Joseph Tomelty


Joseph “Joe” Tomelty was an Irish actor, playwright, novelist, short-story writer and theatre manager. He worked in film, television, radio and on the stage, starring in Sam Thompson's 1960 play Over the Bridge.

Life and career

Born in Portaferry in 1911, he was the son of James Tomelty, a skilled fiddler who was nicknamed "Rollicking"; and the brother of Peter Tomelty, a tenor and recording artist. Tomelty's exposure to music at a young age influenced his work as a playwright, with several of his stage works being named after songs, including The Singing Bird, Down the Heather Glen and The Drunken Sailor.
Tomelty was a co-founder, in 1940, of the Group Theatre in Belfast, and served as its general manager until 1951.
He married Lena Milligan in 1942.
They had two daughters together: Frances Tomelty is an actress and the first wife of singer and musician Sting; while Roma Tomelty was also an actress.

Works

Plays

  • Barnum Was Right
  • Idolatry at Inishargie
  • Poor Errand
  • Right Again Barnum
  • The End House
  • All Souls' Night
  • The Singing Bird
  • Down the Heather Glen
  • April in Assagh
  • The Drunken Sailor
  • Is the Priest at Home?
  • ''A Year in Marlfield''

Novels

  • Red Is the Port Light
  • ''The Apprentice''

Radio

  • Barnum Is Right
  • Elopement
  • ''The McCooeys''

Complete filmography

Odd Man Out - 'Gin' Jimmy, the cabbieShark Island - SeánTreasure Hunt - PoacherThe Sound Barrier - Will SparksYou're Only Young Twice - Dan McEnteeThe Gentle Gunman - Dr BranniganThe Gentle Maiden - John ClarkeThe Oracle - Terry RocheMelba - Thomas MitchellMeet Mr. Lucifer - Mr. PedeltyHell Below Zero - Capt. McPheeFront Page Story - DanHobson's Choice - Jim HeelerDevil Girl from Mars - Prof. Arnold HennesseyHappy Ever After - DooleyThe Young Lovers - MoffattSimba - Dr. HughesBedevilled - Father CunninghamA Kid for Two Farthings - VagrantJohn and Julie - Mr. DavidsonTimeslip - Detective Inspector ClearyA Prize of Gold - Uncle DanMoby Dick - Peter Coffin A Night to Remember - Dr. William O'LoughlinTread Softly Stranger - Joe RyanThe Captain's Table - DalrympleUpstairs and Downstairs - Arthur FarringdonNext to No Wife - Canon Fergus BrodieLife Is a Circus - Joe WinterHell Is a City - Furnisher SteeleThe Day They Robbed the Bank of England - CohounLancelot and Guinevere - Sir KayeThe Black Torment - Sir Giles Fordyke

''The McCooeys''

Tomelty's family-based radio sitcom The McCooeys was first broadcast on the BBC Home Service in Northern Ireland on 14 May 1949, becoming the region's most listened-to programme over the next six years. Centre Stage Theatre Company, co-founded by his daughter Roma and her husband Colin Carnegie, revived four of the episodes in a stage version, directed by Michael Quinn and performed in the refurbished Grand Opera House Studio Theatre in February 2022.