Tom Dodd (actor)

Thomas Dodd (1883–1963) was a Manx dialect performer, a member of The Peel Players and a student of the Manx language.

Tom Dodd was born in Douglas, where he attended Douglas Grammar School. He spent his whole professional career with the Isle of Man Bank, eventually as the manager of the Peel branch.

Tom Dodd was a founding member of the Peel Players, who performed from 1912 until the death of Sophia Morrison in 1917. During that time, Dodd performed in at least three plays by Christopher R. Shimmin: The Charm, Illiam Kodhere’s Will, and Dooinney Moyllee. It was through these performances that the Peel Players came to be regarded today as possibly the most significant Manx dialect theatre company in Manx history.

Dodd was said to be interested in 'anything Manx', and he came to be an eager learner of the Manx language by the time he went to live in Peel. He became an influential member of the language community, particularly through his work to expand the written materials available to learners, which were limited at that time to the Manx Bible and Edmund Goodwin's First Lessons in Manx.

In April and May 1948, Dodd was one of the Manx people recorded by the Irish Folklore Commission. This was instigated by Éamon de Valera, in order to preserve a record of the Manx language, dialect and accent as it was spoken at that time. Dodd's inclusion in their recordings can be seen as a recognition of his significance to Manx culture.

Bibliography

• Skeealyn Vannin / Stories of Mann: The complete collection of Manx Language archive recordings made by the Irish Folklore Commission in 1948, Douglas: Manx National Heritage, 2003, p.15

External links

• The complete 1948 Irish Folklore Commission recordings, including those of Tom Dodd
• The Manx dialect plays by Christopher Shimmin in which Tom Dodd performed with the Peel Players