Matthew Fahey from Davitt College, Castlebar, has been named the winner of the Honourable Judges Mention Category at the Bord Gáis Energy Student Theatre Awards.
This is the first year of the awards, which have been set up by Bord Gáis Energy to encourage and reward participation in drama among school children across Ireland.
The awards were presented by writer and actress Amy Huberman at a ceremony at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre last week.
Over 7,500 students around Ireland took part in this year’s competition which focused on creative dramatic writing. Students were asked to demonstrate their playwriting skills and write a short scene based on the theme of friendship. There were three categories, primary, junior secondary and senior secondary, with awards made in each category.
In an unexpected twist, the judges announced a last-minute decision to include the Honourable Mention category due to the high calibre of talent. Matthew, a second year student, scooped the prize for his moving script about life and death.
Commenting at the awards Amy Huberman said: “I had the tough task of helping to judge the shortlist and I can truly say that it was a really hard decision to pick our winners. The standard of entries was exceptional and I would like to say a massive well done to everyone who was shortlisted as it’s a fantastic achievement to have been recognised out of the 7,500 students who took part in this year’s competition.”
