WATCH Meg Hennessy’s inspiring journey from Limerick Youth Theatre to Netflix screens

Actor Meg Hennessy returned to Limerick recently for a visit and spoke about her journey from local theatre to pursuing her dream in New York. Picture: Olena Oleksienko/ilovelimerick

Actor Meg Hennessy returned to Limerick recently for a visit and spoke about her journey from local theatre to pursuing her dream in New York

Talented actress and poet, Meg Hennessy returned to Limerick recently for a visit and spoke about her journey from local theatre to pursuing her dream in New York and experiencing success on Netflix.

Meg took the time to sit with Richard Lynch of ilovelimerick.com to share insights about her journey and her passion for acting.

“I couldn’t really imagine doing anything else,” Meg told Richard Lynch, “I think it’s very creative and it’s so immersive to become somebody completely different.”

Finding inspiration from movies such as Titanic, she found herself drawn to acting and other creative outlets from a young age.

Born in New York to Limerick parents, Meg moved home to Kildimo at a young age but never quite let go of her stateside beginnings.

Meg was destined for greatness from a young age as she was trained in speech and drama, followed by stints at the Limerick School of Acting and Centre Stage under the guidance of notable Limerick mentors like Nigel Mercier and Ritchie Ryan, she also took ballet with Alice Marshall.

“I was really lucky,” said Meg, continuing, “My parents were willing to drive me everywhere and take me to all the classes and everything, it was great. I joined Limerick Youth Theatre when I was 15, I think I was supposed to be 16, but I told a little white lie, so I was able to get in earlier.”

In 2016, budding Limerick actress Meg Hennessy decided to make the big move to New York in pursuit of a life in show business, and after five years working the off-broadway scene, she landed a debut role in the Netflix horror series, ‘Archive 81’.

She said the opportunity came up following four or five appearances in the off-broadway roles and the need to push on during the COVID Pandemic, “So there was no theatre at that time. I started submitting for more TV and film and doing more self-taping and I had just come back from Ireland for Christmas, I was staying with a friend in the city and an audition came in for an Irish girl in a Netflix horror series.”

“I said, ‘okay, I really, really want to book this’. So I just put heart and soul into it and I got very lucky,” said Meg.

The part in ‘Archive 81’ opened new doors for the young actor, including parts in films directed by Tony Goldwyn and Adam Brooks.

Next up is ‘Ezra’ directed by Tony Goldwyn and starring Robert DeNiro and Whoopi Goldberg.

Despite her stateside success, Hennessy remains deeply connected to her Limerick roots and she hopes to balance her career between New York and Ireland.

“The goal is to work as much in Ireland as I work in New York,” she told I Love Limerick, “Be kind of like transatlantic and come home for six months and then go over for six months.”

“That’s the goal anyway, because I’m over there so long now that I know a lot of people over there, but I’m trying to get to know a few people at home now at the moment, so just trying – It’s all about making friends,” she added.

From Limerick Youth Theatre to the screen of the biggest streaming platform in the world, all while taking to New York’s stages along the way, Meg’s story is an inspiration to young actors in Limerick and all of Ireland as the country experiences a great period in the film industry.

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