Irish comedian and actor (1957–2024)
Jonathan Kenny (28 September 1957 – 15 November 2024) was an Irish comedian and actor, best known as one half of the Irish comic duo D'Unbelievables with Pat Shortt. They were a successful duo until 2000, releasing "One Hell of a Video, D'Unbelievables, D'Video, D'Telly, D'Mother" and "D'collection" but the group stopped touring after Kenny was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Early life.
Jonathan Kenny was born in Hospital, County Limerick, on 28 September 1957. His mother's maiden name is Dirraine and his maternal grandparents came from Inishmore in the Aran Islands. He started his career in c. 1972, aged 15, performing with the Limerick band Gimik before switching to acting.
Career.
Kenny had dyslexia and never received formal training.
He played two characters in separate episodes of "Father Ted": Michael Cocheese in "The Passion of Saint Tibulus" and Fred Rickwood in "A Song for Europe". He later said that the famous protest scenes in the first episode were influenced by a priest he had known when he was a boy.
Kenny filmed a lead role in the independent Irish feature film "Insatiable", directed by Jessie Kirby. On his 2007 DVD, "Back to Front", Kenny said he played his first serious role in the film, the "nastiest man in Ireland".
Having taken a decade-long break from performing due to illness, Kenny returned to solo comedy in 2010 and continued to perform throughout Ireland with his one-man show. In the spring of 2007, Kenny released his first solo stand-up DVD "Back to Front".
Kenny hosted the theatre show "Mag Mell" with visual artist Des Dillon and musician and composers Benny McCarthy and Conal Ó Gráda from 2012 until 2014; creating its puppets, costumes and set.
Kenny portrayed the character Gerry in "The Banshees of Inisherin" in 2022. His last acting appearance was in "The Hurler: A Campion's Tale" in 2023, appearing as the main character hurler Gar Campion's coach and mentor.
Kenny, along with Shortt, as part of D'Unbelievables, won the Meteor Music Award in 2001 in the Best Selling Irish Video category for his work on "D'Mother". Kenny, along with castmates Kerry Condon, Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Barry Keoghan, Gary Lydon, Bríd Ní Neachtain and Pat Shortt, was nominated for the Gold Derby Award by the Gold Derby in the Best Ensemble category for his work on "The Banshees of Inisherin" in 2023. He was also nominated for the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Acting Ensemble in 2022 for his work on the film.
Kenny was also an accomplished singer, having performed with Sharon Shannon.
Personal life, illness and death.
Kenny married Marguerite in 1988 and the couple went on to have two children. He was a supporter of Munster Rugby.
Kenny was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2000 and received a stem cell transplant. He was fully treated in 2004. In 2011, Kenny underwent a triple heart bypass and suffered from heart failure afterwards. His cancer recurred in 2020 and he had lung surgery. From 2023, Kenny received chemotherapy after cancer was detected on his left lung. Additionally, he also underwent heart surgery.
On 15 November 2024, Kenny died aged 67 from heart failure and lung cancer at the Galway Clinic in Ireland. He had suffered from a heart attack on 10 November and never regained consciousness. He was buried at the Lough Gur Cemetery on 19 November, after a funeral at St Patrick's Church, Patrickswell.
References.
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