Hat-trick for the Kilmeen players

You almost couldn’t script it: Kilmeen Drama Group from West Cork has been crowned All-Ireland Champions for an unprecedented third time in a row, in a triumph that mixed joy and deep emotion following a tumultuous year.

The Kilmeen players, based in Rossmore near Clonakilty, beat off competition from around the country to secure the title at the 61st RTÉ All Ireland Drama Festival in Athlone, creating history as the first group to ever pull off three successive wins.

Kilmeen’s innovative production of JM Synge’s The Playboy of the Western World also helped secure cast member Nora Scannell the award for Best Supporting Actress, and the team’s long journey home from the Midlands was complete last night with a homecoming, first in Clonakilty and then in Rossmore.