  micheÃ¡l mac liammÃ³ir (25 october 1899 â 6 march 1978), born alfred willmore, was an english-born irish actor, dramatist, impresario, writer, poet and painter. mac liammÃ³ir was born to a protestant family living in the kensal green district of london. ==life and work== as alfred willmore, he was one of the leading child actors on the english stage, in the company of noÃ«l coward. he studied painting at london's slade school of art, continuing to paint throughout his lifetime. in the 1920s he travelled all over europe. willmore was captivated by irish culture: he learnt irish which he spoke and wrote fluently and he changed his name to an irish version, presenting himself in ireland as a descendant of irish catholics from cork.the columbia encyclopedia of modern drama, columbia university press, new york (2007), p. 851. isbn 978-0-231-14032-4. later in his life, he wrote three autobiographies in irish and translated them into english.plastic paddies irish independent, 29 october 2005. while acting in ireland with the touring company of his brother-in-law anew macmaster, mac liammÃ³ir met his partner and lover, hilton edwards. their first meeting took place in the athenaeum, enniscorthy, county wexford, which is currently in a state of disrepair. deciding to remain in dublin, where they lived at harcourt terrace, the pair assisted with the inaugural production of galway's irish language theatre, an taibhdhearc; the play was mac liammÃ³ir's version of the mythical story diarmuid agus grÃ¡inne. mac liammÃ³ir and edwards then threw themselves into their own venture, co-founding the gate theatre in dublin in 1928. the gate became a showcase for modern plays and design (even as mac liammÃ³ir himself maintained an ongoing fascination with celticism). mac liammÃ³ir's set and costume designs were key elements of the gate's success. his many notable acting roles included robert emmet/the speaker in denis johnston's the old lady says "no!" and the title role in hamlet. in 1948, he appeared in the nbc television production of great catherine with gertrude lawrence. in 1951, during a break in the making of othello, mac liammÃ³ir produced orson welles's ghost-story return to glennascaul which was directed by hilton edwards. he played iago in welles's film version of othello (1952). his iago is unusual in that mac liammÃ³ir was about fifty (and looked older) when he played the role, while the play gives iago's age as 28. this may have been because of welles' intended interpretation â he wanted iago played as an older "impotent" consumed by envy for the
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