Paper 305
Lecture – 2015
Author – Synnott, Marie Bashford
Report by : Oona Roycroft
Synopsis :
F.J. McCormick was the stage name of one of the finest Abbey Theatre actors. His father, Michael Judge, married Mary Kieran, the widow of the local Brewery owner. She died in childbirth, leaving Peter and a baby girl.
Joining the Civil Service as a young man, Peter became interested in amateur dramatics, and soon became involved in the Abbey Theatre. He used his stage name to cloak his after work activities, but soon had to decide if he should turn professional.
This he did, and would go on to act in most of the plays of those who made the name of the Abbey famous. The paper gives an account of the career of F.J. McCormick and of Eileen Crowe, his wife and also a fine Abbey actress.
The paper was illustrated with photographs, both private and public, of this great man, which are available on C.D. in the Society’s Archive. The saga of the Geneva Window, one of Harry Clarke’s finest stained glass creations, in which F.J. McCormick appears in one of the panels, is also dealt with. This famous window was commissioned but ultimately rejected by the Irish Government.
