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She studied Drama and Film Studies from 2005-2009, graduating just before Drama moved to the Lir Academy of Dramatic Art. The course was ‘practical and academic – we did hands-on modules in acting, but also attended lectures and wrote essays. I kind of feel like I got the best of both worlds. People from my course went on to lecture and teach and write, as well as act. There was a huge variety and now we all have different careers, which is brilliant.’ In college, she got involved in the drama society, obviously, and in singing. ‘I did singing jobs and I continued to appear as Aisling [in Fair City ] throughout my college years, as well as doing other, non-performance part-time jobs. I was a grafter basically!’ She loved her college years - ‘being exposed to people from all over the world and from different backgrounds’. Still today, whenever she’s back in Dublin ‘I take a walk through Trinity and remember all the good times, and I always end up bumping into someone I knew then. It’s just that kind of place. I’m a Trinity bragger – I always tell people I went there!’ On graduation, she worked in Dublin for a time with Rough Magic, a company she ‘really admired’. The West End production of The Commitments – she played Natalie – gave her the opportunity to move to London in 2013. It was at another West End musical, Close to You: Bacharach Reimagined, that she met her husband, Canadian actor and musician, Kyle Riabko, who created the show. It resulted in an album and concert tours for Riabko in North America. The pair lived together in Los Angeles for a number of years before returning to London, where they are now settled – ‘it’s where we met and fell in love and it has always felt like a special place to us. We love the vibrancy and the location works for our careers and our business.’ They recently set up a company, Can-Land Music, composing and producing music for children’s entertainment and television, which really took off during lockdown and provided a great focus when live theatre and music was shut down. McKeon and her co-star, Samantha Barks, were both winners for ‘best performers’ in the 2022 WhatsOnStage Awards, and Stephanie has been nominated for an Olivier Award - Best Actress in a Musical. She agrees the show has the ‘potential to run and run’, like other musicals - ‘of course that’s what Disney would want - for it to run forever.’ If it does, I’m a Trinity bragger the roles of Anna and Elsa will eventually be filled by other actors. McKeon is ready for her career to take her in many directions, but for now she is happy ‘looking out – I always tell people I went there! into the audience and seeing all these little girls and boys dressed up as Anna and Elsa. These are wonderfully flawed characters, not perfect princesses - they’re real and relatable and humorous. There is something really special about kids getting to experience this in a live setting - they’ve all sat on the couch and watched it for years and now here they are in the theatre and it’s live in front of them, and we can hear them vocalising, just singing along and knowing every word.’
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Greetings from San Francisco Trinity graduate, Robert O’Driscoll, Consul General of Ireland in San Francisco reflects on what it means to be Irish in the US - especially around St Patrick’s Day As long as I can remember, three wonders of People: providing high quality consular support and services nature found across the US Pacific Northwest have to Irish citizens and other clients across Western US. We captivated my imagination – the six-foot high waves work collaboratively with the diverse collection of Irish in Hawaii, the vast snow-covered expanse of Alaska and the community organisations across the region and promote the giant redwood trees of Northern California. As a teenager Irish language, culture and sport. Our Prosperity: supporting at home in Dublin, these places seemed so remote and far deep economic and research connections between Ireland away that I thought it unlikely that I would ever have an and the global leading innovation eco-system here on the opportunity to see their epic grandeur up close and US West Coast. Our Influence: developing strong in person. political relationships, primarily with state, city I joined the Department of Foreign Affairs in 2007 as a Third Secretary. At that and county government administrations in the region. point, I had completed a BA in History and Political Science at Trinity College Dublin and an MA in International Security and Conflict Studies. A career in diplomacy seemed like a natural way to apply my university studies, but what I It is an enormous privilege and honour, made even more special by realising the dreams of my younger self This March will be my fifth St Patrick’s Day in California. There is a special energy throughout the St Patrick’s Day season (March is officially Irish American Heritage month so celebrations are month-long). had not appreciated was how a career in the Department would broaden my horizons, give me an opportunity to develop a global perspective, and to understand better Ireland’s place in the world. Above all, my career since joining the Department has allowed me to pursue my passion for public service and the ability to make a real tangible impact in my day-to-day work. St Patrick’s Day in Western US is a celebration of the region’s rich Irish heritage. Approximately 2.1 million people in California identify as Irish – the highest number of any state in the US. There are few places in the world outside of Ireland where people born in Ireland have had a more formative impact. Butte Montana was once home to so many Irish people that it was known as Ireland’s I have served overseas in Ireland’s embassy to the Kingdom fifth province. San Francisco was the first major American of Saudi Arabia and in our embassy to the United Arab city to elect an Irish-born Mayor, Longford’s Frank McCoppin Emirates, which I helped establish in 2009. At home, I have in 1867. In the late nineteenth century, Meath native, Kate worked in a variety of roles including on United Nations Kennedy, won a legal case in California’s Supreme Court to matters, the Western Balkans, EU development policy and establish the principle of equal pay for equal work. Seattle economic diplomacy. I have enjoyed every position – each became home to thousands of Irish during the Klondike gold has provided me with an opportunity to contribute, to learn rush in the 1890s. and to develop. St Patrick’s Day is also an opportunity to display the vitality My current role, as Consul General of Ireland in San Francisco and energy of the community today. Parades with tens of has been a uniquely rewarding experience. Operating on thousands in attendance will take place across the region. the US Pacific Coast, some 8,000kms from home, I lead The celebrations will include Irish dance, Irish music, other a diplomatic mission with a diverse programme of work Irish artistic performances, Irish food and even Irish comedy! that can broadly be broken down into three pillars – Our
