Fitzhenry, Mrs. (d. 1790?)
Fitzhenry, Mrs. (d. 1790?)
Irish actress. Maiden name Flannigan; first name is unknown. Died around 1790; daughter of a man named Flannigan who managed the Ferry Boat tavern in Abbey Street, Dublin; married a Captain Gregory; married a man named Fitzhenry (a lawyer), around 1757; children: (second marriage) one son, one daughter.
Now lost, Mrs. Fitzhenry's first name was a casualty of the theatrical custom of dropping actresses' given names in favor of the title "Mrs." She worked as a seamstress before marrying Captain Gregory who operated a ship trading between Dublin and Bordeaux. Following the death of her husband by drowning, Mrs. Fitzhenry moved to London and appeared at Covent Garden (1754). Her theatrical reputation, however, was made at the Smock Alley Theater in Dublin. In 1757, she appeared once more at Covent Garden as Lady Macbeth (Gruoch ) and reprised the role of Hermione in The Distressed Mother. She married a lawyer by the name of Fitzhenry around the same year, and later gave birth to a daughter and a son. From 1759 to 1764, she appeared in Dublin in Shakespearean roles, as well as in the role of Calista in The Fair Pentitent. In 1765, she worked at the Drury Lane. In Ireland, her chief rival was Elizabeth Yates .