Richard Daly facts for kids

Richard Daly (1758–1813) was an Irish actor and theater manager. Between 1786 and 1797, he had a special permission from the King to put on plays in Dublin. He became so important in Irish theater that people called him "King Daly."

Early Life and Education

Richard Daly was born in County Westmeath in 1758. He was the third son of Joseph and Frances Daly, who lived at Castle Daly near Athlone. His family had owned the castle and land for a long time.

Daly went to Trinity College, Dublin, when he was fifteen. He was a very energetic student and sometimes got into trouble. One writer, John O'Keeffe, remembered that Daly was "the terror of all public places." O'Keeffe saw Daly and other students push their way backstage at the Smock Alley Theatre, which scared an actress named Jane Pope.

Another person from his time at Trinity College, Sir Jonah Barrington, said Daly was very competitive. Daly even challenged Barrington to a contest before they had ever spoken. Barrington said Daly was involved in many such challenges during his two years at Trinity.

Daly left Trinity College in 1776 and lived in London until 1779. He studied law there at the Middle Temple. Some people said he left Dublin because of a serious incident, but Daly later said these claims were false. In London, he met the famous Irish actor Charles Macklin, who encouraged Daly to try acting. Daly first performed as Othello at Covent Garden in March 1779. His first show was not very popular, but his next one was a success. Soon after, he returned to Ireland with other actors.

Starting His Theater Career

Daly made his first Dublin stage appearance in May 1779. He acted at the Crow Street Theatre in a play called The Provok'd Husband. He performed with Mrs. Crawford, who had inherited the theater.

Soon after, Daly married a beautiful and popular actress named Jenny Barsanti. She was the daughter of the musician Francesco Barsanti. Jenny had already been a successful actress at Covent Garden. She was also the first actress to play Lydia Languish in Sheridan's The Rivals.

Mrs. Daly immediately started teaching her new husband about acting. She helped him become a good actor. The couple first performed together in November 1779. They appeared in All in the Wrong at the Crow Street Theatre. They also acted in other plays like The Inconstant and The School for Scandal.

These plays were put on by Thomas Ryder, who managed both the Crow Street Theatre and the Smock Alley Theatre. Smock Alley was empty, but Ryder kept it so no one else could use it. To save money, Ryder gave up the Smock Alley lease. Unknown to Ryder, Daly had already talked to the landlord. Daly agreed to pay Ryder's old debts if he could take over Smock Alley. Daly then convinced Ryder's best actors to join his new company at Smock Alley.

Managing Smock Alley Theatre

Early Successes

Daly reopened the newly decorated Smock Alley Theatre in November 1780. The first show included a special introduction and then a comedy called The West Indian. Daly and his wife acted in the first two parts of the show. A week later, they performed in The School for Scandal. A newspaper critic said Daly's performance was "all the Author intended or the Audience could wish."

The next month, the couple performed in the first Irish show of The Belle's Stratagem. This play had been a big hit in London. Daly put it on "with magnificence not at all inferior to Covent Garden."

Daly's theater quickly became successful. He had the best actors in Ireland and brought in famous London stars. He also put on popular plays as soon as they became hits in London. To make shows more interesting, he sometimes had men play women's parts and women play men's parts in comedies. However, his wife refused to wear men's clothes when she played male roles.

Some early members of his acting company included Sarah Hitchcock and her husband Robert. Robert Hitchcock later became the theater's historian. He helped Daly hire other actors, including John Philip Kemble, who first played Hamlet for Daly in 1781. Kemble's performance as Hamlet was very popular.

In 1782, Elizabeth Inchbald performed for Daly. In 1783, he brought Elizabeth Fitzhenry out of retirement for a few shows. In February 1783, Daly went to London and hired Sarah Siddons for several shows that summer. She performed at Smock Alley with her brother John Kemble and sister Elizabeth Whitlock. The theater was "crowded to suffocation" to see Siddons. Her shows were so successful that Daly hired her again for the next season. In 1784, he also hired other famous actors like John Henderson and Alexander Pope.

Opera Productions

In 1783, Daly started adding big opera shows to his theater's schedule. Giusto Fernando Tenducci performed in Thomas Arne's Artaxerxes. In January 1784, Tenducci and Elizabeth Billington sang the main roles in Christoph Gluck's Orpheus and Eurydice. These shows received "uncommon bursts of applause" from large audiences. The stage scenery was new and impressive, designed by the painter Thomas Walmsley. The scenery and costumes cost Daly £1,200. A newspaper praised Daly for being generous and wanting to please the public.

Working with Robert Jephson

In February 1783, Daly put on the first show of Robert Houlton's comic opera The Contract. In 1783 and 1784, he also showed the first performances of Robert Jephson's plays, The Hotel and The Campaign. Jephson was not only a playwright but also a member of the Irish House of Commons. He held important positions in the government, which helped Daly connect with officials at Dublin Castle.

More Music and Charles Macklin

In 1785, Daly hired the composer Charles Dibdin to write music for his shows. He also convinced his old mentor, Charles Macklin, who was about 86 years old, to perform at Smock Alley. Daly agreed to pay Macklin £50 per night, which was a lot of money back then.

Macklin's time at Smock Alley was not always smooth. During a rehearsal, Macklin criticized Daly's acting so harshly that Daly quit the role. Another actor, William Macready the Elder, took over and became very successful. Despite this, Macklin's own performances were very popular. The Dublin Evening Post said Daly was "honoured with a much larger share of public favour" than any other manager.

Becoming "King Daly"

Daly's popular shows at Smock Alley caused other theaters to lose audiences. In 1782, Thomas Ryder stopped managing theaters and joined Daly's acting company. In 1783, Mrs. Crawford sold her theater to Daly. She received money for life and also performed at Smock Alley.

By 1785, Daly controlled theaters in Cork, Limerick, Newry, and Drogheda. He sent touring groups from his Dublin company to perform in these cities. He also controlled the Opera House in Dublin's Capel Street. From 1785, Daly hired Tommaso Giordani as his music composer.

Daly's strong position in Irish theater led people to call him "His Majesty of Smock Alley," "the Monarch," and "King Daly." In November 1786, he received a special permission from the King to put on plays in Dublin for the next fourteen years. This permission gave him the exclusive right to stage plays in the city. It also made him the Deputy Master of the Revels in Ireland, a role that oversaw public entertainment.

Daly's close relationship with the Duke of Rutland, who was the Viceroy of Ireland, may have helped him get this special permission. The Duke was grateful for Daly's help when he was booed at the theater.

Moving to Crow Street

At the end of 1787, Daly closed the Smock Alley Theatre and sold it in 1789. He moved his Dublin shows to the Crow Street playhouse. He spent over £12,000 to renovate it, hiring many workers. The theater got a new, taller roof and a new layout, similar to famous London theaters. This made the theater feel bright and spacious.

When the renovated theater, now called the Theatre Royal, opened on January 18, 1788, Daly gave a speech. He said he had worked hard and risked everything for this new theater. He hoped for public support, saying, "Should I succeed – 'tis due to your applause; And if I fail – 'tis in the public's cause."

Challenges and Difficulties

Rival Theaters

When Daly started his own company in 1780, actor Robert Owenson joined him. They later had a disagreement. Owenson opened his own theater, The City Theatre, in December 1784.

When Daly got his special permission from the King, Owenson's theater lost its license. Owenson tried to get money from Daly for his losses. They agreed that Daly would pay Owenson £300 a year for ten years, as long as no paid actors performed at The City Theatre.

In 1788, Philip Astley received permission to put on horse shows, music, dancing, and pantomimes in Dublin. Daly tried to stop this, claiming his own permission gave him a monopoly on all entertainment. He failed, and Astley's Amphitheatre opened in January 1789.

Legal Problems

Daly had also added variety acts to his shows, like rope-dancing and even "dancing dogs." These acts were not always popular and some people thought they lowered the quality of theater. When Astley's shows went beyond his permission, Daly successfully sued him.

In 1788, Daly sued a lottery ticket seller who did not pay him for winning tickets. This led to a conflict with John Magee, a newspaper publisher and lottery broker. Magee started publishing accusations against Daly, claiming he was involved in a "swindle."

Magee's claims became very extreme. He also insulted Daly's actors in print, calling them "cast-offs" and "refuse." After these remarks, there were often noisy disturbances in the theater, which people suspected were caused by Magee's hired people.

These problems affected theater attendance. People were worried about violence and disapproved of the accusations against Daly. It also became hard for Daly to hire actors because they feared Magee would spread rumors about them. Still, when Daly had a strong cast, many people would come to the theater.

Daly sued Magee for libel in June 1789, claiming his reputation and business were harmed. He asked for £4,000 in damages. Magee was unable to pay a required bail amount and was put in prison. This caused a big debate in the Irish government about the legality of requiring bail in such cases. The public paid a lot of attention to these events.

Daly's libel case went to trial in July 1790. He was seeking £8,000 in damages. Although Daly won the case, the jury only awarded him £200 in damages.

Later Career and Retirement

Time Away from Performing

The legal case with Magee caused Daly a lot of stress, and he and his wife did not perform on stage between June 1789 and January 1793. During this time, Daly continued to hire many popular actors and singers.

To compete with Astley's shows, Daly added more variety to the Theatre Royal's performances. He introduced elaborate ballets and big spectacles, like a show about the storming of the Bastille. He also had novelty acts, such as the Chevalier d'Eon showing off their fencing skills.

Some people thought these new acts, like the "dancing dogs," were not good for serious theater. In 1793, a group of wealthy young men leased Robert Owenson's City Theatre and made it very elegant. They put on amateur shows there. When they hired professional actresses, Daly stopped paying Owenson his annuity, saying the agreement was broken. Owenson lost a lawsuit over this.

Return to the Stage and New Problems

In January 1793, a newspaper announced the return of Mr. and Mrs. Daly to the stage. It said, "Never did any dramatic event accord more with the wishes of the public." The newspaper praised their performances.

However, in 1794, Frederick Jones got a license for dramatic performances at the Fishamble Street theater. This license said no male actors could be paid, and only members of a special group could attend. This exclusivity made the Theatre Royal's boxes "quite deserted." By 1795, the theater was struggling. Actors were not paid well, and the theater itself looked old.

In early 1795, Daly's wife became very ill and died in April. Daly was very devoted to her and broke down on stage while performing during her illness. That same year, Frederick Jones asked the Lord Lieutenant for a full license to stage plays. Many important people in Dublin signed a petition criticizing Daly's shows and theater. After an investigation, the Attorney-General agreed with the criticisms. The Lord Lieutenant then told Daly that he planned to give Jones a competing license.

Retirement

Daly decided it would be better to retire and receive fair payment rather than compete. On August 12, 1797, he transferred his theater business and the Crow Street premises to Jones. In return, Daly received £800 a year for his life, and then £400 a year for his children. Jones also took over Daly's responsibility for an annual payment of £232 from the Smock Alley deal. Daly also received an extra £300 a year from the theaters in Cork and Limerick. From November 1797, Daly also received a yearly pension of £100 from the government for his daughters' lives.

The Dublin Evening Post reported that Daly "has quitted the Dramatic Throne while in the plenitude of power." His retirement was well-timed, as the Irish Rebellion of 1798 happened soon after. Jones got a new theater license, but his theater faced problems due to martial law and other disturbances.

Daly moved to the Isle of Man to save money. He built a nice house there. In 1799, he had an argument with a neighbor, which led to charges against Daly. Daly was briefly imprisoned for contempt of court. The rest of his years seem to have been peaceful.

His Legacy

People had different opinions about Richard Daly.

As an Actor

During his time in theater, Dublin newspapers often praised Daly's acting skills. However, after he retired, some critics said his acting in serious plays was "contemptible" and only "tolerable" in light comedies. This opinion was different from what others, like John O'Keeffe, believed. O'Keeffe, who knew many actors, remembered Daly as "an accomplished actor."

Some thought his acting reputation suffered because of his choices as a manager. He was criticized for always giving himself the main role in plays. He was also accused of making his costumes brighter than everyone else's.

As a Manager

The Thespian Dictionary said that Daly was more successful as a manager than any of his Dublin predecessors, who had all faced financial problems. Joseph Atkinson said Daly saved Dublin theater from "neglect and degradation" and made it magnificent.

People often praised his "spirit" as a manager. However, some actors said he was "oppressive and tyrannical." The theater historian Thomas Gilliland mentioned that Charles Mathews "suffered every misery" under Daly. Mathews himself wrote that Daly was "hated by all his performers" and that "scarcely any of whom can get any money from him." But later, Mathews changed his mind, saying Daly's bad reputation was undeserved.

Daly was known for fining actors for breaking theater rules. He also sometimes sued actors who left their contracts early. However, he was not always strict. In 1794, he chose not to sue George Frederick Cooke for breaking his contract, saying he "would not distress him for the world." In 1788, when actress Mary Wells asked to be released from her contract due to family problems, Daly tore up the document in front of her.

His relationships with leading actors varied. While Sarah Siddons complained he tried to "vex" her, Frances Abington said he tried his best to make her happy. Some actors complained about Daly in newspapers or directly to the audience. These complaints sometimes came from actors not getting the roles they wanted. Some writers defended Daly, saying managers often faced slander from actors who were jealous or had their own interests. Daly also sometimes worked hard to fix relationships that had broken down.

His Competitive Nature

Daly was known for being competitive, especially in his younger years. While dueling was common in Irish society at the time, there is not much evidence of Daly engaging in it as an adult. His reputation for dueling grew larger after his death.

Death and Family

Richard Daly died in Dublin on September 8, 1813. He had many sons and daughters with his wife. One of his sons, a Royal Navy lieutenant, died in 1811 when his gun-boat exploded during a battle. His stepdaughter, Jane Lyster, married William Jameson, a lawyer, and was the mother of William Jameson, who became president of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

By 1821, Frederick Edward Jones had paid over £25,500 to Daly and his family as part of their retirement agreement. Payments from Daly's government pension were still being made in 1828.