Fionnghuala Manon "Fionnula" Flanagan (born 10 December 1941) is an
Irish stage, television and film actress. For her contributions to the
entertainment industry, she was given the IFTA Lifetime Achievement
Award in 2012. Flanagan is known for her roles in the films James
Joyce's Women (1985) and The Others (2001), for the latter of which
she won a Saturn Award. She was honored with the Maureen O'Hara Award
at the Kerry Film Festival in 2011, the award is offered to women who
have excelled in their chosen field in film. She was also nominated
for two Primetime Emmy Awards (winning one) and two Tony Awards during
her acting career. In 2020, she was listed at number 23 on The Irish
Times's list of Ireland's greatest film actors.Flanagan was born and
raised in Dublin, the daughter of Rosanna (née McGuirk) and Terence
Niall Flanagan. Her father was an Irish Army officer and Communist who
had fought in the International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War
against Franco. Although her parents were not Irish speakers, they
wanted Fionnula and her four siblings to learn the Irish language,
thus she grew up speaking English and Irish fluently. She was educated
in Switzerland and England. She trained extensively at the Abbey
Theatre in Dublin and travelled throughout Europe before settling in
Los Angeles in early 1968.Flanagan came to prominence in Ireland in
1965 as a result of her role as Máire in the TelefÃs Éireann
production of the Irish language play An Triail, for which she
received the Jacob's Award in Dublin for her "outstanding
performance". With her portrayal of Gerty McDowell in the film version
of Ulysses (1967), Flanagan established herself as one of the foremost
interpreters of James Joyce. She made her Broadway debut in Brian
Friel's Lovers (1968), then appeared in The Incomparable Max (1971)
and such Joycean theatrical projects as Ulysses in Nighttown (as Molly
Bloom) and James Joyce's Women (1977; toured through 1979), a
one-woman show written by Flanagan and directed for the stage by
Burgess Meredith. It was subsequently filmed in 1983, with Flanagan
both producing and playing all six main female roles (Joyce's wife,
Nora Barnacle, as well as fictional characters Molly Bloom, Gerty
McDowell, etc.).
Irish stage, television and film actress. For her contributions to the
entertainment industry, she was given the IFTA Lifetime Achievement
Award in 2012. Flanagan is known for her roles in the films James
Joyce's Women (1985) and The Others (2001), for the latter of which
she won a Saturn Award. She was honored with the Maureen O'Hara Award
at the Kerry Film Festival in 2011, the award is offered to women who
have excelled in their chosen field in film. She was also nominated
for two Primetime Emmy Awards (winning one) and two Tony Awards during
her acting career. In 2020, she was listed at number 23 on The Irish
Times's list of Ireland's greatest film actors.Flanagan was born and
raised in Dublin, the daughter of Rosanna (née McGuirk) and Terence
Niall Flanagan. Her father was an Irish Army officer and Communist who
had fought in the International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War
against Franco. Although her parents were not Irish speakers, they
wanted Fionnula and her four siblings to learn the Irish language,
thus she grew up speaking English and Irish fluently. She was educated
in Switzerland and England. She trained extensively at the Abbey
Theatre in Dublin and travelled throughout Europe before settling in
Los Angeles in early 1968.Flanagan came to prominence in Ireland in
1965 as a result of her role as Máire in the TelefÃs Éireann
production of the Irish language play An Triail, for which she
received the Jacob's Award in Dublin for her "outstanding
performance". With her portrayal of Gerty McDowell in the film version
of Ulysses (1967), Flanagan established herself as one of the foremost
interpreters of James Joyce. She made her Broadway debut in Brian
Friel's Lovers (1968), then appeared in The Incomparable Max (1971)
and such Joycean theatrical projects as Ulysses in Nighttown (as Molly
Bloom) and James Joyce's Women (1977; toured through 1979), a
one-woman show written by Flanagan and directed for the stage by
Burgess Meredith. It was subsequently filmed in 1983, with Flanagan
both producing and playing all six main female roles (Joyce's wife,
Nora Barnacle, as well as fictional characters Molly Bloom, Gerty
McDowell, etc.).
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