{{Short description|Irish actress (1888–1961)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2016}} {{Infobox person | name = Maureen Delany | image = Actress_Maureen_Delany.gif | image_size = | caption = | birth_name = Maureen Barry O'Delany | birth_date = {{birth date|1888|12|1|df=y}} | birth_place = Kilkenny, Ireland | death_date = {{death date and age|1961|3|27|1888|12|1|df=y}} | death_place = London, England | education = Abbey School of Acting | occupation = Stage and screen actress | years_active = 1914-1959 | other_names = Daisy Delany | spouse = Peter O'Neil }} '''Maureen Barry O'Delany''' (1 December 1888 – 27 March 1961), professionally known as '''Maureen Delany''' and also billed as '''Maureen Delaney''', was an Irish stage and screen actress and singer active primarily in Britain.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/maureen-delany-67308|title=Maureen Delany – Broadway Cast & Staff - IBDB|first=The Broadway|last=League|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmovie.com/artist/maureen-delaney-p18387|title=Maureen Delaney - Movies and Filmography - AllMovie|publisher=}}</ref>
==Life and career == She was born in Kilkenny, Ireland, daughter of Barry Delany, who died when she was three months old. She was educated in Galway and originally intended to train for the opera, as she had a fine singing voice. However, she was accepted into the Abbey Theatre School by Lennox Robinson. She made her debut on the stage in Edward McNulty's comedy ''The Lord Mayor'' in 1914.<ref name=mik>{{cite book|title=The Abbey Theatre: Interviews and Recollections|author=E H Mikhail|year=1988|page=39|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OW99phQaJyoC&pg=PA39|ISBN=9780389206163}}</ref>
She quickly gained a reputation as a noted comic actress and singer. She became identified with Maisie Madigan in ''Juno and the Paycock'' and Bessie Burgess in ''The Plough and the Stars'' (both by Seán O'Casey), as well as the Widow Quin in Synge's ''Playboy of the Western World''.<ref name=mik/> In 1959 she was nominated for a Tony Award for her part in the play ''God and Kate Murphy''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/maureen-delany-67308/#awards|title=Maureen Delany – Broadway Cast & Staff - IBDB|first=The Broadway|last=League|publisher=}}</ref>
She also appeared in a number of plays by Irish playwright Teresa Deevy which were staged at the Abbey Theatre, ''A Disciple''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://deevy.nuim.ie/items/show/464|title=Teresa Deevy Archive|last=|first=|date=|website=|publisher=|access-date=}}</ref> in 1931, ''Temporal Powers''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://deevy.nuim.ie/items/show/327|title=Teresa Deevy Archive|last=|first=|date=|website=|publisher=|access-date=}}</ref> in 1932, ''Katie Roche''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://deevy.nuim.ie/items/show/364 |title=Teresa Deevy Archive |last= |first= |date= |website= |publisher= |access-date= }}{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> in 1937, which toured Broadway at the Ambassador Theatre (Broadway), USA, this play also toured to the Arts Theatre, Cambridge, England also in 1937,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://deevy.nuim.ie/items/show/363|title=Teresa Deevy Archive|last=|first=|date=|website=|publisher=|access-date=}}{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> ''Temporal Powers''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://deevy.nuim.ie/items/show/330|title=Teresa Deevy Archive|last=|first=|date=|website=|publisher=|access-date=}}</ref> in 1937, ''In Search of Valour''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://deevy.nuim.ie/items/show/463|title=Teresa Deevy Archive|last=|first=|date=|website=|publisher=|access-date=}}</ref> in 1947. She died in her room at a London Hotel on 27 March 1961 and was predeceased by her husband Peter O'Neill, whom she married about 1947; there were no children.
==Filmography== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- |1924|| ''Land of Her Fathers'' || || |- |1935|| ''His Family Tree'' || Nellie Oulihan || |- | rowspan=2 | 1947|| ''Odd Man Out'' || Theresa O'Brien || |- | ''Captain Boycott'' || Mrs Davin || |- | rowspan=2 | 1948|| ''The Mark of Cain'' || Daisy Cobb || |- | ''So Evil My Love'' || Curtis || |- |1948|| ''Another Shore'' || Mrs Gleeson || |- | rowspan=2 | 1949|| ''Saints and Sinners'' || Postmistress || Uncredited |- | ''Under Capricorn'' || Flo || |- |1950|| ''Night and the City'' || Anna O'Leary (Blackmarket) || Uncredited |- |1952|| ''The Holly and the Ivy'' || Aunt Bridget || |- | rowspan=3 | 1956|| ''The March Hare'' || Bridget || |- | ''Jacqueline'' || Mrs McBride || |- | ''The Long Arm'' || Mrs Stevens, the daily help || |- | rowspan=3 | 1957|| ''The Rising of the Moon'' || Old Woman || |- | ''The Story of Esther Costello'' || Jennie Costello || |- | ''The Scamp'' || Mrs Perryman || |- | rowspan=2 | 1958|| ''Tread Softly Stranger'' || Mrs Finnegan || |- | ''The Doctor's Dilemma'' || Emmy || |}
== Playography == * ''A Disciple'' (1931) * ''Temporal Powers'' (1932) * ''Katie Roche'' (1937) * ''Temporal Powers'' (1937) * ''In Search of Valour'' (1947) * ITV Playhouse Theatre (1959)
== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|0216319}} *{{IBDB name}} *Maureen Delany at the [http://deevy.nuim.ie/ Teresa Deevy Archive] *Maureen Delany at the [http://www.abbeytheatre.ie/archives/ Abbey Theatre Archive]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Delany, Maureen}} Category:Abbey Theatre Category:Irish stage actresses Category:Irish film actresses Category:People from Kilkenny (city) Category:1888 births Category:1961 deaths Category:20th-century Irish actresses Category:Irish emigrants to the United Kingdom Category:Actors from County Kilkenny