Malachy McCourt

Malachy McCourt

McCourt at Occupy Wall Street in October 2011
Born Malachy Gerard McCourt
(1931-09-20) 20 September 1931
Brooklyn, New York
Children Siobhan and Malachy III (by first wife Linda), Conor and Cormac (by second wife Diana)
Relatives Frank McCourt (brother)
Alphie McCourt (brother)
Website
malachymccourt.com

Malachy Gerard McCourt (born 20 September 1931) is an Irish-American actor, writer, and politician. He was the 2006 Green Party candidate for governor in New York State, losing to the Democratic candidate Eliot Spitzer. He is the younger brother of author Frank McCourt.

Personal life

McCourt was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Irish parents Angela (Sheehan) and Malachy McCourt. He was raised in Limerick, Ireland. He returned to the United States in 1952. He had four children: Siobhan, Malachy III, Conor (a retired New York City police sergeant and documentary maker), and Cormac, the latter two by his second wife Diana. He also has a stepdaughter, Nina. He was portrayed by Peter Halpin in the film version of his brother's memoir Angela's Ashes. He is also one of the four founding members of the Manhattan Rugby Football Club in 1960. Malachy also appears in Frank McCourt's novel 'Tis.

Film, stage, television, radio and music career

He has acted on stage, on television and in several movies, including The Molly Maguires (1970) and The January Man (1989). He had appeared on three New York City-based soap operas: Ryan's Hope, Search for Tomorrow, and One Life to Live. He is also known for his annual Christmas-time appearances on All My Children as Father Clarence, a priest who shows up to give inspirational advice to Pine Valley citizens.

In the 1970s he hosted a talk show on WMCA.

In 1970, McCourt released an album, And the Children Toll the Passing of the Day, on Mercury Records.

McCourt at home in March 2007

In recent years he has occasionally appeared on various programs on New York City's political radio station, WBAI. Among the shows on which he has appeared has been Radio Free Éireann. He is also a regular guest artist at the Scranton Public Theatre in Pennsylvania, having performed in Inherit the Wind, Love Letters and A Couple of Blaguards which he co-wrote with brother Frank McCourt. Currently, Malachy has been hosting a call-in radio forum on WBAI, airing on Sunday mornings at 11 a.m.[1] He also had a short-lived role as a Catholic priest on the critically acclaimed HBO prison drama Oz. He gained fame in New York as the owner of Malachy's, a bar on Third Avenue that became a legend in its time, where celebrities and others gathered nightly in an atmosphere of unmatched conviviality. One of his frequent patrons was actor and friend Richard Harris who although famous took some downtime to bartend for McCourt. McCourt played Francis Preston Blair in Gods and Generals (2003).

Writing

Malachy McCourt visiting Barnes & Noble Tribeca's yearly Tribute to James Joyce.

McCourt also wrote two memoirs titled, respectively, A Monk Swimming and Singing My Him Song, detailing his life in Ireland and later return to the United States where, despite limited education, he operated a successful Manhattan tavern frequented by entertainment celebrities. He also authored a book on the history of the much loved Irish ballad Danny Boy. He also put together a collection of Irish writings, called 'Voices of Ireland'.

Politics

On Tuesday, 18 April 2006, McCourt announced that he would seek to become governor of New York in the November 2006 election as a Green Party candidate. Running under the slogan "Don't waste your vote, give it to me", McCourt promised to recall the New York National Guard from Iraq, to make public education free through college, and to institute a statewide comprehensive "sickness care" system. McCourt polled at 5% in a 10 October Zogby poll, versus 25% for Republican John Faso and 63% for Democrat Eliot Spitzer.[2] McCourt was endorsed by Cindy Sheehan, mother of a fallen soldier in the Iraq War.[3][4] The League of Women Voters excluded him from the gubernatorial debate.[5] He came in a distant third in the general election, received 40,729 votes (or just under 1%), 9,271 votes short of what was required to gain automatic access in the 2010 election.

Party political offices
Preceded by
Stanley Aronowitz		 Green Party Nominee for Governor of New York
2006 		Succeeded by
Howie Hawkins

Bibliography

Malachy McCourt reading James Joyce to audience at Barnes & Noble Tribeca.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://archive.wbai.org/files/mp3/060916_133001rfeireann.MP3[]
  2. ↑ "Zogby Poll: Dems on Top in Major New York Races". Zogby International. 10 October 2006. Retrieved 1 November 2006.
  3. ↑ http://gpnys.dreamhosters.com/?p=312[]
  4. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20061126000127/http://blogs.timesunion.com/capitol/?p=2323. Archived from the original on 26 November 2006. Retrieved 5 November 2006. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ↑ "Green Party Candidates McCourt and Duncan Tour State, Debate Exclusion Fires Resolve to Reach Voters". Green Party of the United States. 3 October 2006. Retrieved 30 June 2013.

McCourt in the news

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Malachy McCourt
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, April 02, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.