The ashes of Malachy McCourt, the renowned actor and writer who passed away in New York earlier this year , have been brought back to Ireland.
The 92-year-old was born in Brooklyn and raised in Co Limerick before he moved back to New York in 1952. The best-selling memoirist died on Monday, March 11, 2024 in Manhattan .
The father-of-five's brother, Frank McCourt, wrote the Pulitzer Prize- winning autobiographical work Angela's Ashes based on his heavy-drinking father who left his mother Angela to raise the four of their surviving seven children .
Malachy, the last of the McCourt brothers, was brought home to scatter in Carrigogunell Castle and Mungret Abbey in Co Limerick. Siobhan, Malachy's daughter, told IrishStar.com : "It's hard to accept the reality that all four brothers are now gone. I suppose the lesson I get from these four men is from nothing comes anything and everything . Each one of the McCourt brothers were so different but the common thread was they were all so vibrant and colorful.
"I hope that Limerick will remember the McCourts because they always remembered Limerick , and although their youth was not the best, the love of Limerick prevailed and they all came home in the end.
"Angela, their mother, was very wise when she said, 'leave them alone and they will come home'."
On October 9, Malachy's ashes were taken to Ireland by Siobhan and the "great Irishman," as described by former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams , graced the stage one last time at the Lark Theatre in Dublin during a performance of David Gilna's play, A Bolt from D'Blue. A special urn was created by The Men's Shed of the East Wall, Dublin.
David paid tribute to Malachy while writer Annie Lanzillotto and John McDonagh, Malachy's WBAI Radio Free Éireann co-host, who jetted in from New York , joined others in giving Malachy a final send-off to 'The Auld Triangle'.
"I can say with certainty that dad doesn't want to go as the pranks keep coming," Siobhan revealed. " I was stopped by TSA at JFK airport and they asked me what the bag of ashes were .
"I responded, 'oh, that's my father. I'm bringing him home'. The look on their faces was priceless. They proceeded to check him for explosives . I explained that while he had a an explosive personality, he is now calmed to ash.
"Dad really liked being on stage so I thought I'd give him his last shot. He delivered the same show whether there was one or 10,000 people in the audience. He had Tony Bennett syndrome - he came to life on stage ."
On his final days, Siobhan went on: "I was with him until the end. I was trying to think of what to say to give him permission to go . He started saying he didn't want to go. I said, 'I believe you'.
"He had such a great life, it made sense that he didn't want to go. His mind was so sharp. At one point, he started speaking Irish. He didn't even know Irish . It must've come from his childhood. It was crazy."
Touching on her relationship with her father, who featured in movies including The Molly Maguires (1970), Beyond the Pale (2000), and Ash Wednesday (2002), Siobhan went on: "We had great conversations about politics. He loved to hear my point of views. We both loved rugby. He was hard on to me but only because he expected a lot of me .
"He was the best at manifesting. He told me h e looked out over the River Shannon one day and said, I'm going to America and I'm going to be an actor , and that's what he did. He said things and then they would happen."
Malachy will be remembered with a street sign, Malachy McCourt Way, on 93rd Street and West End Avenue.
McCourt is survived by his wife, Diana, four children and a stepdaughter.
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