O’Hara’s dream role to develop Irish talent

HOLLYWOOD great Maureen O’Hara has spoken of her dream of finding and developing young Irish stars of the screen at a new drama centre which is to be built in her honour in her adopted west Cork home village.

The Maureen O’Hara Legacy Centre in Glengarriff will house the memorabilia of the 90-year-old Dublin-born actress.

It will also have education facilities and training for people interested in pursuing a career in acting. One of the main quests of the centre is to have university accredited classes teaching all aspects of the film industry.

Ms O’Hara attended the unveiling of a schematic billboard for the project in Glengarriff on Saturday.

The star of The Quiet Man and How Green Was My Valley said the aim of the centre was to discover talented Irish youngsters. “I hope, a year from now, it will be not be us here but whoever we have created as a young star or a young director. We hope that there is going to be talent that comes out and is discovered by Ireland, like in the old days of the Abbey Theatre. It is a wonderful opportunity for young people to go out and influence the world.”

With her trademark glamour and feistiness intact, she joked with the crowd about the drawbacks of clocking up the years, saying that “old age is a terrible thing, particularly when it strikes you when you are so young”.

Minister for Enterprise Batt O’Keeffe, who presided at the unveiling, said he was pleased the “immortality” of Maureen O’Hara would live on with the legacy centre.

Cork County Council has handed over a 1.5-acre site for the centre. Fundraising is continuing and it is understood it has attracted generous donations from Irish and US patrons.

Memorabilia in the centre will include newspaper articles, O’Hara’s numerous awards, letters and old pictures which are likely to include her famous co-stars, such as John Wayne.

Meanwhile, a host of stars converged on West Cork on Saturday evening to pay homage to Maureen O’Hara.

The star studded black tie gala entitled A Tribute to Maureen O’Hara in Her 90th Year took place at the Eccles Hotel in Glengarriff. Guests included amongst others Patrick Bergin, Sarah Bolger and Maria Doyle Kennedy.

A video montage of personal messages to Ms O’Hara were played on the evening from stars unable to attend, including: Martin Scorsese, Liam Neeson, Gabriel Byrne, Steven Spielberg, Robert Redford and Stephanie Powers.

In a further tribute, Gene London — the biggest collector of film costumes in the world — showcased 14 items from his collection on the night and displayed them to the public yesterday at the Eccles Hotel in Glengarriff.

The costumes included some of the best-known gowns ever to grace the screen, including Maureen’s dress from the Quiet Man, Marilyn Monroe’s famous white dress from the Seven Year Itch and the dress Grace Kelly wore when she received her best actress Oscar for Country Girl. The collection also included famous gowns worn by Rita Hayworth, Joan Crawford and Audrey Hepburn.