Malachy McCourt obit

Irish-American actor raised in Limerick has died

 

He was not on the list.

Malachy McCourt - the Irish-American actor, who was born in Brooklyn and raised in Limerick has died at the age of 92.

Malachy was one of seven siblings and the brother of Frank McCourt, who wrote Angela's Ashes, which centred around their childhood.

He was the last surviving sibling.

Throughout his career, he acted on stage, on TV and in various films.

These included The Molly Maguires, Beyond the Pale, Ash Wednesday and he also used to make an annual festive appearance in All My Children as Father Clarence.

Malachy McCourt wrote two memoirs - A Monk Swimming and Singing My Him Song - where he talked about life in Limerick and going back to America.

He ran for New York Governor in 2006 for the Green Party - losing out to Eliot Spitzer - the Democratic candidate.

Malachy left Limerick in 1952 at the age of 20 and returned to America.

In an interview with The New York Times last year (2023), he said; “Every day I wake up at 91, I am happy without a coffin over my head,” he says. “I don’t know where I’m going, but I do know from whence I came. I’m a New Yorker, born, half-bred and bred, who outlived my brothers and closest friends.” He was grateful, he adds, for the companionship of his wife Diana, whom he describes as his “great love.”

Dan Barry, a writer for The New York Times paid tribute to the late actor on X (formerly Twitter).

McCourt has acted on stage, on television and in several movies, including The Molly Maguires (1970), The Brink's Job (1978), Q (1982), Brewster's Millions (1985), Tales from the Darkside as Dr Stillman in the "Ursu Minor" episode (2/10 - 1985), The January Man (1989), Beyond the Pale (2000), and Ash Wednesday (2002). He appeared on several New York City-based soap operas: Another World, Ryan's Hope, Search for Tomorrow, and One Life to Live. He is also known for his annual Christmas-time appearances on All My Children as Father Clarence, a priest who shows up to give inspirational advice to Pine Valley citizens.

In 1970, McCourt released a spoken word album on vinyl, And the Children Toll the Passing of the Day, with photos on the back of the album cover; the producer was David Hess.

In the 1970s, he hosted a talk show on WMCA.

McCourt occasionally appeared on various programs on New York City's political radio station, WBAI. Among the shows on which he appeared were Radio Free Éireann. He was also a regular guest artist at Scranton Public Theatre in Scranton, Pennsylvania, having performed in Inherit the Wind, Love Letters and A Couple of Blaguards, which he co-wrote with brother Frank McCourt. He has hosted a Sunday morning call-in radio forum on WBAI. He also had a short-lived role as a Catholic priest on the HBO prison drama Oz.

McCourt was the owner of Malachy's, a bar on Third Avenue in New York. One of his frequent patrons was actor, and friend, Richard Harris, who although famous worked for a short time behind the bar for McCourt. McCourt played Francis Preston Blair in Gods and Generals (2003).

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