Irish actress Rynagh O’Grady, a hugely popular Abbey Theatre actor and well-known as the shopkeeper Mary in Father Ted has died.
The Abbey Theatre described her as a “beloved friend and colleague“.
Rynagh O’Grady trained in the Abbey School of Acting and first appeared on its stage in 1969.
Her notable productions included Donal O’Kelly’s Mamie Sighs in 1990 and more recently Deirdre Kinahan’s The Unmanageable Sisters.
She also appeared on screen in films including A Love Divided and TV shows including Father Ted.
Mary O’Leary was a shopkeeper on Craggy Island with her husband John.
They put up a facade of the loving, happy couple in front of Ted and Dougal, but they actually detest one another, so much so, that they appear even to kill one another!
At one point Mary tries to drown her husband in a bucket of water before Ted and Dougal arrive but John passes it off as Mary just washing his hair, as part of the hilarity!
