Anna Manahan: a personal memory
It might seem strange that we record the death of actress Anna Manahan on the Diary, but she had her own input into the career of your Editor.
Way back in the middle seventies, when I was managing the Hideout, I brought her to Kilcullen to perform her one-woman show in what was then known as 'The Cave' in the Hideout. She was, of course, a tremendous success, and I brought her back a number of times.
Around the same time I had been doing quite a lot of writing in my spare time, especially poetry. In 1976, Anna was doing a Radio 1 afternoon programme on poetry, and she used a small, four-line poem of mine, 'Living, Loving, Giving', on one of the programmes.
In the course of time, a cheque came from RTE, payment of one pound and 50p for using my poem. As it was my first payment for any writing, I never cashed it, and still have it. I did, of course, cash a subsequent cheque for half the original amount when the programme was repeated!
Little did I know at that time that I would later make my living from journalism ... or that I would spend a decade in RTE's newsroom itself as part of that career.
In succeeding years I would occasionally meet up with Anna again. Among other things, she was very supportive of my short story writing, which was a boost that made me continue with that kind of work for many years. Although pressures of my journalist life meant that I ceased writing fiction for quite a time, I've been doing it again recently.
There are many plaudits and appreciations of Anna going the rounds today, from people who were much closer to her than I was. All I can say is that she had a wonderful spirit with which she invariably inspired and encouraged others. As a woman of her own craft, she has long since taken her place in the pantheon of the greats.
All who came into contact with her, who worked with her, or who were hugely entertained by her performance, will miss her.
But we are all better for her having lived and worked among us. I know that I certainly am.
Brian Byrne.
