Maeve Delaney

Maeve Delaney grew up in Princes Street where her father had a butcher shop, and he also worked as a cattle dealer. She was the youngest of four girls, and as soon as her school days were over, she joined elocution classes run by James Stack. At the age of 18, she took part in a musical ‘The Roses of Tralee’ by John B. Keane, and this gave her an appetite for acting and performing. Maeve collected material such as photographs and newspaper cuttings associated with her career and while browsing through these, she reminisced on many events. She treasured for many years a reel-to-reel recording of James Stack’s own voice as he gave a class to students. This recording included ‘Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night’, by Dylan Thomas, and also ‘Seven Miners Trapped Underground in Yorkshire’. Throughout the recording, Maeve makes many interesting observations on the material.