All-Ireland One Act Drama Finals to return to Letterkenny this December

The All-Ireland One Act Drama Finals 2026 have been officially launched at An Grianán Theatre, Letterkenny.

The finals take place at An Grianán from Friday 4 to Sunday 6 December, bringing the best amateur drama groups in the country to Donegal. Tickets can be bought on An Grianán Theatre’s website.

The finals are run by the Drama League of Ireland and the Amateur Drama Council of Ireland. Letterkenny last hosted the event in 2017.

Each autumn, amateur drama groups from all four provinces compete at one-act festivals around the country. The leading groups at each festival earn a place in the All-Ireland Finals.

"The groups who reach the finals have earned it, on wet roads and in cold halls, with months of rehearsals squeezed around work and family," said John O Donnell, who hosted the launch. "These are teachers, farmers, shop owners and students. They do it for the love of it, and the standard is outstanding."

Donegal has a strong record at the finals. Letterkenny Music and Drama Group won for the first time in 2024 with Cider Park, written by group member Kieran Kelly, who also won All-Ireland Best Actor. In 2021, the Butt Drama Circle from the Balor, Ballybofey, won with In Other Words, taking Best Play, Best Actor and Best Actress.

"We've been given the finals again because of what this town has built," said Mr O Donnell. "Groups return year after year and speak highly of the welcome and the facilities at An Grianán. It means full hotels, busy restaurants, pubs and shops in the run-up to Christmas. More than that, it puts Letterkenny on the map as a home for the arts in the North West, and shows our young people that theatre is something they can be part of, right here in Donegal."

Speakers at the launch included Joanne Keane, Secretary of the Joint Committee of the Drama League of Ireland and the Amateur Drama Council of Ireland and PRO of the Drama League of Ireland, and Declan Drohan, lecturer in Performing Arts at ATU Sligo and adjudicator for this year's finals.

The festival poster, a bold yellow and black design featuring the front of An Grianán, was created by Adam McCrabbe, a Graphic Design student at ATU Donegal, with support from Joe Coll and colleagues in the Graphic Design department.

The finals are supported by Donegal County Council, Zeus, Donegal ETB, AIB Letterkenny, Letterkenny Credit Union and ATU Donegal. Highland Radio is media sponsor.