Neil Fitzgerald was born the son of a member of Parliament James Fitzgerald near Emly in Co. Limerick on 15 January 1892. He was educated in Trinity College Dublin where the onus on him was to study pharmacy of which he received his degree but he preferred to tread the boards in Dublin, London and New York. He made his Broadway Debut in "Leave her to Heaven" on February 27th 1940 . He was nominated for a Drama Critics Circle Award in 1972 for his role as the doctor in Edward Albee's "All Over" and he appeared in numerous Irish plays in New York on Broadway during his life-time. George Bernard Shaw told him as a youngster that "You will do better with greasepaint than with blood". His film debut was in 1935 in John Fords' classic "The Informer" where he played Tommy Connor. He also has numerous television credits.