Although Irish character actor Ray McAnally would become one of his country's most revered stage actors, he will be forever remembered by audiences both here and abroad for a couple of films he made during the last years of his life. Born in the seaside town of Buncrana and the son of a bank manager, he was educated at St. Eunan's College and entered a seminary at the age of 18. Lucky for us stage ...
show all Although Irish character actor Ray McAnally would become one of his country's most revered stage actors, he will be forever remembered by audiences both here and abroad for a couple of films he made during the last years of his life. Born in the seaside town of Buncrana and the son of a bank manager, he was educated at St. Eunan's College and entered a seminary at the age of 18. Lucky for us stage and filmgoers, the priesthood proved not to be his calling, and he departed after only a brief time. He joined the Abbey Theatre in 1947 where he met and married actress Ronnie Masterson. They would later form Old Quay Productions and present an assortment of classic plays in the 60s and 70s. He made a triumphant London theatre debut in 1962 with "A Nice Bunch of Cheap Flowers" and gave a towering performance as George in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" opposite legendary British actress, Constance Cummings, at the Piccadilly Theatre. He routinely acted in the Abbey and Irish festivals, but then, in the last decade of life, achieved award-winning notice on TV and films. His impressive performance as Cardinal Altamirano in the film "The Mission (1986)" earned him Evening Standard and BAFTA awards. His role in the BBC production of "Perfect Spy, A" (1987) (mini)" also earned him a BAFTA award. In the last year of his life, he was absolutely awe-inspiring as Daniel Day-Lewis' father in the Academy Award-winning film "My Left Foot (1989)", the story of cerebral palsy victim Christy Brown, who overcame his severe disability to become a flourishing artist and writer. McAnally died suddenly of a heart attack on June 15th of that year and received a posthumous BAFTA award for this last movie in 1990. A fitting end to a versatile, galvanizing talent.
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