Maire O'Neill (born Mary Agnes Allgood; 11 January 1886 â€" 2 November
1952) was an Irish actress of stage and film. She holds a place in
theater history as the first actress to interpret the lead character
of Pegeen Mike Flaherty in John Millington Synge's controversial
masterpiece The Playboy of the Western World (1907).Born at 40 Middle
Abbey Street, Dublin, O'Neill was one of eight children of compositor
George and french polisher Margaret (née Harold) Allgood, she was
known as "Molly". Her father was sternly Protestant and against all
music, dancing and entertainment, and her mother a strict Catholic.
After her father died in 1896, she was placed in an orphanage. She was
apprenticed to a dressmaker. One of Allgood's brothers, Tom, became a
Catholic priest.Maud Gonne set up Inghinidhe na hÉireann (Daughters
of Ireland) in 1900 to educate women about Irish history, language and
the arts, and Allgood and her sister Sara joined the association's
drama classes around 1903. Their acting teacher, Willie Fay, enrolled
them in the National Theatre Society, later known as the Abbey
Theatre. Maire was part of the Abbey Theatre from 1906 to 1918 where
she appeared in many productions. In 1904, she was cast in a play by
Irish playwright Teresa Deevy titled Katie Roche, where she played the
part of Margaret Drybone; there were 38 performances in this
production.
1952) was an Irish actress of stage and film. She holds a place in
theater history as the first actress to interpret the lead character
of Pegeen Mike Flaherty in John Millington Synge's controversial
masterpiece The Playboy of the Western World (1907).Born at 40 Middle
Abbey Street, Dublin, O'Neill was one of eight children of compositor
George and french polisher Margaret (née Harold) Allgood, she was
known as "Molly". Her father was sternly Protestant and against all
music, dancing and entertainment, and her mother a strict Catholic.
After her father died in 1896, she was placed in an orphanage. She was
apprenticed to a dressmaker. One of Allgood's brothers, Tom, became a
Catholic priest.Maud Gonne set up Inghinidhe na hÉireann (Daughters
of Ireland) in 1900 to educate women about Irish history, language and
the arts, and Allgood and her sister Sara joined the association's
drama classes around 1903. Their acting teacher, Willie Fay, enrolled
them in the National Theatre Society, later known as the Abbey
Theatre. Maire was part of the Abbey Theatre from 1906 to 1918 where
she appeared in many productions. In 1904, she was cast in a play by
Irish playwright Teresa Deevy titled Katie Roche, where she played the
part of Margaret Drybone; there were 38 performances in this
production.
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