McKenna left education and worked in banking for the next six years at the Ulster Bank, but he was always keen to pursue an acting career. McKenna reflected on this period of his life “Before I left St.Pat’s one strange and amazing thing happened. The vice president came into the class and said: ‘The manager of the Ulster Bank in Cavan has written to me looking for young recruits for the bank. They need staff very badly and there’s a great future in it.’ … So I went to Belfast to do the bank exams and, for good or ill, I was called to the bank at the end of May that year. This came as an enormous relief to me. I was going to use the bank for a year or two and then I would become an actor.[1]”
After he was posted to work in Dublin he joined the Rathmines and Rathgar Operatic Society and also became a member of the Dublin Shakespeare Society where he would take roles under the name of Ralph McKenna (his father’s name). In 1953 the bank posted him to the remote town of Killeshandra in an attempt to prevent his acting activities. “Killeshandra had one weekly bus in, one weekly bus out, plus a creamery and a convent. I couldn’t face that and resigned.[2]”He made his stage debut in the role of John Buchanan in a production of Tennessee Williams’ Summer and Smoke in 1954. This was followed a season of Shakespeare plays at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin and membership of the Gas Theatre Company which led to his earliest film appearances. In 1956 McKenna married May White. They would have five children including the actors Breffni McKenna and Kilian McKenna as well as boys Ralph and Stephen and daughter Sally. May passed away in 2007.
Between 1954 and 1962 he was a member of the repertory company attached to the Abbey Theatre, Ireland’s leading stage institution based in Dublin. During this time he took on over seventy different roles starting with small walk on parts and eventually in principal roles. His film debut was in the tiny role of Holmes in Broth of a Boy (1959), a film produced in Ireland with a largely Irish cast. The plot featured a British TV producer on holiday in Ireland where he comes across the world’s oldest man and plans to make a documentary about him. This was quickly followed by another small role as a young man at a dance in Home Is the Hero (1959) another Irish based film production. The cast was made up of the Irish Abbey Theatre Company of which McKenna was a member. McKenna also has a blink and you’ll miss him role in the James Cagney starring movie Shake Hands with the Devil (1959), a thriller set in Ireland during the 1920s dealing with the origins of the IRA. The para-military organisation also featured as part of the plot of McKenna’s next screen outing, The Night Fighters (1960) AKA A Terrible Beauty, in which he featured once more in an uncredited role. He then had a small uncredited appearance in Das schwarze Schaf (1960), a German film version of Father Brown, the detective priest created by G K Chesterton. Some of the location shooting took place in Ireland and McKenna was given the chance to appear in small uncredited role.
However his next film credit, the classic 60s drama The Siege of Sidney Street (1960), saw him gain tenth billing against a cast list that also boasted Donald Sinden, Kieron Moore and Peter Wyngarde. The quota quickie Butchers Brothers production Freedom to Die (1961) also placed McKenna high in the cast order as the character Mike in a brisk crime thriller. His final film role of 1961 was a small role as an Irish Garda (policeman) in the offbeat Johnny Nobody (1961) which starred Nigel Patrick who also directed. McKenna was also one of many familiar faces in a sea of British and Irish character actors in the Irish prison drama The Quare Fellow (1962), adapted from the play by Brendan Behan.
McKenna came to England to appear in the play Stephen D adapted by Hugh Leonard from the James Joyce story. The play had debuted at the Dublin theatre festival before moving to St Martin’s theatre in London during January 1963. TV soon beckoned with McKenna making his debut in the BBC Sunday Night Play edition 'The Fly Sham' (19th May 1963) playing the role of Philip. The cast also included Dudley Sutton and Donal Donnelly. McKenna recalled how he was cast: “The play (Stephen D) was such an enormous success in London, it was startling. The offers literally came pouring in. One of the co-originators of Z Cars, John McGrath, approached me with the script of Tom Murphy’s The Fly Sham. It interested me a lot and Donal Donnelly had a big part. When I saw the credits go up on the screen, I got the shock of my life, because I was co-starring in it. That was my first television play for the BBC and it established a marvellous precedent, with fees and so on. You could only go up after that.[3]”
This was followed by the First Night episode 'The Strain' (22nd September 1963), a Liverpool set gangland thriller which featured McKenna in a cast headed by Peter Vaughan and Ray Barrett. Television audiences on 30th October 1963 simply couldn’t avoid seeing McKenna as he appeared on the BBC and also on ITV. His BBC job was in a play in the drama anthology series Festival based on the hit stage play Stephen D. For ITV he had a guest role in another anthology series, Espionage. McKenna played Tom Gorman in the episode 'He Rises on Sunday and We on Monday', a tale set on the eve of the Easter Rising in Ireland. After this initial burst of television work McKenna continued to carve a solid career in the medium the following year, though this was supplemented by film and stage work. McKenna had no real plan as he later explained “I was taking every part that came along, instead of turning them down.[4]” This lack of quality control would occasionally lead to clashes, an example being when he accepted a role in The Avengers and was scheduled to start on the film Dr Zhivago three weeks later. However, the filming on Zhivago was bought forward by three weeks and McKenna found himself unable to get out of his television commitment.
1965 saw him make many more television appearances starting with the Dixon of Dock Green instalment 'Edward the Confessor' (9th January 1965) and continuing with the role of Dave Allen in 'The Link' (8th February 1965), part of the Associated-Rediffusion cop series No Hiding Place. Next was 'The Bachelors' (1st April 1965), for drama anthology Story Parade, and RTE[5] single play Deirdre which was transmitted on BBC2 on 12th August 1965 after a screening in Ireland in June. Five days later he made the first of two appearances in the series Love Story with the main role of Stevie Ellis in 'Toccata for Toy Trumpet' (17th August 1965). Barely a month later he made his second Love Story episode for the year, 'Give My Love to the Pilchards' (21st September 1965), in the supporting role of Pat. 'Death at Bargain Prices' (1965) was the second of three episodes of The Avengers that McKenna appeared in. Andre Morrell, who had played Quatermass in the TV version of Quatermass and the Pit, also appeared. McKenna played Wentworth, a department store manager who has an unusual line of customer service.
Apart from the above roles McKenna also appeared as a guest star in a couple of episodes of on-going series; The Sullavan Brothers episode 'The Humanist' (25th September 1965), which saw him guesting opposite leading man Anthony Bate, and opposite Patrick McGoohan in the Danger Man episode 'To Our Best Friend' (1965). His only film role for the year was in Young Cassidy (1965), a big budget Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer drama starring Rod Taylor, Maggie Smith and Julie Christie. The project had been started with legendary director John Ford, but he fell ill soon after production commenced and so was replaced by Jack Cardiff. All of McKenna’s scenes were made under Ford’s direction.
McKenna made only two television screen appearances during 1966 guesting in the Mogul story 'This Is Where I Came In' (28th May 1966) and The Saint episode 'The Angel’s Eye' (1966). The next year was much busier with the role of Buck Mulligan in a film version of James Joyce’s novel Ulysses topping off several television credits. He was the suave Jason Lang, villain of the week, in the Adam Adamant Lives! story 'A Sinister Sort of Service' (25th March 1967) directed by his old colleague Laurence Bourne, Jerry in 'The Winner' (8th May 1967) for the BBC drama anthology Theatre 625, Mena Donelli in the Armchair Theatre production 'Quite an Ordinary Knife' (15th July 1967), Drag Anglem in 'No Cage for This Bird' (21st July 1967), an episode The Fellows, and Peter in the Main in a Suitcase instalment 'Day of Execution' (1967). He also found time to headline 'A Crucial Week in the Life of a Grocer’s Assistant' (22nd March 1967) for BBC’s The Wednesday Play.
His next cinema role was as W H Russell in The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) and later discussed his casting: “I was filming an Armchair Theatre play for ABC in London when I was called from the set to take a call from my agent. He’d just got a message from Woodfall Films. Could I leave for Turkey in a few days’ time? I was to record an O’Casey commentary for a documentary film the next morning and the following week I was to begin work in the lead part in a new play by Maggie Ross called The Cupboard for the BBC.[6]” The part was originally offered to playwright John Osbourne who had supplied the original script for the film. However a dispute played out following a rewrite of the film’s script and so Osbourne declined the role.
The film would be McKenna’s only film work for the year with the majority of his screen work concentrating on television offers. Appearances in the medium included 'Born Victim' (5th July 1968), an episode of BBC the anthology series Detective, two instalments of the anthology programme Love Story as different characters – 'The Egg on the Face of the Tiger' (27th June 1968) and 'A Man Alone' (25th July 1968). Both episodes are notable as they were directed by John Nelson Burke who would later cast McKenna in the Beasts episode 'Baby'. Further TV credits for the year include the half hour one off BBC play Combination (26th August 1968), The Saint story 'Legacy for the Saint' (1968) and The Avengers episode 'Noon-Doomsday' (1968). 1969 was a quieter year with TV appearances in another episode of Dr Finlay’s Casebook, 'Action, Dr Cameron' (3rd August 1969), an uncredited voice only role in the Randall and Hopkirk episode 'Money to Burn' (1969) and the Wednesday Play edition 'Blood of the Lamb' (3rd December 1969) as well as the costume drama movie Anne of the Thousand Days (1969).
His first TV credit for the new decade was in 'Break-Up' (9th January 1970), an episode of the World War Two drama Manhunt. This was followed by a BBC Play of the Month – 'The Rivals' (17th May 1970) with McKenna in the role of Sir Lucius O’Trigger. This would be his only TV work for a couple of years as he started a run of film appearances. Film wise he was in the comedy crime caper Perfect Friday (1970) and the Italian war film The Fifth Day of Peace (1970). He carried out his film commitments during the day and by night he was appearing in the play The Contractor at the Royal Court Theatre for director Lindsay Anderson. McKenna reflected on this busy period and making Perfect Friday: “I’d get up at 6:30 in the mornings to drive to the studio. Some of my scenes were filmed in a roofed-in set like a glass box, with me in one office and Stanley Baker in another. The temperature would reach 110 degrees and by the end of the day my shirt would be wringing wet. Then at 6pm I’d drive back to London to be on stage at the Royal Court at 7:30.[7]”
Cinema work continued the following year with Percy (1971), as a compere, and horror film The Beast in the Cellar (1971) as policeman Detective Chief Inspector Paddick. More fondly recalled was his appearances in the Richard Burton film Villain (1971), which also featured the actor Del Henney in the cast. Henney would also appear in McKenna’s other film of the year, the controversial Straw Dogs (1971) which was highlighted in several of McKenna’s obituaries on his passing. On TV he appeared in the BBC Play of the Month production 'Rasputin' (24th October 1971) which starred Robert Stephens in the title role. The highlight of McKenna’s theatrical work was Exiles, the only stage play written by James Joyce, staged at Aldwych Theatre for the Royal Shakespeare Company. The director was Harold Pinter who cast McKenna along with his co-stars John Wood and Vivien Merchant.
Throughout the Sixties McKenna and his family lived in Dublin with the actor commuting to England when acting roles required. This changed in 1972 when McKenna and his family moved to London. The year was one of television work with a guest appearance in the Jason King episode 'A Thin Band of Air' (3rd March 1972) and a recurring role as the maverick Russian agent Richmond in the fourth and final season of the gritty Edward Woodward espionage thriller series Callan. The episode 'Call Me Enemy' is particularly effective with Callan and Richmond holed up in a safe house locked in a verbal duel with each other. McKenna also took the role of The Cardinal in the BBC play The Duchess of Malfi (10th October 1972) based on the play by John Webster. On to 1973 and A Warm December (1973) was a romantic drama film directed by and starring Sidney Poitier. McKenna filmed several scenes for the film, but the producers decided to cut a whole subplot resulting in McKenna’s role being completely missing from the released film. Television work included 'Conspiracy' (9th February 1973) for the series Justice and appearing opposite Mary Peach in the Anglia produced play Fixation (17th December 1973). He also narrated the Omnibus documentary 'The British Hero' (7th October 1973) which took a humorous look at how the depiction of heroes has changed over the years.
McKenna supported Stanley Baker, Helen Mirren and Brian Cox in his final BBC Play of the Month appearance, 'The Changeling' (20th January 1974). He then appeared as the character Barras in five episodes of the biographical drama Napoleon and Love (5th March – 30th April 1974). During the run of this series McKenna could also be seen in 'Geography of a Horse Dreamer' (31st March 1974), an episode of the ITV Sunday Night Theatre strand. He was a guest star in the Fall of Eagles episode 'Indian Summer of an Emperor' (17th May 1974) and appeared in 'Pygmalion Smith' (25th June 1974), a comedy pilot written by the creator of Last of the Summer Wine, Roy Clarke, for the series Comedy Playhouse. He had a small role in Percy’s Progress (1974), a sequel to Percy, which had featured McKenna in a different role. Back on the small screen he was a guest star in the Father Brown episode 'The Dagger with Wings' (7th November 1974). Along with Trevor Howard and Peter Madden he was one of three narrators for the film Cause for Concern (1974).
By now McKenna had become ubiquitous on the small screen and his credits for 1975 and 1976 perfectly illustrate this. Guest roles included episodes of The Venturers, classic The Sweeney storyline 'Night Out' (6th February 1975), Churchill’s People, Rooms, Looking for Clancy, Quiller, The Mind Beyond production 'Stones' (27th October 1976) and two episodes of Thriller. His role as Dick Pummery in 'Baby' came at the end of this two year block of activity, though he was equally as active during the rest of the decade. Highlights from this period include appearing in the RTE production A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1977) based on the James Joyce novel, a guest star spot as Sarkoff in the Blake’s 7 tale 'Bounty' (13th March 1978) and the American mini-series Holocaust (1978) as an SS officer. Cinema work for this period included short film Exposure (1978), The Outside (1979) and the David Essex vehicle Silver Dream Racer (1980).
McKenna supported Stanley Baker, Helen Mirren and Brian Cox in his final BBC Play of the Month appearance, 'The Changeling' (20th January 1974). He then appeared as the character Barras in five episodes of the biographical drama Napoleon and Love (5th March – 30th April 1974). During the run of this series McKenna could also be seen in 'Geography of a Horse Dreamer' (31st March 1974), an episode of the ITV Sunday Night Theatre strand. He was a guest star in the Fall of Eagles episode 'Indian Summer of an Emperor' (17th May 1974) and appeared in 'Pygmalion Smith' (25th June 1974), a comedy pilot written by the creator of Last of the Summer Wine, Roy Clarke, for the series Comedy Playhouse. He had a small role in Percy’s Progress (1974), a sequel to Percy, which had featured McKenna in a different role. Back on the small screen he was a guest star in the Father Brown episode 'The Dagger with Wings' (7th November 1974). Along with Trevor Howard and Peter Madden he was one of three narrators for the film Cause for Concern (1974).
The 1980s saw him continuously busy with many TV credits and the occasional film role. Notable small screen roles included the austere 'Crimes' (13th April 1982), an episode of sci-fi tinged BBC anthology Play for Tomorrow. He was oddly cast as top Nazi Heinrich Himmler in The Scarlet and the Black (1983), an ITC TV movie headlined by Gregory Peck. The BBC faithfully adapted Virginia Woolf’s novel To the Lighthouse (23rd March 1983) with McKenna amongst a star-studded cast which also included Kenneth Branagh, Michael Hough and Rosemary Harris. McKenna’s ability for twinkle in the eye comedy was ably exploited in the Minder instalment 'Sorry Pal Wrong Numbe'” (1st February 1984) as the con artist J J Mooney. Film work for the first half of the 1980s took in Lindsay Anderson’s pitch black satire Britannia Hospital (1982) in a role as a surgeon, Peter Ustinov directed Memed My Hawk (1984) and the horror film The Doctor and the Devils (1985) directed by Freddie Francis and based on an unmade screenplay by Dylan Thomas. Notable TV credits for the latter half of the 1980s included the recurring role of Oscar Randolph in the second season of All in Good Faith (1987) supporting Richard Briers comedy vicar, the Michael Caine starring mini-series Jack the Ripper (1988) and the character of The Captain in the Sylvester McCoy era Doctor Who adventure 'The Greatest Show in the Galaxy' (1989). He also appeared in the American action film Red Scorpion (1988) as a Russian army General Oleg Vortek.
As McKenna entered his autumnal years he took on roles as establishment figures such as Sir John Herman, the chief of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, in controversial drama Shoot To Kill[8] (1990), Judge Selwyn on the Screen Two production 'The Law Lord' (22nd March 1992), British prime minister David Lloyd George in the Turkish TV mini-series Kurtulus (1994) and the Irish prime minister in 'Innocent Passage' (4th January 1998), an episode of the drama series The Ambassador. He was meant to be seen in Carry on Columbus (1992) as the Archbishop of Canterbury, but his role was cut from the released film.
In the last decade of his life he continued to be extremely active on screen with television with appearances in episodes of Inspector Morse, Longitude, The Bill, Ballykissangel and Waking the Dead. His final film roles came with Monarch (2000), the part of Black Rod in The Libertine (2004) and the short film Death’s Door (2009). He also played Father Tom Mitchell in several episodes of the Irish television soap opera Fair City during 2004 and 2005.
In the last decade of his life he continued to be extremely active on screen with television with appearances in episodes of Inspector Morse, Longitude, The Bill, Ballykissangel and Waking the Dead. His final film roles came with Monarch (2000), the part of Black Rod in The Libertine (2004) and the short film Death’s Door (2009). He also played Father Tom Mitchell in several episodes of the Irish television soap opera Fair City during 2004 and 2005.
T P McKenna died on 13th February 2011 at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, London. He was 81 years old. He was buried alongside his wife in his native County Cavan. Ireland’s Culture Minister, Mary Hanafin, said McKenna had “talents on the screen and stage both at home and abroad that gave us great pride in his accomplishments.” He is commemorated in County Cavan with the T P McKenna Drama Scholarship and the T P McKenna Perpetual Trophy which are presented annually as part of the Millrace Drama Festival.
[2] TP McKenna quoted on the website http://tpmckabbey.blogspot.com/ (accessed 16th March 2009)
Many thanks to Stephen McKenna for his input in compiling this profile. Stephen is the editor of tpmckenna.co.uk which is dedicated to preserving the legacy of his father's life and career. He also runs a Youtube channel dedicated to T P located at https://www.youtube.com/@t.p.mckenna/videos
[1] TP McKenna quoted on the website
http://tpmckabbey.blogspot.com/ (accessed 16th March 2009)
[3] Quoted on http://tpmckenmidii.blogspot.com/ (accessed 16th March 2019)
[4] “I’m At My Best When My Back’s To The Wall” interview with McKenna by Deidre Purcell, Sunday Tribune, 29th March 1987, page 17
[5] Raidio Teilifis Eireann
[6] Quoted on http://tpmckenmidii.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-08-10T08:00:00-07:00&max-results=40 (accessed 16th March 2019)
[7] Quoted on http://tpmckenmidii.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-08-09T01:59:00-07:00&max-results=40&start=22&by-date=false (accessed 16th March 2019)
[8] The programme dramatized the events in Northern Ireland that led to the Stalker inquiry. The cast also included McKenna’s son Breffni McKenna
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