Irene Kelleher: ‘When I took my one-woman show to the Edinburgh Fringe, I had to live on one pack of Jammie Dodgers'

Irish Independent

04-05-2025

Today at 21:30
Cork actor and playwright Irene Kelleher has become known for one-woman plays such as Gone Full Havisham and Mary and Me, both of which had successful runs at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
She performed her play A Safe Passage, co-starring Seamus O'Rourke, at the Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin last weekend.
Kelleher, whose screen credits include Game of Thrones, will be performing in two productions, 'Stitch' and 'Footnote', at the Cork Midsummer Festival in July. For more information, go to www.corkmidsummer.com.
How did your upbringing influence your relationship with money?
My upbringing and family money habits aren't an excuse for my own terrible money management. My family didn't have much money.
My dad came from a family of eight on Blarney Street, on Cork's northside. His father died young. My dad was only 17 – and as the eldest boy he had to take responsibility. He worked extremely hard and saved so he could put himself through college as a mature student and pay for our college fees.
Both my parents were extremely careful with money and taught us the importance of saving. My sister and brother learned from this – but from a young age, anytime I had money I got too excited and couldn't wait to spend it.
Have you ever felt broke?
More times than I can count. When I was bringing my first show to the Edinburgh Fringe, I'd spent the first week's money sending a big present home to mam because I was missing her birthday.
I lived on one packet of Jammie Dodgers over two days – one for breakfast, one for lunch, one before the show. Grim. (But I still eat them.)
What has your acting career taught you about money?
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That I should know better. And that I will make it my life's work to encourage my two daughters to become credit controllers. I've gotten a bit better in the past few years: becoming a mother has meant I've no choice but to be more responsible with money. With acting and writing, you could get a great gig that pays well – like a good voiceover, film work or a writing commission, but then you might be months waiting for the next one to come along.
What's the most expensive place you've ever been to?
Iceland, for our honeymoon. We knew it was going to be expensive – but it was the most special holiday we'd ever go on, so we didn't mind splashing out.
What was your biggest ever extravagance?
My wedding dress. I got it made by a wonderful designer, Samantha Kennedy. I'm just under five foot so all the dresses I tried on in the shops made me look like I was making my Communion.
I promised myself I'd wear it to other events, as it doesn't look like an obvious wedding dress. I haven't worn it since – but every now and then I take it out of its box, stroke it lovingly, and think: 'Ahhh, lovely.'
Would you buy Irish property now?
We'll have to soon. Ever since having our second daughter, our house has gotten smaller. Sometimes my husband and I feel like Charlie Bucket and his grandparents all in the one bed.
What was your worst ever job?
A job that was billed to me as a play. It was not a play. It was a 'Halloween experience' in a very fancy hotel.
The pay wasn't great but I was told that I could stay on the property and all meals would be provided. It turned out to be the tiniest caravan I'd ever seen (think the holiday episode in Fr Ted) and my 'room' had an infestation of bees. The 'meals' were bread and cheese.
They never took my costume measurements so the dress was three sizes too big – I had to be cable-tied into it and cut out of it when I needed the bathroom.