The RTE All Ireland Festival came to a close at a gala awards ceremony in The Radisson Blu Hotel, Athlone, on Saturday May 10th. The Festival was once again a huge success with full houses and such a strong standard of productions on offer. The festival fringe offered much entertainment. ADA was delighted to sponsor a production of Tuesdays With Morrie, starring our president Terry Byrne in the title role. This production also marked ADA’s 25th Anniversary. Over the course of nine nights, Athlone audiences were treated to the finest of amateur theatre and adjudicator Russell Boyce, from our colleague organization SASDA, announced the awards as below. Congratulations to Festival Chairperson, Joe Mc Carrick and his team for another hugely successful final. Congratulations of course to all the individual award winners and Cornmill Theatre Group on securing their 3rd All Ireland title.
RTÉ All Ireland Drama Festival Perpetual Trophy
Cornmill Theatre Company, The Devil’s Céilí
Miniature Festival Trophy For Best Director
Ronan Ward, Cornmill Theatre Company , The Devil’s Céilí
Best Actor (Miniature Festival Trophy)
Pádraig Broe as Thomas Dunne, The Moat Club, Naas, The Steward of Christendom
Best Actress (Miniature Festival Trophy)
Helena Stout as Martha, Bradán Players, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Best Supporting Actor (Aileen Coughlan Memorial Award)
Martin Fitzgerald as Alfieri, Thurles Drama Group, A View from the Bridge
Best Supporting Actress (Joan Walsh Memorial Award)
Michelle Reade as Honey, Bradán Players, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Best Stage Setting (Colm Kelly Memorial Award)
Brendan Dunne, Prosperous Dramatic Society, Boeing Boeing
Best Lighting (ESB Networks Award)
Lianne O’Shea, The Moat Club, Naas, The Steward of Christendom
Best Stage Management (Brendan O’Brien Memorial Award)
Eugene ”Loui” Finnegan, Cornmill Theatre Company, The Devil’s Céilí
John Butler Scholarship to D.L.I. Summer School
Lisa Moorhead, The Moat Club, Naas, The Steward of Christendom
Drama League Of Ireland Summer School Scholarship
Eilish Rafferty, The Moat Club, Naas, The Steward of Christendom
Gormanston/Gaiety Scholarship
Sinead Luke, Ballyshannon Drama Society, The Gingerbread Lady
RTÉ Fair City Award
Michelle Reade, Bradán Players, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
The Abbey Theatre Award
Cornmill Theatre Company, The Devil’s Céilí