L'Abri, Sea Bank, Arklow, Co Wicklow

M: +353 (0)86 244 7599

E: imeldamcdonagh@gmail.com

Imelda McDonagh is a multi-award-winning director and actress with a first-class honours M.A. in Theatre Studies. She is a qualified Make-Up Artist and holds a Licentiate in Speech and Drama from the London College of Music.

A lifetime of performance has led to the creation of some of her favourite roles, including Lady Bracknell in Wilde’s The Importance of Being Ernest, Blanche in William’s A Streetcar named Desire, Stephanie in Kempinski’s Duet for One, Gertrude in Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Kate in Miller’s All My Sons, as well as the monologue plays: Baglady by Frank McGuinness, Jennifer Johnston’s Christine and Dermot Bolger’s The Holy Ground. Also at home in the world of musical theatre, Imelda has won the coveted Association of Irish Musical Societies’ award (AIMS) for Best Director with her production of Kiss Me Kate and was nominated as Best Director for the amateur premiere of The Ha'penny Bridge and Michael Collins, a Musical Drama, winning the AIMS overall award for Best Show from a field of over fifty productions. She is currently directing The Producers for Enniscorthy Musical Society.

Currently President of the Association of Drama Adjudicators, Imelda has enjoyed adjudicating since 2001, including the Finals for Macra na Feirme and the ICA. Since she took early retirement form her career as a secondary teacher of English and Drama in 2012, she has enjoyed the freedom to travel throughout Ireland to adjudicate in every province. In 2017, she adjudicated the Confined Drama Finals in Tubercurry and, in 2018, the One-Act Finals in Kilmuckridge and, in 2019, the All-Ireland Drama Finals in Athlone. She is looking forward to adjudicating the UK One Act Finals in 2023.

Imelda has also been awarded The Civic Merit Award for her services to the community by President Michael D. Higgins.