Final curtain call for the Gaiety’s queen of laughs By John Crowley  SHE was Ireland’s queen of comedy — and her admirers queued up to pay tribute to her this week.
All agreed the world of Irish theatre was a sadder place after actress and comedienne Maureen Potter died at her home in Clontarf in Dublin.
The 79-year-old was a star of pantomime on the Dublin stage and well-known to generations of Irish theatre-goers.
Her first professional engagement was at the age of seven — but she later went on to establish herself as both a serious and comic actress.
She may have starred in comedy pantomimes and revues but she also featured in classic works by Sean O’Casey, George Bernard Shaw and Samuel Beckett.
Critics agreed few actresses had ever managed to embrace the variety of roles Maureen Potter seemed to take in her stride.
Just four years ago President Mary McAleese attended a special tribute to Ms Potter as the actress became the first star to place her handprints in a Walk of Fame outside Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre.
And the President was the first to offer her tribute as the news of the death was announced.
“The very mention of Maureen Potter summons up happy memories for each person who enjoyed her wonderful performances,” she said.
“Her brilliance, her sparkle and her personality will be missed throughout Ireland.”
That brilliance was evident from an early age and in 1938 it even impressed German leader Adolf Hitler.
Child stars were a novelty in Germany and Maureen Potter had been touring the continent with impresario Jack Hylton and his orchestra.
She later recalled performing before Adolf Hitler and the moment Nazi leaders came backstage to meet her and present her with a silver and blue wreath.
“It came with some words on it from Hitler himself,” she said.
But her mother was not impressed. “When I got home I gave it to her and she said, ‘that filthy man, Hitler’, and threw it in the bin.”
Maureen went on to enrich the lives of generations of theatre-goers and for many people she was their introduction to theatre.
A survivor of the great age of variety she performed in revues, cabaret, political satire pantomime and a range of theatrical roles.
She performed on stage at Dublin’s gaiety Theatre for 60 years from her debut in 1939 to her retirement in 1999.
Her first taste of the panto came in 1935 following an audition with entertainer Jimmy O’Dea who had seen her in a concert party at Bray. She appeared in his version of Jack And The Beanstalk playing a fairy.
Her first Gaiety performance was in Jimmy and the Leprechaun and she went on to appear in numerous pantomimes, theatre productions and the hugely popular Gaels of Laughter — which ran from 1965 for 15 years.
Maureen’s last appearance on the Gaiety stage was on in 1999 during a special tribute performance to the actress.
Gaiety Theatre Managing Director John Costigan said: “No conversation about the Gaiety ever takes place without Maureen being mentioned. She is as much a part of Ireland’s stage history as the building itself.
“The last occasion that she graced us with her incredible presence was to unveil her handprints on the pavement in front of the theatre.
“I felt an incredible pride to be in a room with this amazing woman, people crowding around her and listening to her every word. The Gaiety will miss her dearly and the laughter that rose out from the auditorium whenever she stepped out under the lights.”
Close friend Niall Toibín said: “She embodied the spirit of Dublin and will be sadly missed.”
Irish Arts Minister John O’Donoghue and comedy actress Pauline McLynn also added their own tributes.
Mr O’Donoghue said: “We will be much the poorer for her passing.”
And Ms McLynn said: “She spoiled it for all of us really. She could sing, dance and act and she made it look easy.”
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