BY KATE HEANEY
LETTERKENNY Music and Drama Group swept the board at the All Ireland Confined Drama Finals in County Cavan last Saturday night with their play The 39 Steps.
The group took five out of the nine awards in Shercock, bringing their trophy collection to an astounding 51. Actor Kieran Kelly spoke to the Donegal News on Sunday as they prepared for a special welcome home victory celebration in the Mount Errigal Hotel.
“There was pandemonium when the judges announced the best director and best show together and we were absolutely delighted for Pluincéad Ó Fearraigh our director.
“We were fortunate in that out of the nine finalists, we got to perform last on Saturday night and were only out of our costumes when the awards were announced – it was amazing,” Kieran said.
Eoin McBride and John Ruddy shared the Best Supporting Actors award, Elaine Gillespie won the Best Actress award and Fiona McDaid took the Best Stage Management award.
“We knew we had a great show but we did not expect to do so well. After all the bad news in Letterkenny last week with business closures, it is great to get positive news and have people talking about Letterkenny in a good way.
“Anthony Delap who previously won the All Ireland title was there with other supporters from the town.
“The stage last night was quite restrictive but our stage crew worked so hard to make it work so well,” Kieran added.
The group qualified for the All Ireland by virtue of the fact that they won all seven Drama Festivals they competed in all around Ulster since the beginning of March.
Along with winning the festivals outright they also won 46 individual awards including best Actress (Elaine Gillespie), Best Actor (Kieran Kelly), Best Supporting Actor (Eoghan Mac Giolla Bhrighde and John Ruddy), Best Director /Producer (Pluincéad Ó Fearraigh), Best Stage Manager (Fiona McDaid), Best Lighting (Niall Cranney and Ann Marie Langan), Best Technical /Sound (Paul Rooney), Best Comedy, Best Set and the Audience Awards.