By Dan Walsh at Upton Court Hotel, Kilmuckridge
The 64th Kilmuckridge Drama Festival runs for nine nights in Kilmuckridge Memorial Hall from Saturday, February 25th to Sunday, March 5th, inclusive, and the official launch took place last night (Friday) in the company of a large attendance in the Upton Court Hotel.
The privilege of officially opening the 2023 festival was bestowed on Joe Doran, a well-known local thespian who acted with several groups including Boolavogue, Monamolin, Kilmuckridge, Ballygarrett and Gorey Little Theatre Group, and, of course, a past legend on the hurling fields.
The attendance included Minister James Browne, Cllr Donal Kenny, Cathaoirleach of Gorey-Kilmuckridge Municipal District Council and Cllrs Pip Breen and Willie Kavanagh and there was a welcome for all from Festival Chairman, Liam Buttle.
There was a special welcome for Tom Byrne from Celbridge, with over 40 years involvement in amateur drama. “We are honoured to have him adjudicating our festival. I hope he will have a very special week in Kilmuckridge,” said Mr. Buttle.
There was also a huge ‘thank you’ to the sponsors for their “loyal and generous support every year and a special thank you to our nightly sponsors of this year Festival”, not forgetting the loyal patrons of the festival.
“I am delighted to say this is a unique opportunity to enjoy nine very different plays so sit back and enjoy some excellent performances,” said Mr. Buttle, who added; “We are looking forward to an entertaining season of quality drama on the Festival Circuit and would like to extend to all groups our best wishes and plenty of personal satisfaction on their festival journey.”
Local groups involved includes Enniscorthy Drama Group, Kilmuckridge Drama Group, Kilrush Drama Group, Ballycogley Players, Bridge Drama Group, The Wayside Players (Blackwater) and Wexford Drama Group. Visit the website www.kilmuckridgedramafestival.com for a list of the plays and a synopsis of the plays.
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