News
From New York to Killarney: Meet West End House’s new Creative Director
By Clodagh Nagle
Susan Goodwillie has been appointed as the new Creative Director of West End House School of Arts. She succeeds Jessica Courtney Leen who recently stepped down after serving in the role for three years.
BACKGROUND
Originally from New Hampshire, which is located an hour north of Boston, Susan brings a diverse background to West End. She has lived in many places including LA, New York and Kenya. She moved to Ireland in 2020 and is now living in Knocknagoshel.
Susan discovered her love for acting at a young age. As a child, she moved frequently due to her father’s military job. When her family returned to New Hampshire, she wasn’t quite sure where she fit in. It was during this time where she found comfort in acting which would continue to influence her life to this very day.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in musical theatre and later moved to Los Angeles where she appeared in two episodes of ER and Medium. She lived there for a year and described it as a very exciting time in her life.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
She decided to move to New York to further her theatrical career. She spent nine years in the Big Apple. She recalled: “It was exciting, I felt like I was in the middle of something. It can be very buzzy which is fun.”
Susan described it as a great privilege to be part of the New York theatre scene however it came with its challenges. She worked as a bartender while also attending auditions and she found the balance hard. She said: “I got what I assumed would be the acting job of my dreams. It was a beautiful play with a great company. I was working with exciting actors. It was supposed to run for four months. By the time we opened, we got bad reviews and the next day it was closed.”
She said that while sometimes people can put up with the unsteady lifestyle, she found it quite difficult and began to look at other possible avenues.
CAREER CHANGE
Susan and her friend co-founded a non-profit organisation. They launched an artist residency program and retreat on an organic farm located just an hour away from New York City. It was designed to give actors, playwrights and creatives an affordable space to create their work.
“We were making something other people could utilise. It became something that people loved. My friend went on to run it successfully for another ten years. So many people came and made beautiful things there.”
Following that experience, she decided to return to college to pursue a master’s degree in social work. She later worked in a non-profit organisation supporting people who suffered with mental health issues. In her new job, Susan found that her acting background came full circle. The company allowed her to start up an open mic night for their clients to give them a social outlet. She reflected: “I went to social work school because I wanted to be helpful, but I found that my skills as an actor were the most valuable thing I brought from my old life to my new one.”
MOVING TO IRELAND
She moved to Kenya where she worked in women’s advocacy work. She met her now husband Brian, who is from Dublin, while living there. They decided to move to Ireland and settled in Kerry. She worked as a General Manager for Teaċ Daṁsa, Michael Keegan Dolan's acclaimed dance company located in the West Kerry Gaeltacht before she moved to her new role in Killarney.
VISION
Susan said her responsibility as a Creative Director is to fulfil the mission and vision of the school to its highest potential.
She said: “The biggest priority is to give artistic opportunities to people of all ages. Those who want to try out acting and to see if it is something they would like to pursue in the future.”
Susan’s hopes for the future are filling classes, listening to what people want, creating new classes and finding avenues for people to grow in the different interests they have.
“For people who don’t identify with sport, it’s important for them to find something else that interests them. It might not necessarily be acting but it is a great doorway into a creative headspace.”
Susan believes it’s about the mission and the vision of the school and to reach as many young people and adults as possible so that they know the door is always open at West End School of Arts.
Members of the extended O’Connor family, neighbours, and friends gathered at the ancestral homestead of Fr Sean O’Connor O.S.A. at Doonasleen, Knocknagree, to celebrate his 100th birthday. Fr Sean travelled from the Augustinian Community at Abbeyside, Dungarvan, County Waterford, where he currently lives, to mark the milestone at his childhood home.
Fr Sean was born on 9 June 1926 alongside his twin sister, Peg. He grew up on a farm with his parents and six siblings, all of whom are now deceased. He was baptised in Kiskeam but his family regularly travelled to Sunday Mass in Knocknagree.
He attended the old two-story school in Knocknagree, where he was taught by Miss Dennehy, an educator he later honoured in a poem titled “My first Teacher”. He recalls encountering the blind fiddler Tom Billy Murphy on his school journeys, which helped foster a lifelong love of music inherited from his mother, Maggie Jones, who played the concertina.
Known as Jackie during his youth, he took the name John O’Connor when he moved to New Ross for his secondary education with the Augustinian Order in 1939. He made his simple profession on 24 September 1946 and was ordained a priest in Rome on 13 July 1952.
Shortly after his ordination, Fr Sean’s health failed when he contracted tuberculosis. He spent two years at St Mary’s Hospital in Phoenix Park, Dublin, which included nine months of complete bed rest and two chest operations. The surgeries resulted in the loss of seven ribs and the permanent collapse of most of his right lung. Due to his health, his lifelong ambition to join the foreign missions could not be realised.
Following his recovery, Fr Sean served in various religious appointments across Ireland and England, including Callan, Fethard, Dungarvan, Carlisle, Drogheda, Galway, and Ballyhaunis, before returning to Abbeyside. At his 98th birthday celebration in 2024, it was noted that he was the oldest serving Roman Catholic priest in Ireland and the UK.
For his centenary celebration, Fr Sean wore his priestly vestments to celebrate Holy Mass at an altar prepared in the sitting room at Doonasleen. A framed apostolic blessing from Pope Leo XIV, a fellow Augustinian priest, was displayed on a nearby table.
Due to poor weather and the large crowd, the gathering moved to the new Knocknagree Community Centre for a reception. A special photograph was taken on the day featuring Fr Sean alongside his six surviving first cousins.
As a dedicated Gaelic football follower, Fr Sean was presented with a custom Knocknagree GAA jersey featuring the number 100. He later wore the jersey at the local football grounds for photographs, on a day when Knocknagree secured a league win against Kilnamartyra.
The day concluded with a visit from the Bishop of Kerry, Ray Browne, who travelled to the ancestral home to congratulate Fr Sean. Fr Sean noted that it was a historic occasion, marking the first time a bishop had ever visited the townlands of Doon or Tureen.
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