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Brendan O'Carroll

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Brendan O'Carroll
Image
O'Carroll in 2015
Born (1955-09-17) 17 September 1955 (age 71)
Finglas, Dublin, Ireland
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian
  • director
  • producer
  • writer
Years active1991–present[1]
Known forAgnes Brown in Mrs. Brown's Boys and All Round to Mrs. Brown's
Spouse
  • Doreen Dowdall
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1977; div. 1999)​
    ​
    (m. 2005)​
Children4, including Fiona and Danny
Parents
RelativesEilish O'Carroll (sister)

Brendan O'Carroll (born 17 September 1955) is an Irish actor, comedian, director, producer and writer. He is best known for portraying foul-mouthed matriarch Agnes Brown on stage and in the BBC and RTÉ television sitcom Mrs. Brown's Boys.[2] In 2015, O'Carroll was awarded the Irish Film and Television Academy Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Irish television.

Early life

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Brendan O'Carroll was born on 17 September 1955, in Finglas, Dublin, the youngest of 11 children.[3] His mother, Maureen, was a Labour Party TD and his father, Gerard O'Carroll, was a carpenter. His father died in 1962 when O'Carroll was seven, and his mother raised him and his siblings with little money.[citation needed] He attended Saint Gabriel's National School and left at the age of 12. He had a string of occupations, including waiter and milkman.[4]

Career

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Early career

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Having become well known as a comedy guest on The Late Late Show, O'Carroll released four stand-up videos titled How's your Raspberry Ripple, How's your Jolly Roger, How's your Snowballs, and How's your Wibbly Wobbly Wonder.[5][6] He wrote the screenplay to Sparrow's Trap, a boxing film.[6] The film, which had Stephen Rea cast in the lead role, ran into financing difficulties midway through the shoot when the distributor withdrew, and it was abandoned. Incurring debts of over €1 million, O'Carroll became bankrupt, and the film has never been produced.[7][8][9] He presented a quiz show, Hot Milk and Pepper, on RTÉ One with long-term collaborator Gerry Browne.[7][8]

Mrs. Brown's Boys

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In 1992, O'Carroll performed a short radio play titled Mrs. Brown's Boys, and shortly afterwards he wrote four books: The Mammy, The Granny, The Chisellers, and The Scrapper.[4] In 1999, a film named Agnes Browne, starring Anjelica Huston, was released, based on The Mammy. O'Carroll also co-wrote the screenplay. He then put together his own family theatre company, Mrs. Browne's Boys, and dressed up as a woman to play his part, as the actress he had originally hired did not show up.[4][3]

From 1999 to 2010, he wrote and performed in five plays. Since 2011, the stage shows have been re-toured across the UK. In 2011, his plays were adapted into a television sitcom (with the name "Browne" shortened to "Brown"). Since 2011, 28 episodes have aired, across three series, several Christmas-specials, and a one-off live episode that aired in 2016 on RTÉ One and BBC One. Mrs. Brown's Boys D'Movie was released on 27 June 2014 and was a significant success in the UK, staying at number one in the box office for two consecutive weeks. However, the film had negative reviews, including one saying it was not just unfunny but "close to anti-funny". O'Carroll's wife, his sister Eilish, his son Danny, and his daughter Fiona all appear or have appeared on episodes of Mrs. Brown's Boys.[10] O'Carroll also appeared as Mrs Brown in the 2022 Netflix film A Madea Homecoming.[11]

In August 2026, O'Carroll announced that he had two jaw fractures and required "immediate surgery", and filming for that year's Mrs Brown's Boys Christmas and New Year specials was cancelled.[12]

Personal life

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O'Carroll was married to Doreen Dowdall from 1977 until their divorce in 1999. They had four children; their first, Brendan Jr., died shortly after birth in 1976. The surviving children are Fiona, Danny, and Eric. In 2005, he married actress Jennifer Gibney; the couple live in Davenport, Florida, US.[13][14]

O'Carroll has dyslexia, a condition also shared by his sons.[15]

Family history

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O'Carroll's paternal grandfather Peter O'Carroll, a father of seven and a prominent republican, was shot dead on 16 October 1920 at his home in Manor Street, Dublin. Two of his sons were Irish Republican Army volunteers. The incident was investigated in the television series Who Do You Think You Are?[16][17] In March 2016, O'Carroll appeared in the BBC Two documentary Brendan O'Carroll – My Family at War, which explored the involvement of three of his uncles in the Easter Rising.[18][19]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Film Character(s)
1996 The Van Weslie
1999 Agnes Browne Seamus
1999 Angela's Ashes Man in pub
2002 Mrs Brown's Boys Agnes Brown
2003 Mrs Brown's Boys: The Last Wedding
2004 Mrs Brown's Boys: Believe It Or Not
2005 Good Mourning Mrs Brown
2006 Mrs Brown's Boys: Triple Trouble
2007 How Now Mrs. Brown
2008 Mrs Brown's Boys: The Seven Year Itch
2014 Mrs. Brown's Boys D'Movie Agnes Brown and Mr. Wang
2022 A Madea Homecoming Agnes Brown

Television

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Year Title Role
1996–1998 Brendan O'Carroll's Hot Milk and Pepper Host
2004 Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere Gypsy Joe
2009 The Fattest Man in Britain Fr O'Flaherty
2011–present Mrs. Brown's Boys Agnes Brown
2013 The Security Men Jimmy
2014 Who Do You Think You Are? Himself: Series 11, Episode 4
2017–2020 All Round to Mrs. Brown's Agnes Brown
2018 For Facts Sake Host
2022 The Walk-In Uncle Ronnie
2026 Shedites Jimmy

Stage

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Year Title Role
1999–2000, 2004, 2006, 2011–2012 Mrs Brown's Last Wedding Agnes Brown
2002–2003, 2011, 2017 Good Mourning Mrs Brown
2004–2005, 2012, 2023–2024 Mrs Brown Rides Again
2007, 2013–2014, 2018 For The Love of Mrs Brown
2009–2010, 2015 How Now Mrs Brown Cow
2019 D'Musical
2021–2022, 2024 D'Live Show

References

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  1. ↑ "MRS Brown's Boys star quits show after confessing he was unhappy". Daily Mirror. 10 July 2017. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  2. ↑ McGreevy, Ronan (27 April 2011). "Necessity the mammy of invention as O'Carroll's Mrs Brown is up for Bafta". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  3. 1 2 Profile Archived 18 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine, BBC. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 "Brendan O'Carroll profile". Archived from the original on 8 September 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  5. ↑ Ronan Kerr. "Brendan O'Carroll: The Stand Up Collection 4 DVD Box Set, Great Price, Free Delivery". Archived from the original on 20 January 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  6. 1 2 Young, Richie (3 October 1997). "Movie Hat-Trick for Big-Shot Brendan". Irish Daily Mirror. London, England. Archived from the original on 16 April 2016 – via HighBeam Research.
  7. 1 2 Quigley, Maeve (17 February 2013). "'I Am Mrs Brown's Boy!' SINGER GERRY SAYS HIS MUM INSPIRED PAL'S HIT SHOW". Irish Daily Mirror. London, England. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016 – via HighBeam Research.
  8. 1 2 Taylor, Richie (23 March 1998). "I'LL PAY BACK Pounds 2M DEBT; Comic O'Carroll's Cash Pledge". Irish Daily Mirror. London, England. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016 – via HighBeam Research.
  9. ↑ Quigley, Maeve (31 December 2011). "I Wasn't an Actor but 2 Days before a Show the Guy Playing Rory Left. by Monday Night I Was in Front of 1,300 People; BROWN MRS ON HIS STAR TO FAME RISE". Irish Daily Mirror. London, England. Archived from the original on 5 May 2016 – via HighBeam Research.
  10. ↑ Profile Archived 11 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine, cineworld.co.uk. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  11. ↑ Burke, Mary (5 March 2022). "Why Brendan O'Carroll's 'Mammy' Brown became 'Mummy' Brown". RTE.ie. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  12. ↑ Glynn, Paul (17 August 2026). "Mrs Brown's Boys Christmas specials cancelled after star breaks jaw". BBC News. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  13. ↑ Wolf, Colin (1 August 2023). "Tampa Bay waterfront home of BBC star Brendan O'Carroll is now on the market". Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  14. ↑ Campbell, Tina (13 October 2022). "Brendon O'Carroll on why he almost called his wedding off night before". Evening Standard. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  15. ↑ Caden, Sarah (10 October 2004). "Of chips and old blocks". Irish Independent. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  16. ↑ Smith, Patrick. "Another 'Mushy' moment?", The Daily Telegraph, 29 August 2014
  17. ↑ "Brendan O'Carroll". Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  18. ↑ "Brendan O'Carroll: Comic says 1916 Easter Rising lessons 'not learned'"[dead link], BBC. Retrieved 18 March 2016.</ref O'Carroll published his autobiography, Call Me Mrs Brown, in 2022.
  19. ↑ "Mrs Brown's Boys creator Brendan O'Carroll set to release his autobiography". Irish Mirror. 2 August 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
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