F. J. McCormick was an Irish actor who became known for his work at Dublin's Abbey Theatre. He acquired the stage name F.J. McCormick to disguise his identity from his current and future employers, and to avoid parental disapproval. He joined the Abbey at age 19, and acted in some 500 productions there. He is especially remembered for his work in the plays of Seán O'Casey.
publicity still for Odd Man Out (1947)
McCormick as Joxer in Juno and the Paycock, depicted in stained glass by Harry Clarke
McCormick's grave, Deansgrange cemetery, Dublin
The Abbey Theatre, also known as the National Theatre of Ireland, in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the public on 27 December 1904, and moved from its original building after a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the present day. The Abbey was the first state-subsidized theatre in the English-speaking world; from 1925 onwards it received an annual subsidy from the Irish Free State. Since July 1966, the Abbey has been located at 26 Lower Abbey Street, Dublin 1.
Front façade
A poster for the opening run at the Abbey Theatre from 27 December 1904 to 3 January 1905
Lady Gregory pictured on the frontispiece to Our Irish Theatre: A Chapter of Autobiography (1913)
John Millington Synge, author of The Playboy of the Western World, which caused riots at the Abbey on the play's opening night