Murphy’s Town Hall Athenry 43 Profumo had been one time Master of the Galway Hunt (The Galway Blazers) during the period 1948-52. The Irish Independent 1st November 1963, page 9, reported the following: “Major Philip Profumo... brother of Mr John Profumo, the former British War Minister, has purchased Woodstown House, Ballyglan, Woodstown, Co Waterford... He is a former Master of the Galway Blazers.” 17th March 1949 – Grand Dance in the Hall for St Patrick’s Night, held by the local GAA, with Music by JJ Carr & His Orchestra (source: Hall Journal, see also Connacht Tribune March 1949, page 9). 18th April 1949 – Athenry Productions performed Mungo’s Mansion in the Hall, a 1946 Three Act play by Walter Macken, set in Galway City (source: Hall Journal). 2nd to 8th May 1949 – Ibbs & Pringle Touring Drama Company 78 were booked in for 7 nights, performing a different play each night (source: Hall Journal and a promotional leaflet for their appearances): Pygmalion, by GB Shaw Night Must Fall, by Emlyn Williams The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde Arsenic and Old Lace, by Joseph Kesselring Hamlet (Prince of Denmark), by William Shakespeare Murder Without Crime, by J Lee Thompson Tons of Money, by Will Evans NB: One member of the Ibbs & Pringle Company at this time was Josie MacAvin (1919-2005) who, for example, played the part of Nurse Libby in Night Must Fall (see list of plays above). Josie MacAvin is the only Irish person ever to have won both an Oscar & an Emmy. 79 In 1986, she won the Best Art Direction Oscar for Out of Africa (starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford). She won an Emmy in 1995 for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Art Direction for a Miniseries or a Special for Gone With The Wind prequel, Scarlett. Josie MacAvin's Oscar and Emmy statuettes are both on permanent display at the Irish Film Institute, Temple Bar, Dublin. Also a member of the Ibbs & Pringle Company at this time was Nora O'Mahony, who played the part of Mrs Bramson in Night Must Fall. However, she is probably best remembered for the playing Godmother in Wanderly Wagon which aired on RTE (1967–1982). She also played Molly Mallory in Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959). 19th May 1949 – Athenry Productions again performed Mungo’s Mansion in the Hall, a 1946 play by Walter Macken (source: Hall Journal, see also Connacht Tribune 21st May 1949, page 10). NB: Proceeds in aid of Canton Hall. 19th June 1949 – 13 Rue Madeleine, a 1947 World War II spy film starring James Cagney, Annabella and Richard Conte was screened in the Hall (source: Hall Journal, see also Connacht Tribune 18th June 1949, page 9). 22nd June 1949 – Johnny Apollo, a 1940 Film Noir, starring Tyrone Power (see picture opposite), Dorothy Lamour and Lloyd Nolan (source: Hall Journal, see also Connacht Tribune 18th June 1949, page 9). 80 24th July 1949 – Three Smart Girls, a 1936 Musical comedy starring Barbara Read, Nan Grey, Deanna Durbin and Ray Milland was screened in the Hall (source: Hall Journal). NB: This was Deanna Durbin’s Feature Film debut. 17th August 1949 – Jamaica Inn, a 1939 Thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara was screened in the Hall (source: Hall Journal, see also Connacht Tribune 78 Ronald Ibbs and Gerard Pringle. Ibbs (real name Herbert Smith Millard) was at one time attached to the Carl Clopet Touring Company. His full Filmography is available on IMDb, including appearing in three episodes of TV Show The Saint, alongside Roger Moore as Simon Templar. 79 An Emmy is the TV equivalent of an Oscar. 80 This appears to have been first screened in the Hall on 17th & 18th January 1946 by Daniel Ryan’s Travelling Picture Show, Gort
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