Actor Jamie-Lee O’Donnell had “no nervousness” starring in Kneecap’s music video for Sayōnara, which was released three weeks before a terrorism charge against Kneecap’s Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was thrown out of court.

The UK crown prosecution service has since appealed the decision, but Ms O’Donnell does “not think there is any issue” with the actions of the Belfast rap trio.

In the group’s music video, the Derry Girls actor played a burned-out desk worker who escapes from her office in a van emblazoned with “Free Mo Chara”.

Speaking at a Screen Ireland event on Thursday, Ms O’Donnell said: “It’s crazy that it [the terrorism charge] is even happening for flying a flag and saying what they said.

“I was born in the ’80s so the political back and forth and being told you are a problem and on the wrong side is something I am very used to growing up as an Irish Catholic in Derry.

“I am proud to say that I can stick by my integrity and my principles even if people don’t agree and it’s going to be a massive problem.

“I don’t think there is any issue with what they have done” she said, adding that she was a fan of Kneecap.

Ms O’Donnell will star in an upcoming Screen Ireland film, Skintown. The coming-of-age feature film launched at Trinity College Dublin on Thursday as part of Screen Ireland’s slate of 87 productions for 2026.

Among the projects featured were Power Ballad, directed by John Carney and starring American stars Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas. Mr Carney has described his film, which will premiere at the close of the Dublin International Film Festival in March, as a “ludicrous comedy”.

Another upcoming production is Frank Berry’s The Lost Children of Tuam, a documentary about Catherine Corless’s work uncovering information about the deaths of children at the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam.

Animation projects were also highlighted at the event, including Kilkenny-based Cartoon Saloon’s 2026 feature film Julían, which its studio director Louise Bagnall said explored the “power of self-expression”.

Director John Kelly said on Thursday that being nominated for an Oscar for his short animated film Retirement Plan was “a complete shock”.

“There’s a whole Oscar prediction world out there which I was not privy to, and our film was never on any prediction list,” he said.

A record-breaking spend by production companies in 2025 resulted in €544 million going to the Irish economy, via the cost of cast, crew, hotels, catering and other inputs, according to analysis shared by Screen Ireland.

Screen Ireland’s chief executive, Désirée Finnegan, said the number was “outstanding”.

The €544 million was a 26 per cent increase on the previous year.

Ms Finnegan cited the section 481 tax credit for film and television as a “critical underpinning” of the attractiveness of Ireland as a location for international productions to come and film.

The tax credit allows productions to claim 32 per cent of their spend on all goods, services, cast and crew while filming in Ireland. The credit is allocated to films that satisfy a culture test and the industry development test.

She said the majority of Screen Ireland funding went to local projects and “the expression of Irish culture on screen”.

“If you look at literature, music, theatre and across film and TV, I think there’s just an incredible wealth and depth of talent,” she said.