The 23rd annual Irish Film and TV Awards (IFTAs) took place on Saturday the 21st of February. For years, Irish film and TV has been on the come-up, however, 2026 has been a bigger year than anyone could have imagined, with Jessie Buckley, John Kelly, Richard Baneham, Maggie O’Farrell, Element Pictures, and Wild Atlantic Pictures all nominated for Oscars. This is an unprecedented amount of Irish production companies and creatives, bringing the powerhouse that is Irish media to the forefront on a very global stage. However, the IFTAs aim to bring everything back to a focus on just Ireland, providing opportunities for Irish films which do not have the resources to contend on such a large scale to earn well-deserved accolades.
There was a lot to celebrate this year, with films like Christy (Brendan Canty, 2025), Saipan (Glenn Leyburn/ Lisa Barros D’Sa, 2025), Blue Moon (Richard Linklater, 2025), Aontas (Damian McCann, 2025) and Four Mothers (Darren Thornton, 2024) receiving multiple nominations, and many TV series and films being shot in Irish studios. When it came time to the actual awards ceremony, Cork-based Christy won many of the top awards including Best Film, Best Film Director for Brendan Canty, Best Editing for Allyn Quigley, and Best Casting for Amy Rowan. The film surrounds two brothers attempting to reconnect and heal from their traumatic childhoods, and has such an authentic and raw emotional quality that it is easy to see why it received so much praise.
Hamnet (Chloe Zhao, 2026) experienced a similar sweep with Jessie Buckley winning Best Lead Actress, Paul Mescal winning Best Supporting Actor, and Chloe Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell winning Best Script Film and Best International Film. Many have commented on the emotional connection that came with seeing Hamnet and leaving theatres tearstained. Jessie Buckley shines as Agnes and proves herself to be an undeniable force in the acting world today.
In addition to these, Éanna Harwicke won the award for Best Actor in a Lead Role for his performance in Saipan, where he played Roy Keane, captain of the Irish football team at the World Cup who forfeits his place in the squad. Harwicke has been lauded for his authentic portrayal of Keane from his Cork accent to his contempt for those in the Football Association of Ireland (FAI). As for best Actress in a Supporting role, Kerry Condon won for her role in F1 (Joseph Kosinski, 2025).
Moving on to TV, Belfast’s Blue Lights (2023 – present) took home Best Drama for its third season, while Rachel Carey won Best Director for Obituary (2023 – present), and Ailbhe Keogan won Best Script for Trespasses (2025). Anthony Boyle, coming off the high of being last year’s Rising Star winner won Lead Actor in a Drama for House of Guinness (2025), and Lola Petticrew won Lead Actress in a Drama for Trespasses. Alison Oliver won Supporting Actress for the HBO crime series Task (2025), and Chris Walley won Supporting Actor for the fourth season of The Young Offenders (2018 – present).
While there were many more awards handed out, some to keep an eye out for are Derry Girl’s (2018 – 2022) Louisa Harland’s win as Screen Ireland IFTA Rising Star and Retirement Plan (John Kelly, 2024) winning Best Animated Short.
All-in-all, 2025 has been an incredible year for Irish film and TV. Everyone should be on the lookout for the nominees, and potential emerging talent next year!
