Talk:Maureen O'Hara

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Maureen O'Hara article.
Article policies
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography. For more information, visit the project page.
Biography Portal
Start This article has been rated as Start-Class on the project's quality scale. [FAQ]
This article is supported by the Arts and Entertainment work group.
Maintenance An appropriate infobox may need to be added to this article, or the current infobox may need to be updated. Please refer to the list of biography infoboxes for further information.
Ireland Portal
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Ireland, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to Ireland on Wikipedia. For more information, or to get involved, visit the project page.
Start This article has been rated as start-Class on the Project's quality scale.
(If you rated the article please give a short summary at comments to explain the ratings and/or to identify the strengths and weaknesses.)
Mid This article has been rated as mid-importance on the priority scale.
An image is requested for this article as its inclusion will substantially increase the significance of the article. Please remove the image-needed parameter once the image is added.

Contents

[edit] Hollywood's Golden Age Icons

Contemporaries of Maureen O'Hara during the "Golden" age of Hollywood were people like Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Rita Hayworth, Elizabeth Taylor, Greer Garson, Bete Davis etc. These ladies among others have lasted the test of time. Julie Andrews did not emerge on the silver screen until the 1960s well after the Golden Age of Hollywood. Julie Andrews is a special lady and certainly a screen luminary for her performance in The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins but is not a Legenday Hollywood star in the company of those contemporaries of Maureen O'Hara mentioned above. Although she is in the same class as say Garland or Striesand as a major musical talent.Vono 19:16, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] First marriage annulled

In order to marry her 2nd husband, she must have been divorced from her 1st husband. This is confirmed towards the end of the article. The reference to her 1st marriage being "later annulled" can therefore only refer to an internal Catholic Church process that has no civil legal status. This needs to be made clearer within the article. People often use the word "annulment" these days when what they're really talking about is a divorce. Let's not feed this confusion. JackofOz 06:57, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Irish American

Someone has mistakenly deleted this classification. I've restored it. Here are the facts in Miss O'Hara's own words as she accepted an American heritage award: "When I first came to the United States of America to become an American citizen you had to get your first papers, your second papers, and your final papers. The first time I applied they just went by and I heard nothing and then I spoke to the attorney and I said, "You know we've never heard from the Immigration Department." My application was lost, so I had to apply again.

By this time the first papers, second papers, and final papers system was gone, and you applied once and then you had to go and do a history exam and all that sort of thing, which I did and I passed. Then I went to a desk with a lady behind it and she said, "Put your hand up," and I did, and she said, "Now you're going to forswear allegiance to England." I said, "I'm terribly sorry, but I can't forswear an allegiance I don't have. I have no allegiance to England at all. I'm Irish," and she said, "Well, you better read these papers." So, she handed me all these papers that I had filled in and everywhere that I had put in former nationality: Irish, it was crossed out and England was printed in. I told her, "I'm terribly sorry, but I don't know who corrected these papers, but I'm Irish and I can't accept it."

She said, "Well then, you have to go before the judge," and I was sent before a judge in a courtroom that same day within about a half an hour of the incident and you were not allowed to have your lawyer with you, you were only allowed to have your 2 witnesses, the witnesses to your good character. They went into the courtroom with me and I appeared before this very nice looking judge and he wanted to know what the problem was and we discussed history, and we discussed all sorts of things, and he said, "well as far as I'm concerned, you're English." I said, "No. I cannot accept it. Under those circumstances I can't be an American citizen."

He called the clerk of the court and said, "Would you check with Washington what they consider her to be." So, he came back in and said, "Washington says she's English," and I said, "Your Honor, I'm very sorry, but I'm not responsible for your antiquated records in Washington. Thank you very much, but I can't accept citizenship under those conditions," and I turned to walk out and I thought, "Well, just before I go," you know we Irish, we always have to have the last word, I said, "I think I'll have one more crack at him."

So, I said, "Your Honor, do you realize what you are trying to do to my children and grandchildren?" He looked at me and I said, "You're trying to take away their *right* to boast about their wonderful Irish mother and grandmother!," and he threw his hands up in the air and he said, "Get that woman out of here! Give her anything she wants on her papers, just get her out of here!" I thanked him and I left the court.

This paper (Ms. O'Hara holds up her naturalization certificate) was official in January 1946 and it hit the newspapers, the story, somebody must have blabbed about it, I didn't. It was so important to me; it just made my heart happy. I didn't do it to get in the newspapers; I was in the newspapers every day, to do with movies. It was around June that it hit the newspapers and the 2 big newspapers in California, I'm not going to name who they were, said that it was a phony publicity stunt, that it never really happened.

But, so you know that it did happen, there is my citizenship paper and where it says former nationality, typed in is Irish and you can see that English was in there before and it has been erased. Then, because it is an official legal document, this is terribly important, it says, "I hereby certify that the erasure made on this certificate as to former nationality: Irish, was made before issuance to conform to the petition," and it was signed January 25, 1946 in the District Court of Los Angeles and I can't reads the signature. But, it was a wonderful judge who got sick of me and gave me permission, but the thing that is terribly important is that was the first time in the history of the United States of America that an Irish person was accepted and officially pronounced to be Irish and so this is a terribly important legal document and I'm very, very proud of it.

For an Irish woman, to shut-up speaking is a very difficult thing because we were born with the gift of the gab. I could tell you stories of Irish immigrants and other immigrants too that I admire who have made wonderful contributions not just to the United States of America, but to the entire world as we move around he world. Maybe one day, please God, we'll make all citizens of the world feel that they're one and the same. That we're all citizens of the world and that we make the world a more wonderful and better place.

I just want to thank you for the wonderful honor you gave me this evening and to congratulate the other recipients of the same award and please God, it will be a wonderful world from now on for all of us and that the Foundation will continue its wonderful work with immigrants, United States' immigrants, but don't forget the immigrants to the rest of the world. They're just as important to the rest of the world and the world hopefully will be one and we're all kind of immigrants in the world. Thank you and good evening." - Nunh-huh 20:56, 21 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Fluent in Irish?

She is fluent in Irish? What is that? Do you mean Gaelic? I'd be surprised if she was fluent in Gaelic, as few people are. But they speak English in Ireland, and to say she is fluent in Irish makes no sense. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.19.14.32 (talk) 19:05, 24 December 2006 (UTC).

It should read Gaelic. While it might not be so common today it certainly would have been for someone of Maureen O'Hara's age. This from someone who was taught by a nuns from ireland. Nodekeeper 10:28, 13 January 2007 (UTC)
The Irish Language is Gaelic however in Ireland it is rarely referred to as "Gaelic" and is called "Irish" the Irish language is alive and well and spoken in many parts of Ireland as a first language subsidised by the government these areas mostly in the West of Ireland Galway, Mayo and Donegal are called Gaeltacht areas and children and adults go to them to learn "Irish" - all signs are in Irish and English and in Belfast or Beal Feirste (in Irish) it has had a tremendous resurgence with Irish Language schools where Irish is taught as a first language and a Gaeltacht Quarter is planned for Belfast's Falls Road area. The Irish language is an official European language and protected through European, Irish and UK legislation the same as Scots Gaelic and Welsh. It is not unusual for people of Maureen O'Hara's age to be fluent in Irish or Gaelic if you prefer - but in Ireland the only people who refer to the language as Gaelic are foreigners - Tiocfaidh ár lá. 81.99.65.220 21:46, 9 March 2007 (UTC).
See Wikipedia Article Irish language many many people are fluent in Irish except perhaps the 5th and 6th generation Americans of Irish descent but the Irish language is alive and well in Ireland and ALL children in Ireland are taught it in school. Maureen O'Hara is the only Irish born actress to ever use it in any of her films (probably down to director John Ford who was fascinated by it and the fact that O'Hara could speak it. Even Irish-American singer Judy Garland recorded a song partially in the Irish language and learned it phonetically to sing it entirely in Irish at her Dublin concerts in 1951.Vono 13:09, 12 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Brothers

Someone changed the content to "Munier is a baller". I can't find how to revert it. 128.112.224.198 02:36, 15 April 2007 (UTC) I am currently a resident of Manchester {UK}; & it would mean a great deal, if anyone could tell me; out of her brothers, did any; if any; serve in the "King's Own" regiment, during WW2; my grandfather did; & later became a "CHINDIT"; & his name was Cliff R. Winterbottom; & my name is, Simon Jon W.

Neither of O'Hara's brothers served in in the King's Own or any other regiment during WW2 - her 2 brothers Charles and James had careers in Hollywood - both brothers had roles in the Quiet Man film and Charles became a noted producer whilst James appeared in minor acting roles - both brothers are now deceased they were never in military service in either Ireland, England or the USA. 81.99.65.220 12:57, 21 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Rewrite required

This page needs a rewrite to bring it up to encyclopaedic standard. It reads far too much like a tribute at the moment. I wish people who wanted to produce fan pages would produce them in an appropriate place rather than using Wikipedia. Smurfmeister (talk) 11:44, 17 January 2008 (UTC)