Drama groups from across the country will take part in the All-Ireland Confined Drama Finals 2005 over the next nine days in Tralee, Co Kerry.
It is the second time in the competition's 53-year history that Tralee has been chosen to host the finals.
The Kerry Drama Festival, which begins tonight in the Siamsa Theatre, is the culmination of many weeks of heats on the amateur drama circuit, according to Mary Murphy, festival secretary.
Twenty-six preliminary festivals were organised by the Amateur Drama Council of Ireland in all 32 counties.
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The festival is being opened by Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, John O'Donoghue.
The opening play is Jim Nolan's Moonshine.