kathleen.
  • Striking Out (2017 - TV Series - Blinder Films/RTE) - as Judge O'Sullivan.
  • The Lonely Battle of Thomas Reid (2018 - Feature Film - Park Films) as Supreme Court Judge.
  • The Virtues (2019 - TV Series - Warp Films/Channel 4) as Susan.
  • Rialto (2019 - TV Series - Marcie Films) as Miriam.
  • The Ferry (2019 - Short Film - Media Factory) as Bertha.
  • Brassic (2019 - TV Series - Calamity Films/ Sky 1) as Mo Dennings.
  • The Lady on the Hill (aka The Bog Lady) (2019 - Short Film - Red Spider Films) as The Mother.
  • Fair City (2023 - RTE Soap Opera) as Jacinta Boyle.

References

External links