« Here to Stay - Series 1
Ep 5 - IRISH
Description
Here To Stay - The Irish can be bought or rented through Vimeo here.
Actor Theresa Healey wonders whether it’s possible for a Catholic to join the Orange Lodge in NZ, and meets Irish-Kiwi legends Neil Finn, Sean Fitzpatrick, Maggie Barry and Peta Mathias. She learns how Irish music, melancholy and madness have intermarried with Kiwi culture.
Theresa is a regular stage and screen celebrity, perhaps best known for her role as Nurse Carmen Roberts on Shortland St and for a star turn in the first TVNZ series of Dancing With The Stars. She comes from a long line of Irish Catholic Kiwis, and has two children with her husband, film producer Steven O’Meagher (also Irish). Aramoana film Out Of The Blue is Steven’s latest production.
Theresa says her Irish roots mean a family full of loving, yelling, fighting – and that humour is very important. Her Grandmother and Great Aunt were the matriarchs, and brought the family together for huge Sunday lunches. Her grandparents were from Tipperary. Theresa went to a mixture of schools, state and Catholic, including Sacred Heart in Auckland, and is sending her children to a Catholic primary school. She lives in central Auckland.
For more information on Irish history in NZ, visit the Te Ara Encyclopaedia
