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Tributes are paid to Susan Fitzgerald

Tributes are paid to Susan Fitzgerald

TRIBUTES have been paid to the actor Susan Fitzgerald who has passed away at the age of 64.

Ms. Fitzgerald had a long association with the Gate Theatre in Dublin — appearing in many of the productions staged there over the past 30 years, including Samuel Beckett’s Footfalls which went on to New York in 1996 as well as London three years later. She reprised her role for the film version of the production.

With many writers and actors in her family — her aunt was Hollywood star Geraldine Fitzgerald and her cousins include novelist Jennifer Johnston and actor Tara Fitzgerald — it was perhaps inevitable that Ms. Fitzgerald should have ended up on the stage.

Away from the stage, Ms. Fitzgerald also enjoyed success on both television and films.

Her first movie was A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1977). Other films included The Serpent’s Kiss (1997) and Angela’s Ashes (1999).

TV work included the long-running RTE soap Fair City and the BBC mini-series Rebel Heart (2001).

Tributes to Ms. Fitzgerald were led by the Irish Arts Minister, Jimmy Deenihan, who said: “Susan was the pre-eminent stage actress of her generation and beloved of theatre audiences. She played leading roles in the Gate Theatre in plays by both Irish and overseas writers.”

He added: “With the poise of the truly gifted, she could move from comedies of manners to contemporary plays and also, with equal facility, to television and film.”

Ms. Fitzgerald was married to Michael Colgan. They divorced in 2010. She is survived by her three children Sarah, Sophie and Richard.

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