Sheila Manahan

Sheila Manahan
Manahan in Seven Days to Noon
Born(1924-01-01)1 January 1924
Dublin, Ireland
Died29 March 1988(1988-03-29) (aged 64)
London, England
OccupationActress
Years active1948–1988
Spouse(s)
James Stafford Northcote
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​
(m. 1949; div. 1961)​

​
​
(m. 1961; died 1987)​

Sheila Manahan (1 January 1924 – 29 March 1988) was an Irish actress on stage and screen. She was associated with the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in the 1940s, and had supporting roles at least ten films between 1948 and 1965. She also acted in radio productions and television programs.

Early life

Manahan was born in Dublin on New Year's Day in 1924,[1] the daughter of Captain John Manahan. She attended Scoil Mhuire, and was bilingual in Irish and English.[2] She began acting in plays as a teenager.[1]

Career

Manahan was an actress with the Abbey Theatre in Dublin during World War II.[3] In 1948 she was in the original cast of Christopher Fry's The Lady's Not For Burning, in London.[4] In 1952 she starred in Margaret Macloud's comedy Quest in London.[5] On radio she acted in Sean O'Casey plays.[2]

Among her film roles were Shelah Flaherty in Saints and Sinners (1949),[6] Ann Willingdon in Seven Days to Noon (1950),[7] Rose Moresby (sister to Jean Simmons's character and wife to William Hartnell's character) in Footsteps in the Fog (1955),[8] Esther's mother in The Story of Esther Costello (1957),[9] and Mrs. Jenkins in Only Two Can Play (1962),[10] with Peter Sellers and Mai Zetterling.[11] On television, she was in an adaptation of Frank O'Connor's 1939 story "First Confession", broadcast on Thirty-Minute Theatre in 1969.[12] Her last television role was as Peter Blake's mother in Dear John.[2]

Personal life

Manahan and her husband Fulton Mackay's grave in East Sheen Cemetery, Richmond upon Thames, London

Manahan married film technician James Stafford Northcote in 1949; they divorced in 1961.[13] In 1961 she married her second husband, the Scottish actor Fulton Mackay.[14] "They were an incredible welcoming, inclusive couple", recalled actor Brian Cox in 2022. "They were like my real family, my surrogate parents in many ways."[15] Her husband died from stomach cancer in 1987 at the age of 64, and she died from colon cancer in west London on 29 March 1988, also at the age of 64.[16] They are buried together in East Sheen Cemetery in southwest London.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role
1948Another ShoreNora
1949Saints and SinnersShelah Flaherty
1950Seven Days to NoonAnn Willingdon
1955Footsteps in the FogRose Moresby
1956The Last Man to HangSenior sister
1957Seven Waves AwayWoman on raft
1957The Story of Esther CostelloEsther's mother
1962Only Two Can PlayMrs Jenkins
1965Young Cassidyfirst neighbour

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1960The Secret KingdomAnne Byron8 episodes
1962Probation OfficerIris Carson1 episode
1964Dixon of Dock GreenMrs. MacBrideEpisode: "Facing the Music"
1965The Scales of JusticeJean TurnerEpisode: "The Material Witness"
1967-1968Market in Honey LaneSarah Bush7 episodes
1970A Family at WarMrs. McDermottEpisode: "Is Your Journey Really Necessary?"
1975Churchill's PeopleAlice CampsieEpisode: "The Derry Boys"

References

  1. 1 2 "The 'New Year Girl'". The Wishaw Press, etc. 7 May 1948. p. 4. Retrieved 28 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 3 "Sheila Manahan (obituary)". The Daily Telegraph. 2 April 1988. p. 15. Retrieved 28 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Manahan, Sheila". Abbey Archives | Abbey Theatre - Amharclann na Mainistreach. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  4. ↑ Fry, Christopher (1994). The Lady's Not for Burning. Dramatists Play Service. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-8222-1431-1.
  5. ↑ "In the Theatre". Kensington and Chelsea News. 7 March 1952. p. 5. Retrieved 28 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Saints and Sinners". Exhibitor. 42 (21): 2715. 28 September 1949.
  7. ↑ Nichols, Peter M.; Scott, A. O. (21 February 2004). The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made. Macmillan. p. 883. ISBN 9780312326111.
  8. ↑ Blottner, Gene (31 March 2015). Columbia Noir: A Complete Filmography, 1940-1962. McFarland. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-7864-7014-3.
  9. ↑ "Watch TCM The Story of Esther Costello (1957)". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  10. ↑ "Sheila Manahan News, Sheila Manahan Bio and Photos". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  11. ↑ "Only Two Can Play (1962)". Archived from the original on 22 March 2017.
  12. ↑ A Study Guide for Frank O'Connor's "First Confession". Gale, Cengage Learning. 2012. ISBN 978-1-4103-4599-8.
  13. ↑ "Sheila Manahan Seeks a Divorce". Evening Standard. 17 March 1961. p. 16. Retrieved 28 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Overview for Sheila Manahan". Archived from the original on 1 February 2012.
  15. ↑ Cox, Brian (18 January 2022). Putting the Rabbit in the Hat. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5387-0731-9.
  16. ↑ "Sheila Manahan (obituary)". The Daily Telegraph. 2 April 1988. p. 15. Retrieved 28 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
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