Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Dublin Live
Dublin Live
National
Dan Grennan

Oscars 2023: Brendan Gleeson's life before acting including teaching a Dublin secondary school

Before the glitz and glamour of Hollywood red carpets, Brendan Gleeson taught Irish and English to school kids from north Dublin.

As part of the Irish wave taking over the Oscars this year, Brendan and Barry Keoghan was nominated for best supporting actor for their roles in The Banshees of Inisherin. And Castleknock man Colin Farrell was nominated for best leading actor for his part in the zany period piece.

Brendan is used to staring in big movies like the Harry Potter franchise and The Guard. However, he started his career in acting while he was teaching children English and Irish in the now defunct Catholic Bellcamp College in North County Dublin.

Read more: Colin Farrell's lesser known story of helping a homeless man back on his feet

The 67-year-old went to school in St Joseph's CBS in Fairview where he was the member of the drama group. And during an NPR interview he revealed he had been molested by a Christian Brother during his primary school days.

He added that he was "in no way traumatised by the incident". After he studied Arts in UCD, he joined the Dublin-based Passion Machine Theatre company which put on a series of successful shows. The plays included Brownbread, which was written by Roddy Doyle, and Wasters.

Gleeson started his film career at the age of 34 and his early works include playing Michael Collins in The Treaty and starring in The General as Irish gangster Martin Cahill. Brendan is also a keen musician and even came up with the traditional Irish music tune his character plays in The Banshees of Inisherin.

READ NEXT:

Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.