Group photograph from 1956 festival

Group photograph from 1956 festival

Cork Film Festival, Anna Neagle, Gus Healy, Tom McKenna, Karl McEnry, Chris Curran, Helen Wilcox

This is a black and white photograph of festival delegates in a photo marked '1956'. All are dressed in formal evening wear with the men in dark suits and bow-ties and the women in evening wear. In particular, we notice the light-coloured off-the-shoulder gown of the English stage and film actor, Anna Neagle. Some of the others are identified as Chris Curran, Helen Wilcox, Tom McKenna, Karl McEnery, and the politician Gus Healy.

Augustine ('Gus') Healy (1904-1987) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who would later serve Cork as Lord Mayor from 1964 to 1965 and 1975 to 1976. Anna Neagle is standing on his right. Neagle was the stage name of Dame Florence Marjorie Wilcox, DBE. She was a popular actor during the thirties, forties and fifties best known for playing many historical characters including Nell Gwyn in Nell Gwyn (Herbert Wilcox, 1934) and Let's Make Up (also known as Lilacs in the Spring) (Herbert Wilcox, 1954). Neagle was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1952 for her services to drama so would have been Dame Anna Neagle during her visit to Cork.

University College Cork, Cork Film Festival, RW Hammond

Cork Film Festival Collection

University College Cork

1956

RW Hammond

Photo
TIFF
JPEG

English, eng

1956
Cork, Ireland

Photo

219 x 169mm