Billa O'Connell


Billa O'Connell is an Irish entertainer from Cork city, Ireland. His career has earned him Freedom of the City and an honorary degree from University College Cork.

Career

O'Connell is best-known as a performer in pantomime, having made his debut in the Cork pantomime back in 1947. Billa went on to become a regular cast member of the pantomimes produced at the Cork Opera House, as well as Summer Revels, an annual variety show which ran for over two decades. Speaking in The Irish Times, Billa recalls a time when there were "seven or eight" pantomimes operating in Cork, and it was one of the city's most popular forms of entertainment. Also regarded as an accomplished singer, O'Connell recorded a number or records for local charitable organisations.
He frequently appeared on The Late Late Show, produced by RTÉ, Ireland's national broadcaster, as a guest of Gay Byrne.
In 2000, Mercier Press published O'Connell's biography, Just Billa, written by Michael O'Connor. His monologues were archived by the Cork City Library in 2012.
O'Connell has also been an entertainment manager for figures likes Eamon Kelly and Dermot O'Brien.

Personal

O'Connell was born in the Lough area of Cork city on Christmas Day, 1929. Beyond the stage, he spent 30 years working as a sales rep for Beamish and Crawford. He is married to former dancer, Nell Cotter, and is the grandfather of Irish academic, James O'Sullivan. He was a close friend of Jack Lynch, twice elected Taoiseach, and Paddy Comerford, a locally-famed performer.