Born in a lower working-class area of west Belfast, Phyllis was among a cadre of star pupils at Saint Dominic’s Grammar School, but love, zest for life and a sense of adventure sent her scurrying off to the other end of the world as a married woman at the tender age of 19.

Although the city lights of Sydney were filled with temptations – and Phyllis enjoyed as many as she could (this part required censorship) – there came a day as she was enjoying the heat from a strange bright ball of light in the sky rarely seen in her home town, she succumbed to a moment of insanity and decided to endure the arduous task of dragging her Aussie-born son, Jason, kicking and screaming every inch of the 12,000 miles back to war-torn Northern Ireland in the 1970s. Jason has spent the last 40 years trying to find the right words to thank his mother for this wonderful decision she made on his behalf.

A survivor by instinct, Phyllis, now aged 66, made peace with her homeland before many others had done so and reared four children while following a successful career as a librarian at the College of Agriculture and Rural Enterprise in Antrim. Recently retired from the College employment in July 2018, she now works part time in the Grand Opera House, Belfast as Front of House attendant. Her outgoing personality and enduring love of the arts – her activities include line-dancing, mastering the Charleston and fiction writing – made it inevitable that she would end up enjoying stints with various amateur dramatic societies. She took part in a celebtation of Shakespeare’s birth on 23rd April in The Crescent Arts Centre Belfast reading excerpts from his famous plays Lady Macbeth etc., Also she has recently filmed a documentary to be shown in schools showing the dangers of drugs and joining paramilitary organisations. That was on 17th May 2017.

Phyllis has been treading the boards now for more than ten years at various theater groups including the Oriel Theatre Company Antrim and the Belfast Actors Studio. Her roles have been varied, ranging from a sexually frigid housewife in a Sam Cree comedy ‘Widows’ Paradise’ to the more serious ‘The Three Sisters’ by Chekhov in which she was cast as Olga, the oldest sister. She and has attended various acting classes including Comedy Impro with Rosie Pelan and Belfast Talent with Diane Graham.

Antrim-based Phyllis  is  on call-up for Extras N.I., the largest provider of extras for film, television, commercials and the promotional industries in the north of Ireland. Now a member of Theatre 3 amateur drama group in Newtownabbey .
Performed in the Summer season 2015 – an adaption of Sam Crees Stop it Nurse! Also took part in a Hallow’een based variety show reading her own work.Attended a six week course on stand up comedy and performed first show in Black Box Belfast. Phyllis is a member of the Belfast Comedy Writers and has had some of her scripts performed on stage as well as taking part in members work. Phyllis has completed her fourth stand up show at The Pavillion, Ormeau Road and is appearing again on the 20th November 2017.

Performed stand up for Galentines night at The Pavilion, all female comedians. just before the big day itself. Filming finishes on Tuesday 27th March for final year Queens media students. She plays the part of Mary the grandmother in a play penned by a Queens student “The Unfinished Ballad.”

Rehearsals start on 4th April 2018 with Theatre 3’s production of Secondary Cause of Death. Phyllis has the part of Martha Armstrong the housekeeper. She is now in the rehearsals stages, starting 26th September 2018 of a short film for the charity PIPS. entitled “Our Vera”.

Her foremost idols in the sacred arena of performance art are both members of the Royal family – one is the King of Rock and Roll, the man from Tupelo, Mississippi; and the other is the Prince of Darkness, from the village of Arefu, Transylvania. In homage to both immortals, she has visited their birthplaces (and bought the T-shirt – in fact, three hundred of them).

Phyllis’s personality can swing from extrovert to introvert, depending on the situation. She is best described as fun loving though serious when the situation demands focus and discipline. Stubborn and tenacious also come to mind as suitable adjectives.

Her ambitions in life are manifold but among them are to learn to swim (achieved!)and to master (or, in her case, to mistress) the methodology approach to acting. Now attempting to learn guitar.