Eleanore Deirdre O'Connell (South Bronx, New York City, June 16, 1939 - Dublin, June 9, 2001) was an actress, theater director and singer. She was the founder of the Focus Theater in Dublin.
She was born in the South Bronx district in New York, as one of five children in an Irish immigrant family. She followed a theater training at Erwin Piscator's New York Dramatic Workshop, and later in the Actors Studio, run by Lee Strasberg.
As young twenties, she moved to Dublin, where she set up the Stanislavski Studio in the Pocket Theater. There they trained a small group of actors in the system of Stanislavski. In 1967 she founded the Focus Theater, which became her manager, artistic director and fundraiser. She also played herself in many of the productions.
She was a well-known folk singer and featured at the Newport Folk Festival. In June 1965 she married the Irish singer Luke Kelly. She is one of the most important characters in "Children of the Far Flung", written by Geraldine O'Connell.
Deirdre O'Connell died of cancer at her 61-year-olds in Dublin. She was buried at Glasnevin Cemetery.
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