Hello, I'm Dorothy Clarke

Hello, I'm Dorothy Clarke - Episode 9

Hello, I'm Dorothy Clarke

Show Notes

In the early 1970s, Dorothy’s rise through Ireland’s theatre scene takes a dramatic turn, from winning the Best Actress award while secretly pregnant, to stepping into the professional stage. But what follows is far from ordinary. Cast in The Shadow of a Gunman by Sean O’Casey, she finds herself performing in Dún Laoghaire during one of the most tense moments in Irish history- the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. After a bombing devastates the city, the production is shaken again by chilling ...

More from Hello, I'm Dorothy Clarke

Oct 4, 2026

Dorothy takes us back to Dublin's golden age, when on a ticket at the Theatre Royal, you got dancers, a star, a sing-along and a movie for about one and sixpence. Judy Garland and Danny Kaye both played there. She takes us on a nostalgic stroll through the places that shaped her life: the Royal and the Capital, summer evenings at the Phoenix Park Racecourse, Woolworths and Findlater's and the ice cream parlours of O'Connell Street. Along the way there's a star who refused to leave...

Sep 6, 2026

Hello again, it's Dorothy! This week's story starts with a lovely surprise in the newspaper - an ad for Aer Lingus's 90th birthday - and the realisation that she and the airline arrived in the world the very same year: they in business, she in living. That sets off a string of memories: her first-ever flight to London in her early twenties, and the day Aer Lingus carried her and her new husband off to Paris on their wedding day, trailing confetti down the aisle the whole way. Just...

Aug 9, 2026

Dorothy is back after a bit of a summer break, with a story about Thomas Street in Dublin's Liberties - a street with deep family ties, where both her mother and her aunt May once ran shops. Now the amazing Betty Bojangles. She remembers the tenement families who were rehoused out to Ballyfermot, Ballymun and beyond, and what was lost when they left. Then she takes us inside number 77, her Aunty May's old shop, now brought back to life by its new owners for a night full of stories, laug...

Jun 7, 2026

In this episode, Dorothy shares an incredible story from her time living in sunny Spain. What started as a spontaneous choice to book a budget £199 seven-day cruise on a whim in Gibraltar turned into the ultimate luxury vacation! Due to a lucky overbooking, Dorothy and her friend were bumped up to a massive luxury suite. But the adventure didn't stop there. Tune in to hear Dorothy recount: Popping duty-free champagne with new friends in Marseilles. Getting invited to the Captain's...

Jun 3, 2026

In this episode, Dorothy reflects on a hidden chapter of family life in 1970's Ireland. Following a quiet request from a compassionate Dublin priest, she and Noel opened their home and their hearts to several vulnerable young women from rural Ireland who had nowhere else to turn. It is a deeply personal reflection on family, empathy, the heartbreaking realities of the era, and the quiet lifelines thrown to those in need.

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