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Joseph Tomelty

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Joseph Tomelty
Born(1911-03-05)5 March 1911
Portaferry, County Down, Ireland
Died7 June 1995(1995-06-07) (aged 84)
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Occupations
  • Actor
  • playwright
  • novelist
  • manager
  • short-story writer
Years active1947–1964
Spouse
Lena Milligan
​
​
(m. 1942)​
Children2, including Frances Tomelty
FamilyJoe Sumner
(grandson)

Joseph Tomelty (5 March 1911 – 7 June 1995)[1] was an Irish actor, playwright, novelist, short-story writer and theatre manager. He worked in film, television, radio and on the stage,[2] starring in Sam Thompson's 1960 play Over the Bridge.

Life and career

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Born in Portaferry in 1911, he was the son of James Tomelty, a skilled fiddler who was nicknamed "Rollicking"; and the brother of Peter Tomelty, a tenor and recording artist.[1] Tomelty's exposure to music at a young age influenced his work as a playwright, with several of his stage works being named after songs, including The Singing Bird (1948), Down the Heather Glen (1953) and The Drunken Sailor (1954).[1]

Tomelty was a co-founder, in 1940,of the Group Theatre in Belfast, and served as its general manager until 1951.[3]

He married Lena Milligan in 1942.[4] They had two daughters together: Frances Tomelty is an actress and the first wife of singer and musician Sting; while Roma Tomelty (d. 22 April 2020) was also an actress.[2]

Works

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Plays

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  • Barnum Was Right (1939)
  • Idolatry at Inishargie (1942)
  • Poor Errand (1943)
  • Right Again Barnum (1943)
  • The End House (1944)
  • All Souls' Night (1948)
  • The Singing Bird (1948)
  • Down the Heather Glen (1953)
  • April in Assagh (1954)
  • The Drunken Sailor (1954)
  • Is the Priest at Home? (1954)
  • A Year in Marlfield (1965)

Novels

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  • Red Is the Port Light (1948)
  • The Apprentice (1953)

Radio

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  • Barnum Is Right (1938)
  • Elopement (1939)
  • The McCooeys (1948)

Complete filmography

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The McCooeys

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Tomelty's family-based radio sitcom The McCooeys was first broadcast on the BBC Home Service in Northern Ireland on 14 May 1949, becoming the region's most listened-to programme over the next six years. Centre Stage Theatre Company, co-founded by his daughter Roma and her husband Colin Carnegie, revived four of the episodes in a stage version, directed by Michael Quinn and performed in the refurbished Grand Opera House Studio Theatre in February 2022.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Damian Smyth (12 June 1995). "OBITUARY:Joseph Tomelty". The Independent. Archived from the original on 17 June 2022.
  2. ^ a b Smyth, Damian (November 2008). "Tomelty Country". Celebrating Strangford Lough. p. 1.
  3. ^ The Dictionary of Ulster Biography. "Joseph Tomelty (1911 - 1995): Writer, actor and playwright". www.newulsterbiography.co.uk. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  4. ^ https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituaryjoseph-to melty-1586249.html
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