Revealed: The true stories of a make up artist

A FORMER Southsider has written a new memoir that provides a fascinating look behind the cameras at life on film sets at home and abroad.

‘MADE UP – Tales of an Irish Make-Up Artist in Film’ also offers an insight into the almost non-existent Irish film industry in the early 1960s.

It was written by Toni Delany, originally from Blackrock and Ireland’s first female film make-up artist, who made up the faces (and bodies) of a veritable who’s who of international stars during her long and very successful career.

Among them were Oscar-winner Daniel Day Lewis, Richard Burton, Rod Steiger, Lee Marvin, Fred Astaire, Sean Connery, Martin Sheen, Vanessa Redgrave, Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Lee Remick, Emma Thompson and Rita Tushingham.

Her entertaining memoir was launched at a reception in the IADT, Dun Laoghaire by Donald Taylor Black, creative director, National Film School.

It was also attended by Annie Doona, director of IADT, and family, friends and former colleagues from the film industry.

In MADE UP, Toni writes about her involvement in the setting up of the technicians’ film union in Ireland.

A founder member of the new film section in ITGWU (now SIPTU) in the 1970s, formed from the Irish Film Workers Association, she remained involved in its committee work for many years. She was also a committee member of the Irish Film and Television Guild.

There are tales of Toni’s work on TV commercials, both at home and abroad, and her services were regularly called on for the pop promo videos for U2, Clannad, Depeche Mode and UB40, among others as well as for theatre productions in Dublin, London and Toronto.

In the mid-1990s, Toni Delany was invited to design and teach the first HETAC-approved film make-up course in Ireland at IADT, Dun Laoghaire and although now retired, still takes great delight in hearing about the successes of her past students, many of whom have gone on to win awards for their work in the film industry.

Graduates of the course have done straight make up and/or special prosthetics on many films including Braveheart, Saving Private Ryan, King Arthur, The Vikings, Albert Nobbs, The Hobbit, Apocalypto, Les Miserables, Mad Max, and for TV, the very popular The Tudors and Dr Who.

Now retired, Toni lives in Piltown, County Kilkenny.