ESTUARY PLAYERS, the amateur drama group from Baldoyle in Dublin, won the RTÉ All-Ireland Drama Festival for the second year in a row, in Athlone on Saturday night.
It is the third group in the 57-year history of the festival to win two titles back-to-back.
The Runners from Tullamore did it in the 1950s as did the Enniscorthy Theatre Group in the mid-1990s.
The Estuary Players won this year's award for their production of The Last Days of Judas Iscariotby American playwright Stephen Adli Guirgis. The company also picked up awards for best director (Myra Maguire) and best supporting actor (Brendan Hughes).
The group performed on the second night of the festival with the play, a modern take on the argument as to whether Judas should be admitted into heaven after spending almost 2,000 years as one of history’s most-maligned characters.
The group won last year's title with The Price, written by Arthur Miller.
Shoestring Theatre Company's William Lyons won best actor for his performance as Kenneth McAllister in Marie Jones's A Night in November. Best actress went to Elaine Jordan of Bunclody/Kilmyshall Drama Group for her performance as Vera O'Toole in The Wakeby Tom Murphy.
Silken Thomas Players won best stage lighting and best stage setting for their production of Equus by Peter Shaffer.
Adjudicator Scott Marshall said that, for a number of years, the standard of acting at the Athlone finals has been on a par with anything he had seen on the professional stage. This year, amateur groups had also reached the mark in terms of set designs and technical supports, he said.
