It's been a great week for the Irish arts abroad, as we make our Edinburgh Festival Fringe presence felt.
On Tuesday, Aoife Duffin won The Stage Award For Acting Excellence for her role in The Corn Exchange's A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing, while today brought the news that Fishamble’s production of Underneath with Pat Kinevane had scooped the prestigious Fringe First Award.
Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, TD,  Minister of State at the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, sent his congratulations to the winners.
Minister Ó Ríordáin said:
"It is an amazing tribute to the strength and imaginations of our artists that, once again, Irish culture has achieved substantial success in a global context.
"I know that the competition is fierce at the Edinburgh Festivals and it’s a fantastic result for these performers and their shows. I know also that it will generate further opportunities for them and I look forward to congratulating them in person when I travel to Edinburgh later this month."
The minister will travel to the Scottish capital for the Culture Ireland networking event (August 24) for international promoters and presenters where they will meet Irish artists and companies who are presenting work in Edinburgh.