• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Irish America

Irish America

        • Who We Are
          • About Us
          • Irish America Team
        • The Lists
          • Business 100
          • Hall of Fame
          • Health and Life Sciences 50
          • Wall Street 50
        • Highlights
          • History
          • In This Issue
          • Music
          • Politics
          • Sports
          • Travel
        • Columns
          • First Word
          • Hibernia
          • Quote Unquote
          • Slainte
          • Those we Lost
          • What are you like?
          • Wild Irish Women
          • Window on The Past
  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • About This Magazine
    • Irish America Team
  • In This Issue
  • Hall of Fame
  • The Lists
    • Business 100
    • Hall of Fame
    • Health and Life Sciences 50
    • Wall Street 50
  • Archives
    • Magazine
    • Highlights
  • Travel
  • Events

Weekly Comment:
Watch This Archive Footage of Maureen O’Hara’s Academy Awards Surprise

By Irish America Staff
June 23, 2017

June 23, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Maureen O’Hara has heard a banshee, played camogie, and more from a 1957 episode of “This Is Your Life.”

℘℘℘

At the 1957 Academy Awards TV host Ralph Edwards surprised Maureen O’Hara mid-way through an interview about her upcoming film The Wings of Eagles. But it turns out that the interview itself was staged and the whole thing was a gambit to get O’Hara back to his studio for his live show “This Is Your Life.”

“This Is Your Life” ran from 1952-1961 and always focused on the details of the surprise guest’s life in front of a studio audience. The show was wildly successful, in part because the identity of the guest was kept from the public until the show aired live.

One of the best parts of the program with O’Hara is when Edwards asks her if she’s ever heard a banshee. It turns out she has.

“Oh I certainly have.” She says. “In America, the banshee has been made so much fun of people have come to laugh about it, but it’s very serious in Ireland.” Edwards seems skeptical, prompting O’Hara to give him one of her trademark stern looks.

“I heard the banshee once, and also my brother Charles did, too. I heard the banshee with my father when my grandmother died. Oh it’s a terrible wail.”

They go on to discuss O’Hara’s parents, Charles Stewart Parnell FitzSimons, named in honor of the famous Irish patriot, who owned at the time a sporting goods store in Dublin, and Marguerite Lilburn, who was a singer.

Later on in the program, one of O’Hara’s childhood friends surprises her, Moya Griffin, who was married to the governor of the Bank of Ireland. The two swap memories and reminisce about O’Hara’s love of camogie, or women’s hurling.

Soon, O’Hara’s parents are on the stage talking about O’Hara’s camogie years, which her father describes as “a form of legalized mayhem.”

Watch the whole video to see a peek into Maureen O’Hara’s childhood and glamorous 1950s life. ♦

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Highlights

News
Articles and stories from Irish America.....
MORE

Hibernia
News from Ireland and happenings in Irish America.....
MORE

Those We Lost
Remembering some of the great Irish Americans who have passed.....
MORE

Slainte!
Discover Irish ancestry, predilections, and recipes.....
MORE

Photo Album
Irish America readers share the stories of their ancestors....
MORE

More Articles

  • <b>News Roundup July 2, 2022</b>News Roundup July 2, 2022
    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's Landslide Win in State Primary Elections On Tuesday, June 28, New Y...
  • <b>News Roundup June 25, 2022</b>News Roundup June 25, 2022
    Irish Cafe Staff Helps Rescue Woman Hostage On Sunday, June 19 around 5 am, the Chipper Truc...
  • <b>News Roundup June 18, 2022</b>News Roundup June 18, 2022
    A New Northern Ireland Protocol Bill On Monday, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Liz Truss,...
  • <b>Ukraine Conflict: Safe Haven in the Hills of Donegal</b>Ukraine Conflict: Safe Haven in the Hills of Donegal
    Ireland has taken in more Ukrainian refugees than any other European country. An estimated 30,000 pe...

Footer

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Subscribe

  • Subscribe
  • Give a Gift
  • Newsletter
  • Customer Service

Additional

  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Terms of Use & Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 · IrishAmerica Child Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in