The death occurred on Saturday, 18 January 2014 in St Joseph’s Hospice, Hackney, of Owen Joseph Clinton (stage name Owen Nolan), late of Islington, North London. A celebration of his life was held on 28 January 2014. He is buried in Islington Cemetery.
I first met Owen in 2009, when we were cast together in a production of Julie Sibbons’ The Shoes at the London Irish Centre. I was immediately struck by both his professionalism and his friendly, straightforward manner. This initial impression blossomed into a friendship which I came to treasure over the time of our (too-brief) acquaintanceship.
Owen was born in Dublin and lived there until he was four years old, growing up in Manchester before moving to London, where he pursued a successful career in education. He had several different roles in the field, including lecturer, head of department and even OFSTED inspector. Education’s loss was entertainment’s gain, when, after taking early retirement, Owen trained as an actor at the Poor School in King’s Cross. I had the privilege of playing his wife in his first professional production after leaving drama school (the aforementioned The Shoes with London Irish Theatre) and we worked together many times over the years (six months after playing my husband, he was playing my granddad). Perhaps Owen’s most iconic role was as the definitive Frankie Flynn in Peter Hammond’s series of comedies about a likeable Dubliner, but Irish plays were far from the whole of his career. His range was very wide – encompassing opera, Shakespeare, and performances at the Old Vic in Inherit the Wind. Owen’s take on Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell was a joy to watch, and you can read reviews of his performances in As You Like It and Poe: Macabre Resurrections elsewhere on this site. Owen was also a talented musician and singer, performing Irish folk music with a couple of bands, most recently Chief O’Neill.
Owen’s impact was far greater than a professional one however. He was a wonderful friend, family man and genuinely good human being. Speaking for myself, I will remember the man who spent the night in hospital with me after I was hit by a car and drove me home the next morning; who came to see my plays and saw me safely home afterwards, and made me welcome in the home he shared with Mary, his partner of 15 years, and his sister Dora. He looked after his mother in her final illness, and cared for his sister for much of his life. Owen spent his last days in St Joseph’s Hospice in Hackney, where he was lovingly watched over by Mary and his brother Niall. Predeceased by his brother Alan, Owen is mourned by his partner Mary, his sister Dora, his brothers Niall and Denis, his sisters-in-law Maggie and Alison, his niece Katherine and nephew Kevin, his cousins, family members and friends whose lives were touched by his. In the words of his brother Niall, “the world is a better place now, because my brother lived in it.”
Ní bhfeicimid a leithéid arís ann.
Mary Tynan