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Irish stage and screen character actor who appeared in Barbarella, The Verdict and the BBC's 1969 sitcom Me Mammy

For a performer of such fame and versatility, the distinguished Irish character actor Milo O'Shea, who has died aged 86, is not associated with any role in particular, or indeed any clutch of them. He was chiefly associated with his own expressive dark eyes, bushy eyebrows, outstanding mimetic talents and distinctive Dublin brogue.

His impish presence irradiated countless fine movies – including Joseph Strick's Ulysses (1967), Roger Vadim's Barbarella (1968) and Sidney Lumet's The Verdict (1982) – and many top-drawer American television series, from Cheers, The Golden Girls and Frasier, right through to The West Wing (2003-04), in which he played the chief justice Roy Ashland.

He had settled in New York in 1976 with his second wife, Kitty Sullivan, in order to be equidistant from his own main bases of operation, Hollywood and London. The...

If you saw Beth Grant on the street, you'd probably recognize her ... but you might not know from where.

"Frequently, over the years people have thought that they know me," Grant told The Huffington Post in a phone interview. "Every character actor has this story, I'm sure. It goes like this: 'Um, do you play soccer?' 'Did you go to such and such church?' 'I knew you when you were with so and so ... ' Then I go, 'Well, sorry ...' and then they say, 'Wait a minute. Are you an actor?' and I say yes. Then they go, 'Were you in so and so?' I go, 'No, no, no.' Pretty soon you want to go to the car and get your resume and give it to them."

It's clear the public knows Grant's face from her various roles, even if they don't know her name.

Tony Award-winning Irish actress Anna Manahan has died of multiple organ failure at the age of 84.

Manahan, whose career on the stage, television and film spanned over 60 years, died on Sunday in Waterford, Ireland.

She made her Broadway debut in Brian Friel's Lovers in 1969, which earned her a Tony nomination for Best Supporting or Featured Actress in a Drama.

But it was her role as Mag Folan in famed Irish playwright Martin McDonagh's 1996 production Beauty Queen that finally earned her the Tony in 1998 for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama.

She also starred in plays written by Irish writers including J.M. Synge, Oscar Wilde, James Joyce and Sean O'Casey, and appeared in numerous TV series, most recently in 2004's Fair City.

Her film career saw her star alongside the likes of Sir Laurence Olivier, Peter Cushing, Kenneth Moore, and Dame Maggie Smith, while her best-known roles were in 1991's Hear My Song and 1994's A Man of No Importance, featuring Albert Finney and Sir Michael Gambon.

In 2002, Manahan was granted the freedom of the city of Waterford for life achievement in the arts.

She is survived by two brothers, Val and Joe.

The Arts Council and Minister Martin Cullen have expressed their regret at the passing of the award winning actress Anna Manahan, who died at the weekend at the age of 84. Born in Waterford City, Anna had played numerous roles in theatre, television and film. Her television credits included 'Fair City', 'The Clinic' 'Black Day at Black Rock' 'The Riordans' and 'The Irish Rm', while her film work saw her taking on roles in 'Ulysses'(1967), 'The Viking Queen'(1967) and in John Carney's 'On the Edge' (2001).