The 41st Claremorris Drama Festival was held from March 11th to 21st, 2011 (excluding the 17th).
The Adjudicator for the 2011 festival was Garry Lombard from Wexford. Click here for more details on Garry.
The Claremorris Drama Festival are delighted to have Mr.Sean Smyth perform the official opening of our 40th Festival. Sean grew up on Convent Road where he played football with Ray Leonard RIP and the Festival Chairman. His first involvement with Drama Festivals was with Relays from Ballinasloe. On his return to Claremorris he was responsible for forming “Claremorris Players”. Some people might remember their first production which was staged in “Issacs Hall” beside Griffiths Garage. Sean has been involved in amateur drama in the sixties and early seventies, and was a member of the 1973 All-Ireland winning production of “The Black Stranger” with Claremorris Players.
After “resting” for 30 years, he returned to the stage with KATS, Galway, in 2003 and played the Woodcutter in the All-Ireland winning production of “Rashomon”. He has won many acting awards on the Amateur Drama Festival circuit over the years.
He counts himself fortunate to have had the privilege of working under two of the great directors of the Irish Amateur Drama movement, the late Fr. P. V. O’Brien and the late Mr. Paddy Henry. One of Fr.O’ Brien’s productions that Sean and his wife Mary probably will never forget is Thornton Wilders “Our Town” where he and Mary had the leading roles.
Welcome back to The Claremorris Drama Festival Sean and Mary.
