GROGAN Desmond Michael

GROGAN Desmond Michael (native of Dublin, Ireland and long time resident of Miraloma Park, San Francisco) - July 18, 2010 aged 84, after a long battle with lung cancer. Preceded in death by his first wife Marie Alice Grogan, in 1987 and his second wife Phyllis Howard Grogan, in 2007, Desmond was a proud retiree and former director of accounts receivable for the hospital at University of California, San Francisco. Born Sept. 4, 1925 in Dublin, Ireland to Michael Joseph Grogan and Ellen Doyle Grogan, Desmond grew up in the village of Milltown beside the Dodder River and lived in Old Bridge House. He went to St. Anne's Primary School and National Boy's School in Milltown. He then transferred to Synge Street. After matriculation, he went to work for Mooneys and John Powers. But his heart was set on something more artistic. He became interested in acting and was accepted at the Brendan Smith Academy of Acting. He studied there for three years where he produced and acted in plays. Eventually, he taught classes at the academy. He then founded his own theatre company called, "The Phoenix Theatre Group." The group performed all over Ireland and won awards from drama festivals in Ireland and England. Desmond loved art and had been exposed to the work of Hilda Roberts - his cousin Iseult's aunt. He and Roberts spend summers together at Achill Island and he watched and learned from her. In the mid-1950s, he emigrated to Canada with friends Otteran Hayes, Myles Kelly, Pauline and Vera. He also traveled with Marie Carrol, whom he eventually married while in Canada. Marie and Desmond emigrated to the U.S. where they became naturalized American citizens and had two children, Brian and Deirdre. In Hollywood, Desmond became the host of a radio program called, "Transatlantic Call," during which he interviewed Irish immigrants. The program was broadcast in Ireland on Radio Eireann. Desmond was a complex and multi-talented man whose interest in the arts not only led to an interest in theatre but also an interest in all the people he met. He cultivated friendships which survive today. Among them school friends, Milo O'Shea; acting student Vincent Dowling; dear friends Brendan Delaney; Claire Mullen and Joan Beardshaw. His address book contains names of friends who span the globe. Desmond is survived by his son, Dr. Brian Grogan of Yuma Arizona; his daughter Deirdre Grogan of Santa Rosa; his sister Fionnuala Grogan Baerman and brother-in-law, Bill Baerman of Napa. His granddaughters Shavonne Lowney of Santa Rosa and Mari Fionnuala Grogan of Yuma Arizona also survive him, as well as his dear cousins, the Scully family in Dublin Ireland. Memorial services will be held today (Wednesday) from 5 o'c to 7 o'c at Duggan's Sera Mortuary, 500 Westlake Avenue, Daly City, CA 94014. You are in a better place, Desmond.
And as the doors open
may you hear,
"Failte Romhat a Chara."