Many tributes were paid to Maureen Potter, actress and comedienne, who died yesterday at her home in Dublin at the age of 79.
Leading the tributes was President McAleese, who said: "Every Irish person will mourn the loss of Maureen, an icon in our entertainment industry and a quintessential part of Dublin over so many years of service. Her brilliance, her sparkle and her personality will be missed throughout Ireland."
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said: "Maureen Potter's long and distinguished career in the theatre is unparalleled. Her performances were shaped by her innate sense of Dublin wit and comic timing, and her dedication and professionalism to the theatre is widely acknowledged."
The Tánaiste, Ms Harney, said: "Maureen was one of our great theatrical treasures and her passing truly marks the end of an era."
The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Mr O'Donoghue, said: "Although perhaps more popularly known as a comedienne, who captured in a very unique way the essential humour and wit of her native city of Dublin, Maureen Potter had a long and distinguished career as a theatre actress."
Mr John Costigan, executive director of the Gaiety, said there was "a very sombre atmosphere" at the Gaiety yesterday, particularly among the older members of staff. "Maureen was the actress most synonymous with this theatre, and that's something that will probably never happen again. This was her second home."
Actress Rosaleen Linehan, a friend who worked with Potter on several occasions, said: "She was 75 years entertaining us, never stinting us, always at her best for us, always tickling us, amazing us, making magic for generations of us, in sickness and in health making us laugh at ourselves and the funny-sad world we live in."
"She was so genuinely humble," said playwright Hugh Leonard, whose play Moving, Potter appeared in in the Abbey in 1992; her only appearance on the Abbey stage. "Maureen, myself and Gay Byrne were all getting doctorates together from Trinity on the same day, and when the photographers turned up, there was Mr Byrne and myself looking very po-faced and proper and mindful of the reverence of the occasion. And there was Maureen with her tongue sticking out!"
Speaking from the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, Joe Dowling, who directed Potter in her acclaimed first "straight" role in the 1986 Gate production of Juno and the Paycock, said; "She could talk to everyone, from royalty to someone in the street who recognised her. I remember when she was being photographed by Lord Snowdon for some British magazine when she was in the Abbey and everyone was a little stiff. At lunch, Maureen told some rather filthy rhymes and the ice was instantly broken. She could have been a huge international star, but she chose to stay at home."
"She was so unpretentious," said Michael Colgan, director of the Gate Theatre. "A small woman with a magnificent huge talent and a huge heart."
"Her comedy was never shallow," commented Tony O'Dalaigh, former director of the Dublin Theatre Festival. "It was always shot through with great humanity. She was the funniest woman in Ireland and she never had any airs or graces."
