Moira Deady

(Redirected from Moira Hoey)

Moira Deady, Mrs Hoey (13 March 1922 – 15 November 2010)[2] was an Irish actress.

Moira Deady
Born13 March 1922[1]
County Cork, Ireland
Died15 November 2010 (aged 88)
Loughlinstown Hospital, County Dublin, Ireland
OccupationActress
Notable workThe Riordans
Glenroe
Spouse(s)Johnny Hoey (19??–10 August 1978; his death); 4 children

She starred as Mary Riordan, "the quintessential Irish mammy", in The Riordans from 1965 until the show was cancelled in 1979. She later appeared as Nellie Connors in Glenroe.[3] She played Mrs Coffey in The Irish R.M. She had roles in such films as This Is My Father[4] and Angela's Ashes (as the grandmother.[5]

Raised in Cork City, County Cork,[4] she later resided in Greystones, County Wicklow.[6] She began acting by traveling around Ireland as part of fit-ups (traveling theatre troupes).[6]

She was a member of Equity Players in 1946, who toured a programme of Abbey Theatre and other famous plays.[7]

In 1954, she married fellow The Riordans actor John "Johnny" Hoey (who played "Francie Maher"). John Hoey died on 10 August 1978, aged 69.[8] The couple had four children, Kevin, Mary, Bernadette, and Brenda.[6] Fans often thought she was married in real life to actor John Cowley who played "Tom Riordan", her television husband.[3]

In 2009, she reunited with the cast members of the rural drama The Riordans for an RTÉ documentary on the programme.[6][9][10] She was one of a small number of Riordans actors to work on both its successor series Bracken and Glenroe.[11][12]

Death

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She died, aged 88, on 15 November 2010 in Loughlinstown Hospital, County Dublin.[4] Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport Mary Hanafin commented on her part in Irish history: "In her role as the matriarch of The Riordans homestead, she was ever present, each Sunday, on our television screens dealing with the changing landscape and domestic issues that Ireland as a country was experiencing".[4][5]

John Boland, writing in the Irish Independent, called her "everyone's mammy and the conscience of a nation" while reflecting that her death meant all the senior cast members of The Riordans were now deceased.[13]

Hundreds attended her funeral on 18 November at Holy Rosary Church, Greystones.[14]

Roles

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Film

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Television

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Theatre

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  • Wild Goose - Hannah Power

References

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  1. ^ Date of birth per email from

    Patrick O'Donovan & Son, Funeral Directors Ltd. (aka Greystones Funeral Home)
    "Ormond Centre", Victoria Road, Greystones, County Wicklow.
  2. ^ "Actor whose 'Riordans' role fitted her like a glove". The Irish Times. 20 November 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2010..
  3. ^ a b Healy, Alison (19 November 2010). "'Riordans' star Moira Hoey is laid to rest". The Irish Times. Irish Times Trust. Retrieved 19 November 2010. (subscription required)
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Riordans star Moira Hoey dies, 88". RTÉ Ten. RTÉ. 15 November 2010. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  5. ^ a b c Kelly, Olivia (16 November 2010). "Tributes to 'Riordans' actor". Irish Times. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
  6. ^ a b c d e Bray, Allison (16 November 2010). "Tributes flow for soap matriarch". Irish Independent. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
  7. ^ "Teresa Deevy archive". deevy.nuim.ie. nuim.ie. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  8. ^ Johnny Hoey gravesite, findagrave.com; accessed 13 March 2014.
  9. ^ a b "'Riordans' star dies, aged 88". The Irish Times. 15 November 2010. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  10. ^ "Actor whose 'Riordans' role fitted her like a glove". Irish Times. 11 November 2010. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  11. ^ "Moira Deady". IMDb. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  12. ^ "Moira Hoey dies, 88". RTÉ. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  13. ^ Boland, John (16 November 2010). "Moira was everyone's mammy and the conscience of a nation". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
  14. ^ Sweeney, Ken (19 November 2010). "Mourners say final farewell to 'Riordans' star Moira". Irish Independent. Retrieved 19 November 2010.
  15. ^ a b c d "Tributes Paid to the Late Moira Hoey". Irish Film and Television Network. 16 November 2010. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
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