Cork woman Mary is 60 years treading the boards

All the world’s a stage for Inch-born Mary Flavin Colbert.

“Being on the stage is my world,” says Mary, who lives in Ladysbridge.

“It is where I feel most comfortable. Another actor once said to me that on stage he felt truly alive. That struck a chord with me. It is really something special.”

Mary, who is married to John, who have three children and three grandchildren, has added another string to her bow over a 60-year career on stage, winning Best Actress in a ing Role as Aunt Maggie Faraway in The Ferryman.

The three-act play was performed by Ballyduff Drama group, and was the winner of this year’s RTÉ All Ireland Drama Festival which took place in Athlone.

In 2022, Mary played Betty in Christian O’Reilly’s Chapatti, for which she won Best Actress at the RTÉ All Ireland Drama Festival.

Her role as Missus in the Palace Player’s 2015 production of Tom Murphy’s Conversations Of A Homecoming earned Mary the Best ing Actress Award.

Acting is in Mary’s genes.

“My grandparents, Dan and Ellen, who lived in rural Ireland, were involved in a drama group in the 1940s,” says Mary.

“During Lent, plays were often performed in the village hall. My mother Kathleen, and her brother Thady, often performed in Inch plays back in the day.

“My dad, Charlie, was a well-known talented actor with Youghal Little Theatre in the 1940s and 1960s. 

Dad was drafted in to perform in a play when the leading man emigrated to the UK!

Back in the day, when Mary was four, Kathleen taught her a poem, The Minuet, by 19th century American writer Mary Mapes Dodge, at the Inch St Patrick’s Day concert. The poem had been selected by Kathleen from a book of verse brought over from Chicago by Kathleen’s uncle.

“The hall wasn’t very big,” says Mary, who re wearing a blue dress for the occasion.

“But to us it was like the Palladium! And I was instantly smitten!”

Mary began her journey on stage, fulfilling her heart’s desire.

Did she feel shy performing on stage at a very young age?

“I tend to be shy,” says Mary. “But it’s different when I’m on stage. It’s a form of escapism.”

When the new hall was opened in Inch, Mary appeared in panto.

“We performed Goody Two Shoes all over the county.

“I also being a character called Wobbles,” says Mary laughing.

A few people in Inch still call me that!

Mary recalls her first role with the Glenbower Theatre’s adaptation of John B Keane’s Sive when she was 18. “I played 80 year-old Nanna Glavin!” says recalls.

Mary found that she adored treading the boards.

“I loved it,” she says. “I was in my element.”

She knew her stuff.

“I was good at it,” says Mary.

ing Kilworth’s Palace theatre 20-plus years ago, Mary performed and earned accolades the length and breadth of Ireland.

“I’ve loved every second of it,” she says.

Acting is a wonderful way to interact with people. It’s the ultimate in escapism and you get to bring the audience along with you.

Who brought Mary along?

“I learned a lot from my dad Charlie and the late, great Cork actor, producer and director, Michael O’Riordan was a huge influence. He was fantastic and I’d have soaked in all I learnt from watching him.”

When Mary learnt last October that Ballyduff Drama Group were staging The Ferryman, directed by Ger Canning, this year she was delighted.

“I felt it was relevant to me,” says Mary.

“ The Ferryman is a long play with a huge cast.”

The festival circuit began and at West Cork Drama Festival The Ferryman gained first place and qualified for the All-Ireland Drama Festival in Athlone.

“And before our pre-All Ireland run, we performed at St Michael’s Hall, Ballyduff, for four nights.”

Mary knew something was afoot.

“We performed in front of a thousand people, 250 people each night,” she says. “We knew something was in the offing.”

Something unusual happened.

“The audience reaction at the various drama festivals around the country leading up to the All-Ireland Drama Festival in Athlone was amazing,” says Mary.

“We got standing ovations in Newry, Tyrone, Rush and Roscommon.

The audiences were on their feet. It was unusual.

Mary, performing on stage for more than six decades, had words of wisdom for the younger of the cast.

“I told the youngsters; this is not normal!”

It isn’t normal for actors to work with animals and children either.

Mary laughs.

“In Athlone, we had a real-live baby, Paudie, who is adorable, who we reckoned was born around the time when we began rehearsals for The Ferryman. We had a real-live goose and a real-live rabbit on stage too! They had to be fed and watered.”

The crew are invisible people who keep the show on the road.

“The people behind the scenes and preparing the set are second to none,” says Mary. “They do the rigging up of the lights, the sound, and all look after all the technical details for all the rehearsals and performances night after night.”

Mary has always been a dedicated amateur actor.

“It is a big commitment. There’s lots of evenings and weekends involved; a lot of learning lines and getting the correct placement on stage and nuances perfect. Nothing can throw you.”

They are all in it together.

“Our group, which is the Ballyduff Drama Group, promotes the ethos of inclusion, determination, cooperation and pride.”

The curtain was ready to go up.

“The cast got the call to appear on stage an hour before the performance,” says Mary.

“We did the sound check, checked the props, did some voice work using the accents. We focused on ‘this is it’, settled ourselves and had a meal at 5-6pm.”

It was butterfly time.

“It was nausea time!” says Mary laughing.

It was the calm before the storm and excitement of performing The Ferryman.

“It was a time to calm everyone, to steady the ship.” says Mary. “I did that.”

It was a countdown to the curtain being raised.

“It is 10 minutes, six minutes, four minutes,” says Mary.

You could hear a pin drop.

“There’s the noise of a tiny crack of a match lighting a cigarette at the beginning of the first act of The Ferryman, says Mary.

It could be heard loud and clear.

It was showtime.

Then it was award time.

“I was dumbfounded when it was announced I was Best ing Actor,” says Mary. “I didn’t expect that at all.”

There were kisses for her.

“I got two kisses, one from John and one from Richie who played Uncle Patrick Carney!”

She got the shivers.

“It was a spine-tingling moment.”

Performing and showcasing The Ferryman all around the country culminating in winning the RTÉ All Ireland Drama Festival 2024 was a labour of love.

“It was a pleasure,” says Mary.

After so much acknowledgement and so many accolades, she is not about to bring down the curtain on her acting career just yet.

“Miriam Margolyes said. ‘I belong to the audience and the audience belong to me’,” explains Mary.

This award-winning actor wowing audiences around the country, couldn’t have put it better herself.

The RTÉ All- Ireland Drama Festival is held under the auspices of the Amateur Council of Ireland (ADCI). 2024 marks the 20th year of RTÉ as title sponsor of the festival.