Author Mark Twain once famously quipped about the great exaggerations fueling rumors of his death. But the legendary Malachi McCourt topped even Twain,
by noting that – exaggerated or not – death “need not be fatal.”
That was the title of one of McCourt’s many books. And, in some ways, it was the guiding principle of his extraordinary life – acting on stage and screen, telling unforgettable stories, crusading for change, and sending up all manner of hypocrisy.
It takes a certain kind of person to compel The New York Times to reach for its office thesaurus and select the word “Gadabout.” And then use it not only in an obituary but also in a headline.
That tells you a lot about Malachy McCourt’s colorful life.
McCourt died at the age of 92 on March 11, 2024.
He “fled a melancholic childhood in Ireland for America, where he applied his blarney and brogue to become something of a professional Irishman as a thespian, a barkeep and a best-selling memoirist,” the Times added.
Another of his enduring performances – always a St. Patrick’s Day staple – was alongside his famous Pulitzer-prize-winner brother Frank in The Irish….and How They Got That Way.
It was Frank McCourt “who had emigrated earlier and was working as a public school English teacher,” the Times noted.
“Frank would also become a late-blooming author, whose books included the Pulitzer Prize-winning autobiographical work “Angela’s Ashes” (1996).”
For all of what the Times dismisses as blarney and bluster, it’s important to recall McCourt had an accomplished, decades-long career on stage and screen.
He also had lots to say about current events, often ruffling more than a few conservative feathers. But he was also a committed activist who, in the 1970s, played a role in shutting down the Willowbrook home for children on Staten Island, where rampant abuse had been exposed.
Malachy’s son Conor confirmed his death and added that his father was listening to a recording of “Will Ye Go Lassie Go” by the Chieftains, a song he would often sing when he died. ♦
I loved Malachy and his books. May he continue writing in the Heavens.
God bless and watch over his family.
a Kelly from South Boston
Malachy McCourt was a lot of things but never boring.He had an extraordinary life underpinned by an appreciation for the absurd and a terrific wit.Brendan O’Connor paid tribute to him this morning on RTE Radio 1.May he rest in peace.