Des Rushe, who has died aged 88, was an influential theatre critic and columnist for the Irish Independent for 30 years. His daily column Tatler's Parade, written in a readable almost conversational style, articulated the values and concerns of the Independent's traditional readership.
However, his passion for the theatre shone through his reviews, which influenced the development of the theatre in Ireland from the 1960s to the 1990s, and it is for this work he will be best remembered.
Rushe was the newspaper's chief drama critic at a time when reviews and reviewers counted for more than they do today. Reviews appeared the morning after a show opened, and cast and public rushed to learn the verdicts of Des Rushe and his rival David Nowlan at The Irish Times. Both men were steeped in the theatre, and respected each other's judgments even when they disagreed.
Rushe was known for his concise accounts of what the play was about, and his measured judgments on the elements of the performance, whether he liked the play or not.
He showed this at an early stage when writing about a performance of Marat/Sade which won the 1972 AlI-Ireland Amateur Drama title for Strand Players. Rushe thoroughly disliked the play but could celebrate the fine performances that caused the adjudicator Iris Ballard to award the prize to the Sligo group, despite the bloody mayhem depicted on stage.
Rushe fully understood the point in Irish society where amateur drama and the professional stage intersected. As a young reporter working for the Westmeath Chronicle, he had witnessed the development of the Athlone amateur drama festival, and was captivated by the skills and energies of those participating.
Rushe saw the amateur and professional stage as part of a continuum, with the amateur stage delivering talents like those of the young John B Keane whom he championed.
National theatre
Ernest Blythe, who ran the Abbey Theatre until 1967, thought ne’er the twain should meet and turned down Keane’s early work as melodrama best suited for amateur production. Keane’s first big success
Sive
did not get a professional Abbey production for a quarter of a century after it was written. Some commentators believe that had Blythe listened to Rushe and others, and Keane’s work been produced by the national theatre earlier in his career, he might have reached greater heights.
In 1981, Rushe wrote Edmund Rice The Man and His Times, a biography of the Christian Brothers founder. His work often took him abroad, most notably for the funeral of John F Kennedy.
Desmond Rushe was the youngest of eight children, three girls and five boys. His father was a farmer in Elphin, Co Roscommon, and his mother a teacher. After attending Summerhill College in Sligo, he got a job on the Roscommon Herald. He then spent about eight years working at the Westmeath Examiner. He married Attracta Fallon in 1951, and joined the Irish Press around 1956. After two years he moved to the Irish Independent, and stayed there until retirement in 1993.
He was a handsome man, and kept fit by walking from his home in Drumcondra to the newspaper offices in Middle Abbey Street.
He is survived by his daughters Mary (O’Kane), Cathy (Mhlanga) Úna (Booth) and Aileen (Crowe), and his brother Seán. His wife Attracta died in 2010.