Oct 17, 2014:

Perpetual tribute to Anna Manahan unveiled at Waterford Treasures

A perpetual tribute to Anna Manahan has been added into the permanent exhibition of Waterford Treasures The Bishop's Palace and was unveiled on Saturday 11th October, a collaboration between Anna's niece Dr Denise Manahan-Vaughan and Waterford Treasures.

The evening was a celebration of Anna Manahan 1924-2009, her life and her work. A nostalgic tribute to Anna in words and pictures given by her niece was very moving and the Waterford playwright Jim Nolan also shared some of his memories. Present in the audience were the Friends of Waterford Treasures and Manahan family members as well as people from the theatre world including the renowned director Barry Cassin. Anna's assistant and family friend Anthony Bolger travelled from London.

Anna was born into a local theatrical family. Her career began when she was spotted by the legendary Irish impresarios and theatre directors Mícheál MacLiammóir and Hilton Edwards.

In 1957, she played Serafina in the first Irish production of Tennessee Williams' The Rose Tattoo and, with other members of the cast, achieved notoriety when arrested for the possession of a condom on stage! John B. Keane wrote Big Maggie for her and Martin McDonagh's The Beauty Queen of Leenane was written with her in mind. She starred alongside Sir Laurence Olivier, Peter Cushing, Kenneth More, Christopher Walken, Maggie Smith, Albert Finney, Brenda Fricker and Sir John Gielgud, appearing on stage, screen and television in Ireland, the UK, continental Europe, the USA and Australia.

Peg Tebay and Babs Murphy of Sacred Heart ARA with ARI Chief Executive Maureen Kavanagh at the National Archives' Anna Manahan Exhibition in 2010.

Her tv work included roles in the Irish soap opera The Riordans in the 1960s and the comedy Me Mammy in the 1970s. In the 1980s she starred in the Irish comedy series Leave It To Mrs O'Brien and in The Irish R.M. From 2004 she played in Fair City.

As well as her acting work, Anna gave a lot to her home city, reflected in the fact that in 2008 she became the first ever patron of Active Retirement Ireland.

This important celebration of Waterford's own Anna, one of the greatest Irish actors of the 20th century, is on the top floor of the Bishop's Palace. The display includes some of her many awards including the prestigious Tony Award for The Beauty Queen of Leenane in 1997, the Boston Gold Medal in 1984 (other recipients include Seamus Heaney, John F Kennedy, John Ford and John Huston) and her Freedom of the City of Waterford certificate 2002 which she regarded as her most important accolade. The RTE documentary film All About Anna is also there.

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