By John Fitzgerald
Shakespeare said that some people are born great, while “others have greatness thrust upon them.”
I thought of that quote when I met Claire Henriques in Callan at the weekend. She kindly took time off from rehearsal for her upcoming part in The Calendar Girls to reflect on her long association with theatre in the county.
The venue for our chat was apt, I thought: outside the new Cupán café at the Cross of Callan, located opposite the building that used to be the Call Inn pub, where Claire some nights pulled pints when her father, publican/ journalist, and sports broadcaster Barrie was otherwise occupied.
The Call Inn was a thriving social hub. Pointing at the top storey, Claire quipped, “When my mother went to clean the windows she’d be distracted by all the people below on the street trying to talk to her!”
On other days Claire’s little Scotch terrier, Bailey, could be seen looking out, sizing up the ebb and flow of life in the town.
Claire’s first big theatrical performance outside Callan was on the stage of the Watergate in 2000. For six successive nights, she regaled audiences as Miss Hannigan in the musical Annie. Stunned fans who didn’t know her asked: “Who IS this woman?”
Among those gripped and transported by her flawless stagecraft was Town Commissioner and celebrated Kilkenny actor, Donal O’ Brien. He quickly cottoned onto her astonishing talent. Further Watergate appearances beckoned.
Of course, the Callan contingent wasn’t a bit surprised: They knew Claire’s propensity for acting and singing…how she could pull at the heartstrings.
For decades before her Watergate debut, she had charmed locals, beginning with the nuns, teachers, and fellow pupils at the school nativity plays, under the benevolent gaze of Sister Louise. A friend described her as “a shining star that borrowed the glow from the Star of Bethlehem.”
All through her stint at St. Brigid’s Secondary School, she threaded the boards of the top class convent stage. She excelled as Eliza Dolittle in the collage’s production of My Fair Lady.
School days over, she continued to entertain, this time in the famed variety shows, also at St. Brigid’s concert hall. Her father Barrie was the main impetus behind these annual three-night events, which brought together a huge team of actors, singers, and volunteers.
I attended some of those productions to review them for local media. Claire never disappointed. She left audiences goggled-eyed and shaking their heads.
She didn’t overtly hog the limelight…she didn’t need to- it gravitated to her by virtue of her seraphic voice and stage presence.
She could switch from comedy to a grim Easter crucifixion scene with ease. As a comic, she reminded me of a woman I saw when I was nine years old in Dublin: Maureen Potter. She also calls to mind another comedian. Like the legendary Tommy Cooper, Claire can draw waves of anticipatory laughter. It starts before she can say a word.
She was always a natural. She boosted the morale of a town in the throes of recession and economic stagnation. She turned frowns into smiles.
When times got brighter, she shone on the stage, weaving her magic like an enchantress…lightening hearts and minds.
After she set foot in the Watergate in 2000 as Miss Hannigan, Claire’s stage career blossomed in ways that brought huge pride and joy to her native town. It was an unstoppable progression…from childhood nativity plays and knockabout sketches to the mighty Watergate and other theatrical venues.
The transition from Callan Variety to the theatre was smooth enough, though Claire was surprised when allocated a specially designed costume in the Watergate. “For the shows in Callan we brought our own rigouts to the hall with us”, she recalled.
The following year, 2001, Claire blew audiences away as Stella in God Bless Archie Dean, a performance that earned her an AIMS Award for Best Comedian. She later scooped the honours in the regional Stars of the Night competition at Langton’s.
She sailed through productions of Chicago, Kinky Boots, 42nd Street, Hot Mikado, Calamity Jane, and she played Grandma Adams at her spookiest best in Kilkenny Musical Society’s take on The Adams Family
Another runaway success for Claire was in the Watergate production of the Beauty Queen of Leenane, whose cast included the highly rated actor Mary Cradock, who sadly parted this world a few weeks ago.
Claire was the quintessential Moll in JB Keane’s play of the same name, bringing the role to life in ways that JB would surely have approved. She also featured in a production of The Field, and drew commendation from no less a critic than JB’s Son, Sean Keane.
Her slapstick humour in the Kilkenny Christmas pantos delighted children of all ages.
But Claire’s public persona didn’t tell the full story. Away from the limelight, she grappled with crushing personal setbacks and an array of challenges that might have vanquished a less resilient person.
Even as she brightened the lives of people from behind the footlights, loss, pain, and tragedy struck in her own life.
When she was 16, she lost her 14-year-old sister Julie, a devastating blow.
A fall from a horse a few years later had Claire laid up for a lengthy period in hospital and rehab.
She overcame that severe ordeal, and returned to the Callan stage, bubbling with energy.
Claire’s mother Kitty survived surgery for cancer, but the Big C revisited the family in 2000 when Claire received a shattering diagnosis of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Many in the Watergate audience watching Annie were unaware of her personal battle for survival.
With a gritty resolve, she won her way to recovery. Some hours and days were crueler than others, but she pressed on, like a hurler charging through a phalanx of blocking players.
Aside from the medical team, Claire had the support of her family and friends, among them that other “family”, her pals in the Variety Club who took her under their wing.
“I couldn’t have managed without those terrific people,” she told me.
And I suspect that her beloved sister Julie was a healing influence.
It’s hard to believe, given her enormous public profile, that theatre is a hobby for Claire. She’s an SOS Social Care Worker and has worked at four different radio stations. These days she’s involved with the immensely popular Birds on the Wire programme on CRKC (Community Radio Kilkenny City) which is said to be better than Loose Women with its focus on lifestyle issues and current affairs.
She enrolled for a Bachelor of Arts degree, which she feels has deepened her appreciation of the arts scene and offered new perspectives on life in general. She’s a dedicated follower of sport, especially the fortunes of the Kilkenny hurling team, and is a competent golfer. She completed the grueling 26 mile Dublin City Marathon and cycled the even more exhaustive 111 mile Ring of Kerry
Claire has a deep attachment to her native town, and no regrets about staying in Callan, where she lives with her husband Trevor.
Looking back, she has special praise for Ger Cody, citing his “highly professional guidance and support” and an unbreakable bond of friendship with her old pals from the Variety Club.
She speaks with reverence of friends such as Collette Brown and the late Mary Craddock, whose own dramatic work inspired her along the way. She couldn’t speak highly enough of Tristar, producer of many of the plays she featured in. She emphasized that the list of people to whom she feels indebted is so long that I’d be writing all day if I were to mention them all!
The good news is that Claire intends to keep going theatrically. There’s no stopping her.
Long may her talent shine, on and off the stage.
