The 23rd instalment of the awards ceremony – taking place at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre on Friday, February 20 – will honour exceptional achievement in film and drama, reflecting the country’s “unparalleled storytelling on the global stage”, as described by the academy.
Its CEO Áine Moriarty said this year’s “superb” Irish nominees are “amongst the best in the world” in all 29 categories to be recognised on the night.
Among the contenders for this year’s Lead Actor in Film award are household names – both domestically and internationally – like Peaky Blinders and Oppenheimer protagonist Cillian Murphy and Hollywood staple Colin Farrell.
Mr Murphy is up for the award for his role in Netflix drama Steve released last year while Mr Farrell is in contention for black humour hit Ballad of a Small Player.
Éanna Hardwicke and Steve Coogan are also up for the accolade for their roles in biopic Saipan which chronicles Ireland’s 2002 World Cup woes at the hands of team captain Roy Keane and then-manager Mick McCarthy which saw the latter depart the Ireland camp following a high-profile and calamitous falling-out mid-tournament.
Steve Coogan as Mick McCarthy and Éanna Hardwicke as Roy Keane in Saipan. Source: X
Lead Actress in Film nominees include Jessie Buckley for her emotive performance in recent release Hamnet, starring alongside Paul Mescal, as well as Carrie Crowley for Aontas and Carolyn Bracken for Horseshoe.
Also up for an award are actors of note in the Lead Actor in drama category where Domhnall Gleeson for starring in the spin-off of American cult classic drama The Office called The Paper along with Anthony Boyle for his portrayal of Arthur Guinness in Netflix drama House of Guinness and Pierce Brosnan for crime series MobLand.
The Paper starring Domhnall Gleeson is available on Sky Max and streaming platform NOW.(Photo: Sky)
Cork-set drama film Christy, directed by Brendan Canty, has received a total of 14 nominations this year, while 12 have been given to Saipan, eight to Blue Moon, seven to Four Mothers and six to Irish-language film Aontas.
Nominated in the Best Film category are the latter five films, as well as Steve starring Cillian Murphy.
Among the nominees for Best Director include Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn for Saipan, Lorcan Finnegan for The Surfer and Ruán Magan for Báite.
The Supporting Actor award for film consists of several acclaimed Irish names appearing in hits across 2025 such as Liam Cunningham for historical drama Palestine 36, Paul Mescal for Hamnet and Andrew Scott for comedy-drama Blue Moon.
‘Palestine 36’ is a period drama portraying a Palestinian village revolt against British colonialism
The Lead Actress in drama category celebrated work done by several Irish artists across series such as Lola Petticrew in Trespasses, Caitríona Balfe in Outlander and Nora-Jane Noone in Hidden Assets.
The International Film category is made up of Bugonia, Hamnet, One Battle After Another, Palestine 36, Sentimental Value and Sinners while the International Actor category nominees are Leonardo DiCaprio, Ethan Hawke, Michael B Jordan, James McArdle, Sean Penn and Jesse Plemons.
Other notable categories include the Short Film Award, Cinematography and Costume Design.