Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) Awards: ‘Hamnet’ Tops Wins, ‘Christy’ Nabs Best Irish Film
The 23rd Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) Awards were held today at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre where Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet was named Best International Film, stars Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal as Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor for the film, respectively, and Best Script for Zhao and co-writer Maggie O’Farrell.
Christy, the story of a young Cork man seeking independence after leaving the foster system, was named Best Film and Best Director for Brendan Canty, as well won for Best Casting. The film led the nominations with 14. Saipan, which was next with 12, went home empty-handed.
The IFTA Awards honor Irish film and television making in front of and behind the camera and this year’s ceremony was hosted by Irish comedian, TV presenter, writer and actor Kevin McGahern.
Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another) and Emma Stone (Bugonia) were the winners of Best International Actor and Actress.
In television, Blue Lights was the TV Drama winner (its sole award) while Trespasses won Best Actress for Lori Petticrew and Best Script. Anthony Boyle was named Best Actor for the Netflix series House of Guinness and Alison Oliver, currently in “Wuthering Heights,” won Supporting Actress for the HBO series Task.
Oscar-nominated Irish actor Ciarán Hinds was honored with the Irish Academy Award for his Lifetime Achievement, and for his outstanding Irish and international Acting achievements, and contribution to the screen industry across fifty years.
Here is the complete list of winners.
FILM CATEGORIES
BEST FILM
Aontas
Blue Moon
Christy (WINNER)
Four Mothers
Saipan
Steve
DIRECTOR – FILM
Lisa Barros D’Sa, Glenn Leyburn – Saipan
Brendan Canty – Christy (WINNER)
Myrid Carten – A Want in Her
Lorcan Finnegan – The Surfer
Ruán Magan – Báite
Edwin Mullane, Adam O’Keeffe – Horseshoe
SCRIPT FILM
Sarah Gordon, Damian McCann – Aontas
Maggie O’Farrell, Chloé Zhao – Hamnet (WINNER)
Alan O’Gorman – Christy
Sheena Lambert – Báite
Darren Thornton, Colin Thornton – Four Mothers
Enda Walsh – Die My Love
LEAD ACTOR – FILM
Steve Coogan – Saipan
Daniel Day-Lewis – Anemone
Colin Farrell – Ballad of a Small Player
Éanna Hardwicke – Saipan (WINNER)
Cillian Murphy – Steve
Daniel Power – Christy
LEAD ACTRESS – FILM
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet (WINNER)
Carolyn Bracken – Horseshoe
Carrie Crowley – Aontas
Fionnula Flanagan – Four Mothers
Eleanor O’Brien – Báite
Fiona Shaw – Hot Milk
SUPPORTING ACTOR – FILM
Liam Cunningham – Palestine 36
Jamie Forde – Christy
Paul Mescal – Hamnet (WINNER)
Diarmuid Noyes – Christy
Seán T. Ó Meallaigh – Aontas
Andrew Scott – Blue Moon
SUPPORTING ACTRESS – FILM
Brid Brennan – Aontas
Kerry Condon – F1 (WINNER)
Sarah Greene – Trad
Dearbhla Molloy – Four Mothers
Kerry Condon – Train Dreams
Emma Willis – Christy
RISING STAR
Carolyn Bracken (Actor – Horseshoe, Oddity)
Brendan Canty (Director – Christy, Gealtra)
Myrid Carten (Director – A Want in Her)
Louisa Harland (Actor – The Walsh Sisters, Derry Girls) (WINNER)
INTERNATIONAL CATEGORIES
INTERNATIONAL FILM
Bugonia
Hamnet (WINNER)
One Battle After Another
Palestine ’36
Sentimental Value
Sinners
INTERNATIONAL ACTOR
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another (WINNER)
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon
Michael B Jordan – Sinners
James McArdle – Four Mothers
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
Jesse Plemons – Bugonia
INTERNATIONAL ACTRESS
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
Jennifer Lawrence – Die My Love
Margaret Qualley – Blue Moon
Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value
Emma Stone – Bugonia (WINNER)
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another
CRAFT CATEGORIES
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Bugonia – Robbie Ryan
Christy – Colm Hogan
Die My Love – Seamus McGarvey (WINNER)
Saipan – Piers McGrail
Severance – Suzie Lavelle
CASTING
Christy – Amy Rowan (WINNER)
Four Mothers – Louise Kiely
The Rainmaker – Emma Gunnery
Ready Or Not – Maureen Hughes, Alison Crosbie
Saipan – Aine O’Sullivan
COSTUME DESIGN
Blue Moon – Consolata Boyle (WINNER)
Christy – Hannah Bury
Four Mothers – Joan O’Clery
Saipan – Lara Campbell
Video Nasty – Joanne O’Brien
MAKE-UP & HAIR
Blue Moon – Linda Gannon, Liz Byrne
Christy – Jennie Readman, Edwina Kelly
Saipan – Polly McKay
Trespasses – Natalie Reid (WINNER)
Wednesday – Lynn Johnston
ORIGINAL MUSIC
Aontas – Daithí Ó Drónaí
Báite – Eimear Noone, Craig Stuart Garfinkle (WINNER)
Christy – Daithí Ó Drónaí
Saipan – David Holmes, Brian Irvine
Video Nasty – Die Hexen
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Blue Moon – Susie Cullen (Production Designer), Kevin Downey (Set Decorator)
Christy – Martin Goulding (Production Designer)
Saipan – John Leslie (Production Designer)
Wednesday – Philip Murphy (Production Designer), Neville Gaynor (Set Decorator) (WINNER)
Video Nasty – Tara O’Reilly (Production Designer)
SOUND
Anemone – Steve Fanagan (WINNER)
Blue Moon – Hugh Fox
Saipan – Tim Harrison, Andrew Graham, Paul Maynes
The Surfer – Aza Hand
Video Nasty – Patrick Downey
VFX
Anemone – Tom Fagan
Foundation – Ed Bruce, Andrew Barry
House of Guinness – Eoin O’Sullivan, David Sewell (WINNER)
One Battle After Another – Ed Bruce, Amrei Bronnenmayer
TV DRAMA CATEGORIES
BEST DRAMA
Blue Lights (WINNER)
Leonard and Hungry Paul
Trespasses
The Walsh Sisters
Wednesday S2
The Young Offenders
DIRECTOR DRAMA
Rachel Carey – Obituary (WINNER)
Megan K Fox – Video Nasty
Oonagh Kearney – The Au Pair
Mia Mullarkey – Hidden Assets
Hugh O’Conor – Showkids
Aisling Walsh – Miss Austen
SCRIPT DRAMA
Peter Foott – The Young Offenders
Ailbhe Keogan – Trespasses (WINNER)
Declan Lawn, Adam Patterson – Blue Lights
Cara Loftus – Hidden Assets
Stefanie Preissner – The Walsh Sisters
Hugh Travers – Video Nasty
LEAD ACTOR – DRAMA
Anthony Boyle – House of Guinness (WINNER)
Pierce Brosnan – MobLand
Domhnall Gleeson – The Paper
Martin McCann – Blue Lights
Aaron Monaghan – Hidden Assets
Alex Murphy – The Young Offenders
LEAD ACTRESS – DRAMA
Niamh Algar – The Iris Affair
Caitriona Balfe – Outlander
Siobhán Cullen – Obituary
Louisa Harland – The Walsh Sisters
Nora-Jane Noone – Hidden Assets
Lola Petticrew – Trespasses (WINNER)
SUPPORTING ACTOR – DRAMA
Jack Gleeson – House of Guinness
Cal O’Driscoll – Video Nasty
Dónall Ó Héalai – Hidden Assets
Fionn O’Shea – House of Guinness
Aidan Quinn – The Walsh Sisters
Chris Walley – The Young Offenders (WINNER)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS – DRAMA
Cathy Belton – Hidden Assets
Ruth Bradley – Slow Horses
Katherine Devlin – Blue Lights
Danielle Galligan – House of Guinness
Alison Oliver – Task (WINNER)
Genevieve O’Reilly – Andor
DOCUMENTARY & SHORT FILM CATEGORIES
GEORGE MORRISON FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
A Want in Her (WINNER)
The Essence of Eva
Listen To The Land Speak
Sanatorium
Testimony
Útoipe Cheilteach
Redbreast Unhidden SHORT FILM
The Ban
No Mean City
No Time Wasters
Nostalgie (WINNER)
Punt
Three Keenings
ANIMATED SHORT
Éiru
Inside, The Valley Sings
Rerooted
Retirement Plan (WINNER)
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
- Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) Awards: ‘Hamnet’ Tops Wins, ‘Christy’ Nabs Best Irish Film - February 20, 2026
- 8th Kodak Film Awards Recipients: Kristen Stewart, Joachim Trier, Autumn Durald Arkapaw and More - February 20, 2026
- Frontrunner Friday Oscar Predictions: The Pre-BAFTA Conclave Begins, Will a New Frontrunner Be Anointed? (2/20/26) - February 20, 2026
8th Kodak Film Awards Recipients: Kristen Stewart, Joachim Trier, Autumn Durald Arkapaw and More 
Frontrunner Friday Oscar Predictions: The Pre-BAFTA Conclave Begins, Will a New Frontrunner Be Anointed? (2/20/26) 
‘Paradise’ Season 2 Review: There Goes the Neighborhood [B-]