March, 1926, Saturday 27

Made out a plan of morning work for the holidays. I will do 2 hours school work, and 1½ hours piano every morning if I can. After breakfast (I get up at 8.30) I tidied up all my books and things in the dining-room, then went for a message to Dr. Scannell, to Confession and then to Stockleys’. It was a really glorious, sunny day, a fine beginning for the hols. At Stockleys’ Sophia and I went rooting for stamps in Professor’s study, and found about 5 good ones I hadn’t, which we divided. Woodside is a great place for stamp-finds. Had a very pleasant evening and then went to ‘The Lily of Killarney’, by O’Meara’s company36. Had a good place in the dress circle, while Mammie was in Miss O’Brien’s box. The whole performance was charming, and we were all delighted. Joseph O’Meara, who now sang his last opera, was great, and his brogue and jokes fine. Why it is the so-called music-lovers of Cork snub this play and the company in general I don’t know.

  1. Joseph O’Mara (1864-1927) was a renowned Irish opera singer, born in Limerick, who studied in Milan. He was for many years the leading tenor in London’s Theatre Royal of Drury Lane, the Moody-Manners Company, the Thomas Beecham Company, touring with them in the USA, Britain and Ireland. In 1912 he founded the O’Mara Travelling Opera Company, singing the principal tenor parts until 1926. He appeared in 67 roles in operas by Balfe, Bizet, Gounod, Puccini, Stanford, Verdi and Wagner. With Julius Benedict’s operetta The Lily of Killarney (based on Boucicault’s Colleen Bawn) he gave his final performance in Cork. [↩]