One of North Galway’s most famous residents will be saying adieu to the west tomorrow and heading back home after nearly two decades.
Anne Charleston, best known for her role as Madge Bishop on Australian hit, soap opera Neighbours, has decided to sell her cottage in Headford and will be flying back to Australia on Friday.
According to Charleston’s son, Nick Ravenswood, the reason for the 73-year-old’s relocation back Down Under is due to her participation in a stage show and also to be closer to her family.
Charleston first moved to Ireland in 1992 after leaving Neighbours but returned to Australia four years later for a second stint with the show in 1996. The Melbourne-born actress moved back to Ireland in 2001 and has had a successful career in theatre and radio in Ireland and the UK with appearances on British soaps Emmerdale and Holby City.
Charleston credits her Irish grandparents with playing a part in her relocation to Ireland. She also grew up in ‘a very Irish community’. “I was brought up on stories of the place.” When she eventually came to Ireland, she was smitten – with the west especially. “When I saw the west of Ireland I kind of came under its spell. It’s very beautiful. I came across to shop, basically. I looked at properties in Clare and Galway, and the interesting properties appeared to be in Galway,” she said.
