e Drama League of Ireland has a membership around Ireland, second only to the GAA

A Kilkenny man has been elected as chairperson of e Amateur Drama League of Ireland. Edward Hayden, a proud Graignamanagh man was a very popular choice when the drama council met last week and voted for Mr Hayden to lead the council for 2023/24.

Speaking to the Kilkenny Observer following Mr Hayden’s election, Joanne Keane, Drama League of Ireland (DLI) said the Council was delighted to have Edward Hayden as the new Chairperson.

PRAISE FROM MAYOR

Mayor of Kilkenny Cllr David Fitzgerald was another to o er congratulations. “He is an exceptional talent who continues to bring positivity and leadership to everything that he is involved in. We look forward to his advocacy on behalf of drama in Ireland”

A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS

Mind you, amateur drama is only one of the many strings that makes up the life of Edward Hayden.

If it was revealed that Edward Hayden was in fact a twin you would accept the fact, and nally understand how the aforementioned Hayden gets through such an amount of work on a weekly basis.

When you look at his weekly schedule it appears gruelling and makes it di cult to fathom how one person can keep up this incredible pace.

He falls into the Margaret atcher mode of people who seem to need a mere four hours sleep per night’ e Kilkenny Observer Newspaper met up with the newly elected chairman during the week and took a closer look at his schedule

From his online postings, one would be forgiven for thinking that every hour of his life is dedicated to the performing arts. ink again.

He is a chef and food writer and very wellknown to audiences from his weekly TV cookery appearances on Virgin Media’s Ireland AM. He also presents a weekly radio show, ‘ e Saturday Show with Edward Hayden’, every Saturday morning on KCLR96fm.

His full time occupation is as a culinary lecturer South East Technological University, where he is course leader of the Higher Certi cate in Culinary Arts Programme. He is also the chef and proprietor of e Edward Hayden School of Cookery’ in his native Graignamanagh, which boasts a large selection of recreational cookery classes for both the novice and experience home cook.

And, oh yes, has time for rehearsal and endless theatre productions all year round.

EARLY YEARS

Edward was born in 1983 in Graignamanagh, and is the youngest son of Eddie & Sally Hayden and has one bother and three sisters; Anne, Jim, Esther & Lorraine is was before obtaining a culinary arts degree at Cork Institute of Technology (Now MTU) and then nally graduated with a Masters degree in Learning & Teaching in Higher & ird Level Education.

He attended primary school in Graignamanagh in Scoil Mhuire Gan Smal and e Boy’s National School and then attended secondary school in New Ross in Good Counsel College. Edward started an arts degree in English, Spanish & Geography but decided after one year that this was not the route and instead attended Waterford Institute of Technology (Now SETU) to complete a Higher Certi cate in Arts in Culinary Arts.

Speaking with e Kilkenny Observer newspaper, Mr Hayden said he was delighted to be taking on the role as chair of the Council and was very much looking forward to the year