Second debut: Talented Cork actress fundraising to allow her take up offer to attend Rada

Forced to scrap a previous attempt to go to the prestigious stage school, Rachel O'Connell is determined to get there this time

Rachel O'Connell from Mayfield in Cork was accepted into the prestigeous Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) stage school in London. Picture: Howard Crowdy

Being accepted to one of the world’s most prestigious acting schools where greats like Anthony Hopkins and Fiona Shaw honed their craft was the realisation of an “impossible” childhood dream for Cork woman Rachel O’Connell.

But the crippling €81,000 costs of studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and living in London for three years are now threatening her dreams of studying there.