Bettystown actor bestowed with honorary fellowship
BAFTA-nominated Bettystown actor Helen Behan has been bestowed with an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery recognising her significant contributions to societal health and well-being.
Behan, who is also a practicing nurse, was honoured at the ceremony for her unique contributions to both healthcare and the arts. She was presented with an Honorary Fellowship thanks to her impressive contributions to both healthcare and the arts, having made a seamless transition from nursing to acting.
Originally trained as a nurse, Behan’s acting career began after a chance meeting with director Shane Meadows in her local pub, McDonagh's in Bettystown, leading to standout performances in The Virtues, Malpractice and Say Nothing.
From her first TV role as a nurse to today, Helen has remained deeply connected to nursing, returning to frontline healthcare roles during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Dr Mary Boyd, Dean of the RCSI Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, said: "Through compassionate storytelling, Helen has used her platform to highlight the realities of nursing and healthcare. Her dedication during the Covid-19 pandemic exemplifies the unwavering commitment of nurses everywhere. She is an inspiration to our profession, and we are proud to celebrate her achievements."
Fellow actor Brendan Gleeson also received an Honorary Fellowship from the RCSI Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery for his long-standing support for the hospice movement.
Speaking about the fellowship on Sunday with Miriam on RTE Radio 1, Behan said: "It means so much to me, I suppose I feel like it's a win for all nurses.
"It's still something that I'm pinching myself over this fellowship. I feel as always, within my acting career and now my nursing career, kind of like an imposter.
“But I really think that we need to look at what nurses have done for this country, and they've done so much, so much."
Speaking about her decision to keep working as a nurse as well as acting, the Bettystown actor said: "I always wanted to be a nurse. I was that kid with the doctor set injecting everybody with the with the plastic syringes when I was four or five, and that kind of lasted, it was just in me to do it.
"When I when I did the first (acting) job, I thought I was going to be snapped up by Hollywood, I thought I'll start buying big, swanky cars and sure, like that lifestyle was a million trillion miles away because the phone never rang for a year after the first job.
" And I just thought, Well, that's it. You've had your five minutes now. So I was kind of being a realist about it. So I it was a comfort blanket, nursing, it was safety, it was my, you know, food on the table. It was my bills paid like I couldn't really the truth is, I couldn't afford to sit and wait for the phone to ring, so I kept working."
Behan is known for The Virtues (2019), This Is England '90 (2015) and This Is England '88 (2011).