Carlow Little Theatre announce the winner of the international playwright competition

Carlow Little Theatre Society were delighted to announce the winners of their fourth annual
International One-Act Playwriting Competition recently, which, once again attracted a large number
of submissions from Ireland and all around the world. After an exhaustive shortlisting exercise and
another extremely close contest this year, three independent adjudicators reviewed all of the
entries into the competition and announced the winning results in the following order. 'In the Name of the Dog': Rachel Cullivan Eliott. 2nd: 'The One Good Thing, or "Are Ya Patrick Swayze?': Joe Bravaco. 3rd 'The Birth': Ryan Pollock.

The competition also had the distinction of awarding the overall 1st prize and the winner of Best
Irish play to Rachel Cullivan Eliott, an Irish based playwright. ‘In the Name of the Dog’ is a
tragicomedy about a mother whose role in her male-only family is taken for granted and under-
appreciated. Mary Doyle, a judge in the competition, praised the winning play: “The script lifted off
the page with its energy, writing talent and craftsmanship. It's a very well-deserved winner.”

As winner of the International and ‘Best Irish’ Play categories, Rachael will be the happy recipient of
a cheque for €500 and €300 respectively for the above awards, plus beautiful bog oak trophies by
‘Celtic Roots’ in Westmeath. 2nd place in the competition, Joe Bravaco from New Jersey in the USA,
is the recipient of €300 prize money, and 3rd place, Ryan Pollock from Wishaw in Scotland, is the
recipient of €200. Winner Rachael Cullivan Elliott expressed her joy after her double win. “I am
delighted and honoured to win this award and want to thank Carlow Little Theatre and all those
involved in the organisation of this competition. It is wonderful to see such encouragement to
playwrights - both seasoned and those new to the craft. Also, I would like to acknowledge and
congratulate my fellow winners and all those who entered the competition and wish it - and them -
every success in the future”. About ‘In the Name of the Dog’, Rachael commented: "It’s a play about
little things - like jigsaw pieces! The little things that make a life - or can end it - either by themselves or slowly over time. The final result isn't always what you expected from the picture on the box"
Speaking on behalf of the competition’s sponsors, Maven TM, Managing Director, Mark Cradock
commented “Carlow has a strong culture and tradition regarding theatre going back many decades
and Maven TM are proud to sponsor these awards, which encourage, support and provide
recognition to modern playwriting talent. Society always needs to listen to the ‘voices’ of its
storytellers, who articulate so much about the world we live in. It is a huge achievement for any
writer to be shortlisted or win this competition, because the level of entries is so high, from writers
from all over the world”.
Mark concluded his comments be offering “heartiest congratulations to the joint overall and Irish
category winner Rachael Cullivan Elliott for her wonderful, entertaining and moving play ‘In The
Name of the Dog’, and also to the runners-up, Joe Bravaco and Ryan Pollock for their exceptional
entries. I would also like to thank all writers who entered this year’s competition.”
Carlow Little Theatre Society’s PRO, Paul Dunne, speaking on behalf of the organising committee
said “We would like to thank all of our entrants, judges, committee members and of course our
sponsor Maven TM for making the competition a huge success again this year. We look forward to
launching and hosting the competition again in 2025”.