The Gaiety School of Acting – The National Theatre School of Ireland –  provides training in the dramatic arts up to the highest level, empowering people of all ages and stages, cultures and backgrounds, to lift their horizons, discover their artistry, and go beyond what they thought was possible.

We train actors for careers in stage, screen and audio and our Professional Actor Training programme is the longest running course of its type in Ireland.

The School was founded in 1986 by the internationally renowned theatre director Joe Dowling, in response to the lack of full time actor training programmes in Ireland at that time. The School was led for over thirty years from 1993 by Director Patrick Sutton.  Since 2024 the Director & CEO is Will Wollen.  We are widely regarded as the country’s premier training facility for actors.

We offer a  Two Year Full-time Professional Actor Training programme as well as co-delivering a One-Year MA in Theatre Practice  in partnership with University College Dublin (UCD).

The full time actor-training programme boasts unprecedented graduate success with our actors appearing in all of Ireland’s theatres, in film and television nationally and internationally and in theatres across England including The Royal Shakespeare Company and The National Theatre in London.

Our alumni include Colin Farrell, Olivia Wilde, Colin O’Donoghue, Aidan Turner, Eva Birthistle (Best Actress Lead Television Award, IFTA 2014) Charlie Murphy (Best Actress, The Irish Times Awards 2013) and Sarah Greene (Tony Award Nominee 2014), Brendan Quinn as alumni of distinction.

We also offer adult One Year Part-Time training, adult 10 week courses and weekend workshops, and successful Young Gaiety Drama classes for under 18’s.

The School also hosts a range of Study Abroad courses for international students delivered both in conjunction with US partner organisations and available for solo applicants from all over the world. Its broad community and outreach scheme includes a highly successful Shakespeare in Schools programme for Leaving Cert students.

The School provides a robust Corporate training facility with programmes specialising in Communication Skills, Leadership, Team Building and Brand Management.

Writers the School is proud to have commissioned include Marina Carr, Gavin Kostick, Alex Johnston, Ken Bourke, Sean McLaughlin, Mary Elizabeth Burke Kennedy, Lisa Harding, Roger Gregg, Michele Reid, Lally Katz, Lisa Tierney Keogh, Lally Katz, Michelle Read and Gary Duggan.

Through a committed and dedicated staff, the School has developed and expanded to its current position where almost 5,000 students pass through our doors annually.

The School is based in the centre of Dublin city’s cultural quarter, Temple Bar. Young Gaiety classes also take place in satellite schools both in Sandyford and Malahide.

Nationally and internationally, The Gaiety School of Acting is proud to be The National Theatre School of Ireland.