Sean Crummey

Sean Crummey (born 1957 – died 13 November 2011) was a Belfast playwright, actor and comic impressionist who is most notable as both the writer and the male voice-over star of The Folks on the Hill, a hugely successful, popular programme that started in 2001 and ran for over 10 years with a total of seventeen radio and animated television series.

He graduated from Queen's University Belfast in 1980 with a BA in French and Classical Greek. He taught French language for seventeen years at school. He worked the after-dinner comic entertainment circuit for many years, and he felt that his language background contributed to his voice-over impressions. During the Troubles, comedians needed to adopt a non-partisan stance, so his stage name was a neutral-sounding non-Catholic pseudonym.

Sean Crummey was well known for his hilariously accurate depictions and his gentle, humorous political satire. He impersonated dozens of voices, particularly of Northern Ireland politicians. Some of Crummey's favourite voices to impersonate were the late PUP leader David Ervine, Pope John Paul II, and Bill McLaren.

He also wrote and acted in Stormont, a stage play produced by Martin Lynch and directed by Michael Poynor, that ran at the Theatre at the Mill in Newtownabbey mid-September to early October 2010. On stage, Crummey alternately mimicked two politicians, Ulster Unionist Michael McGimpsey and Sinn Féin's Gerry Kelly.

He died from a cancer-related illness just a day after his final show was broadcast. Politicians from across the political spectrum gave respectful tribute to his comic genius, penetrating humour, and talented political commentary. His funeral was attended by an unusually large number of famous individuals from all walks of life.

A tribute show was broadcast on New Year's Day, 2012. A memorial fund set up in memory of Sean Crummey donated £60,000 to Queen's Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology (CCRCB).