by Tony Bray
When I think now of Colm, I am transported to Yeat’s Ireland – a place of Celtic sentiment, celebrating the noble history of Ireland, and its country people, poetry and conversation. Colm was a man of theatre who loved poetry and was an avid reader of world history. He was an actor and an engaging performer who drew you into his world.
I first came across him in the Dolphin Theatre, UWA during the Irish Club’s Fleadh in March 1982. He co-presented ‘Our Ireland’ with the late Adele Cohen (1933-1997) in a programme of poetry and theatre complemented with bodhran, uilleann pipes and whistle by the late Ormonde Waters and his son Ormonde Og.
Colm was a long-time member of the AIHA from its founding in 1993 and of the WB Yeats society that preceded it. He has had many articles published in The Journal. One titled ‘A Life: Colm O’Doherty’ (2007, vol 15, no 4) typifies his personality. Instead of saying he was born in Strokestown, County Roscommon, he wrote, “I was born in North Roscommon, approximately 600 yards from the hill where the Brown Bull of Cooley started his battle with the White Bull of Connacht and drove him seven miles to the Shannon river, scattering his parts to all points of the compass.” He went on to describe the context of the legend of the Tain Bo Cuailnge!
As producer of James Joyce’s annual Bloomsday literary celebration, I worked with Colm for 23 years. He edited the first half of the programme and Sean Byrne the second half. We would meet monthly from January over a pint to plan the event. Generally, our meetings would cover European history until closing time I would choose my moment to interrupt and ask where we are at with Bloomsday! Colm’s contribution was unique. He would write on a theme such as when, in 2014, he devised an inquiry into why James Joyce was denied the Nobel Prize for Literature. He had characters like King Gustave of Sweden before the chairperson, daughter Damien O’Doherty who promised “All parties involved will be given a fair trial before being found guilty”. His cast then included the late actor Ric Hearder and Chief Justice Honourable Wayne Martin, with plants in the audience interjecting to script.
Colm’s life
Colm was born at five minutes to midnight on 31 December 1924 in Strokestown. He describes this in historic terms in his article “My Home Town”, Journal 2014, vol 22, no 1. He formed an amateur dramatic society with school mates staging plays locally. In 1944 Colm joined the Anew McMaster Shakespearian company touring Ireland. In 1946 he went to London and indulged in all the great theatres seeing some of the great actors like Laurance Olivier. In January 1949 he arrived in Sydney with the Anew McMaster company on a six-month contract. The contract finished when he was in Perth but he decided to stay on where he got involved in the local theatre scene and subsequently met his future wife Margaret. He had a successful radio play produced by ABC nationally. This led to film reviews, talks and to broadcasting for National and local ABC radio stations. A highlight was to write and broadcast the ABC Christmas Day talk. The Catholic Record newspaper commissioned him to write theatre reviews into the 1970s. Around this time he did an eight-year stint of four evenings a week on tv’s ‘Children’s Channel 7’.
He became involved with the local W.B. Yeats society founded by the late Joe O’Sullivan who went on to become founder of the AIHA. Colm wrote and presented two theatre pieces for the AIHA, ‘The House of the Stare’ themed on WB Yeats’ influences, and ‘Constance Markieviez: The Rebel Countess’ both performed with his actress daughter, Damien.
In 2010 Colm was awarded the prestigious Brendan Award for his contribution to Australia’s Irish Heritage. The citation read:
He is recognized and respected for his erudite and entertaining conversations, talks, broadcasts and writings. Colm towers as one of the best local exponents of our noble Irish heritage. Now in his eighties this Irish elder continues to make an invaluable contribution to our West Australian organizations in the fields of literature, history and arts.
Colm’s funeral took place at Pinnaroo on 28th August with a rather fitting theatrical service with celebrant and actor Michael Loney, and engaging eulogies from his daughter Damien and son Michael. Theatre reviewer David Zampatti read Yeat’s poem ‘The Host of the Air’. Each tribute was followed by applause with the final curtain call heralding a standing ovation.
