RT Marks 20 Years as Title Sponsor of the Festival with special anniversary video
https://youtu.be/fK99YKtxV8c
Ballyduff Drama Group, directed by Ger Canning, were crowned RT All Ireland Drama Festival champions for their performance of The Ferryman' by Jez Butterworth at the Gala Awards ceremony in Athlone's Radisson Blu Hotel on Saturday May 11th as the curtain came down on the 2024 RT All Ireland Drama Festival. The festival is held under the auspices of the Amateur Drama Council of Ireland (ADCI). 2024 is a special year as it marks the 20th Year of RT as title sponsor of the festival, and Adrian Lynch, Deputy Director General of RT , presented the final award.
Dalkey Players, directed by Emma Jane Nulty, who presented The Crucible' by Arthur Millar, were placed second, and first-time qualifiers Ballycogley Players, directed by Pat Whelan, who performed the farce Out of Order' by Ray Cooney were placed third.
Mark O'Brien, Executive Director, The Abbey Theatre, said they were delighted to continue their partnership with the festival. He announced that after much deliberations the winner of the Abbey Award for 2024 are Dalkey Players who presented The Crucible'. He said that the Abbey looked forward to hosting the group on the Peacock stage in a number of weeks.
There was great excitement when the results were announced. No strangers to Athlone, Ballyduff Drama Group last won the All-Ireland in 2022. Their director Ger Canning also won the Best Director award. In addition, John Stack, playing Quinn Carney, won the award for best actor, and Mary Colbert, won the award for the best actress in a supporting role while Noel Hayes, won the award for the best stage management, and Donie O'Sullivan, took home the award for best stage setting.
Ballyduff Drama Group has been performing on the Three Act circuit for over forty years. During that time, they won the All Ireland on two occasions, in 2004 and in 2022 with Rabbit Hole'. Last year they came second with their production of The Welkin'. In performing the Ferryman' Ballyduff threw all caution to the wind when it came to the saying never work with children or animals'! Their performance included appearances by a live and very engaging baby boy, a local baby named Paidi, a live goose and a rabbit!
The Ferryman', by Jez Butterworth is set in Northern Ireland, 1981. The Carney farmhouse is a hive of activity with preparations for the annual harvest. A day of hard work on the land and a traditional night of feasting and celebrations lie ahead. But this year they will be interrupted by a visitor.
20th Year of RT as Title Sponsor - The Bride Rosney Award
To mark the 20th year of RT as title sponsor of the RT All Ireland Drama Festival, a special one-off prize, the Bride Rosney Award, was awarded to newcomers from each group. Bride Rosney served as Director of Communications at RT from 2002 to 2009. During her tenure, the partnership with the RT All Ireland Drama Festival began and it was she who laid the foundations for the 20 years of success which followed. The inter-generational aspect of amateur drama groups was something Bride often referred to. She saw it as a torch that was carried through the generations and a fountain on which great communities would flourish.
To honour the memory of Bride Rosney and mark two decades of the partnership, the RT All Ireland Drama Festival presented an award to the best newcomer from each group. Bride's partner Peter McMenamin presented the awards. Awards in the category went to Shay Hannon, Ballycogley Players Drama Group, Se n Foley, Ballyduff Drama Group, Sam Asaylee, Ballyshannon Drama Society, Joseph Sunderland, Bridge Drama, Claudia Verdecchia, Clontarf Players, Rachel McConnell, Dalkey Players, Mickey Brannigan, Newpoint Players, Lauren Mitchel, Prosperous Dramatic Society and Naoise O'Connor, Wexford Drama Group.
Other award winners on the night included, Rachel O'Connor, Ballyshannon Drama Society, who took home the award for best actress for her role as Margaret Thatcher in the premiere of Margaret' by Shaun Byrne. The award for best actor in a supporting role went to Sean Carty, Ballycogley Players Drama Group.
The award for best stage lighting went to Cian Redmond, Wexford Drama Group. The Drama League of Ireland (DLI) Summer School Scholarship was awarded to Hannah Clabbey of Dalkey Players for her performance as Mary Warren in the Crucible.
Speaking at the awards the Festival Director, Regina Bushell, said that all the finalists are true masters of their craft. Quoting Kevin Bakhurst of RT who said that in the same way that our national sports generate passion on the fields, the RT All Ireland Drama Festival creates passion on the boards. Liam Hannaway ADCI Chair said that the standard was so high that any of the groups could grace a professional stage. He thanked RT and the other sponsors for their support of drama. He commended the Abbey Theatre for their continued support of drama. He commended the adjudicator, Tom Byrne.
This year's adjudicator at the festival was Mr Tom Byrne. He has over 45 years involvement with amateur drama and competed in his first festival in 1979. He has won numerous awards as a director, Since taking up adjudicating in 2011 he has adjudicated at ADCI qualifying festivals throughout Ireland. Commenting on the festival, Tom Byrne praised the 9 extraordinary groups singling out their talent and creativity.
Tom Byrne awarded the Adjudicator Award to Alison Rogers, Newpoint Players, for her truly exquisite masks for In the Shadow of the Glen Reimagined' by Sean Treanor after JM Synge.
Audiences were indeed treated to a fine display of theatre this year. Amongst the finalists were several premieres, that of a new Irish play, Margaret' about Margaret Thatch
More from RTE
02/10/2026
Featuring performances recorded in Cork, Kilkenny, Wesmeath and Dublin culminati...
02/10/2026
How the fertility sector in Ireland remains unregulated
Undercover filming reveals how without proper regulation the promotion of controversial fertility treat...
02/10/2026
Transforming Homes, Transforming Lives
Presenter Baz Ashmawy and his team take on four life-changing builds across Kildare, Limerick, Wicklow and Offaly in the...
01/10/2026
Season 4 of the multi-award-winning hit entertainment series The 2 Johnnies Late Night Lock In is back, serving up another round of unpredictable laughs, unforg...
01/10/2026
New season begins Sunday, 4 October at 6pm on RT lyric fm and RT Listen
RT lyric fm's arts and culture documentary series The Lyric Feature returns on S...
01/10/2026
RT is proud to continue its commitment to supporting and celebrating the arts across Ireland this October, highlighting a vibrant programme of theatre, music, ...
30/09/2026
How to Shop Well Now starts Monday at 9.35pm
on RT One and RT Player
On the...
29/09/2026
RT lyric fm is proud to announce the annual Choirs for Christmas competition callout. Warm up those vocal chords and join us on RT lyric fm for a celebration ...
28/09/2026
Crimecall, presented by Carla O'Brien, returns tonight for a brand new series at 9.35pm on RT One and RT Player.
In tonight's episode, alongside appe...
28/09/2026
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS AT THE HEART OF NEW IRISH WRITING
LIVE FROM POETRY IRELAND, DUBLIN AND ON RT RADIO 1 FROM 7PM
DETAILS: www.rte.ie/writing | FOLLOW: #r...
25/09/2026
Want to be part of this year's Late Late Toy Show?
Final call for applications in search for this year's stars
The most wonderful night of the year is...
24/09/2026
The home interiors retailer signs up for third year as sponsor
RT Commercial today announced that Harry Corry has signed up to a third year as sponsor of Live...
24/09/2026
RT Radio 1 Folk Awards Tickets on Sale
Dolores Keane to be inducted into the...
23/09/2026
RT One and RT Player, Friday 25 September
Ceol le Ch ile, a new series that follows Irish artists as they collaborate with musicians from diverse background...
23/09/2026
Available now on RT Listen
New information has come to light in the case of mi...
22/09/2026
RT , Creative Ireland and Shared Island Initiative ask young artists
to respon...
21/09/2026
Ireland's most successful and longest-running afternoon show, the TODAY Show...
21/09/2026
RT celebrates Irish Sign Language Awareness Week 2026
Special programmes across RT television, radio and online, plus special initiatives
#ISL #IDSL #IWDP26...
17/09/2026
Donncha's Away Games starts this Sunday on RT One and RT Player
Irish rugby legend Donncha O'Callaghan pairs up with a host of celebrities to take on...
17/09/2026
New series of Aistear an Amhr in shares extraordinary stories behind Ireland'...
17/09/2026
The Late Late Show is back!
Liam Neeson, Siobh n McSweeney, Caitr ona Balfe a...
17/09/2026
RT Statement:
RT is today confirming that its position regarding participation in the Eurovision Song Contest remains unchanged. RT will not participate in...
16/09/2026
Garda whistleblowers come forward to
RT Investigates from inside the
Garda Pr...
14/09/2026
RT in association with the BBC today released first look image from the second series of The Walsh Sisters, inspired by the novels of international best-sellin...
11/09/2026
RT has today announced Benetti Menswear as the sponsor of its 2026 Amgen Irish Open coverage for a sixth consecutive year, further strengthening the heritage c...
10/09/2026
RT to Broadcast Amgen Irish Open free-to-air
New multi-year agreement will see RT continue to bring the Amgen Irish Open to Irish audiences
Ryder Cup hig...
10/09/2026
More than 30 women report allegations of sexual harassment, misogyny and bullying within National Ambulance Service
Tonight on RT Prime Time, 9:35pm, RT One ...
10/09/2026
Series 3 of Nero's Class begins Friday 11 September on RT Listen
The third...
09/09/2026
RT brings three packed days of live radio, entertainment, news, weather and fun
Join RT Radio 1: Morning Ireland, Oliver Callan, Today with David McCullagh,...
07/09/2026
552,000 streams on RT Player
The historic fight, which saw Katie Taylor become...
04/09/2026
RT ANNOUNCE NEW DRAMA THE MURDER OF MR. MOONLIGHT
BASED ON THE DISAPPEARANCE...
03/09/2026
First Class Takes is a new six-part series for RT KIDS that captures funny, hon...
02/09/2026
RT has today announced a major media partnership with Lidl around Katie Taylor's historic Croke Park clash with Flora Pili on Saturday, September 5th.
The...
01/09/2026
Join Donal Skehan in discovering the best of everyday Italian cooking in brand new series, airing Wednesday 2 September
In this brand-new series, Donal's I...
01/09/2026
RT Supporting the Arts is delighted to spotlight a diverse range of arts, cultu...
27/08/2026
Commissioned for RT KIDS as part of the EBU Kids' Drama Exchange The Note will premiere Sunday August 30, 5:10pm
RT One and RT Player
The Note tells a...
26/08/2026
As RT marks 100 years of public service broadcasting in Ireland, today we announce a season of fresh, original content, while preparing to move into a second c...
25/08/2026
The new series begins Tuesday 1 September at 7pm on RT One and RT Player
The search for Ireland's hidden housing gems is back as Cheap Irish Homes return...
24/08/2026
We Only Want the Earth: The Life & Ideas of James Connolly airs
Wednesday 26 August on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
RT is to air the compelling documenta...
21/08/2026
Beat The Lotto dives into the plot behind the 1980s National Lottery scandal
24 August 2026 at 9:35pm on RT One and RT Player
Beat The Lotto is the story o...
21/08/2026
The countdown to the most wonderful night of the year has officially begun!
Host Patrick Kielty is gearing up for another unforgettable Late Late Toy Show nig...
21/08/2026
Meet puppet duo Bellie and Whizz, who are about to explore all the big feelings ...
19/08/2026
On Saturday September 5 Katie Taylor will step into the ring for the fight of her life against Flora Pili in front of 80,000 fans in Croke Park. A legendary fig...
18/08/2026
THE HEALY RAES: BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS AIRS WEDNESDAY AUGUST 19 ON RT ONE AT 9:35PM
A new documentary The Healy-Raes: Blood, Sweat & Tears airs on RT One and ...
18/08/2026
Stunning Irish performances at European Athletics and Swimming Championships rea...
18/08/2026
The two-part series begins Sunday 23 August at 6.30pm on RT One and RT Player
...
13/08/2026
RT 's Miriam O'Callaghan welcomed a range of specially invited guests to the National Concert Hall last week for a unique event to mark a new season wit...
11/08/2026
Hosts D ith S and Kathryn Thomas rose to the occasion on Tuesday (August 11)...
11/08/2026
A Day in May airs Wednesday 12 August at 9.35pm RT One and RT Player
A Day in May revisits the people and stories behind Ireland's historic marriage equa...
RT Marks 20 Years as Title Sponsor of the Festival with special anniversary video
