Clonakilty school nominated for three theatre awards
April 24th, 2016 7:25 AM
Main cast members from The Sound of Music, which has been nominated for a prestigious award, from left: Dearbhla Cullinane, Orla Scally and Samantha Shortall.
Sacred Heart Secondary School's production of The Sound of Music has been shortlisted for three Bord Gáis Energy Theatre awards – the only school in Ireland to be nominated for three awards. 
SACRED Heart Secondary School's production of The Sound of Music has been shortlisted for three Bord Gáis Energy Theatre awards – the only school in Ireland to be nominated for three awards.
The Clonakilty school's show was a resounding success with a complete sell-out of tickets, and two full casts of over 150 students involved.
There was great excitement in the school hall recently when the cast were informed that their production was shortlisted for three separate awards in the national finals in May. These include 'Best Overall School Musical'; Samantha Shortall who played Maria Von Trapp for 'Best Female Performance in a Leading Role' and Orla Scally who played the Mother Abbess for 'Best Performance in a Supporting Role'.
Sacred Heart is in fact the only school in the country to have been shortlisted for three separate awards.
The Bord Gáis Energy Student Theatre Awards is now in its third year.
The awards are open to primary school students (from 3rd to 6th class) and all secondary school students throughout Ireland.
This year, there were over 3,000 entries. This national recognition is testament to the exceptional high standard of the musicals in Sacred Heart.
As part of the event in the Bord Gáis theatre, Samantha Shortall and Orla Scally have been invited to perform. This is a huge honour for the two talented Leaving Cert students.
The Sound of Music was directed by Eileen Nolan, the well-known director of Montfort College. It was produced and backstage-managed by Donna O'Regan. The musical director was Úna Whyte and she was assisted by Leanne McCarthy.
The team were thrilled to hear of the nominations and are really looking forward to seeing the students perform in the country's biggest national theatre on May 5th.