Bring in the flood defences, because it’s not just the extravagantly-named storms that the world has to contend with these days. The Green Wave shows no sign of abating anytime soon, as across all cultural disciplines, the Irish continue to make their presence felt on the world stage.
Amid the Mescals, Buckleys and Murphys, the Hoziers and the Craic Pack, the JW Andersons and the Kneecaps, however, there is a second wave brewing – and here are ten rising stars to watch.
1. Aran Murphy
Alright, so his dad is one of the most famous actors on the planet right now – but it sounds like Aran Murphy is determined to plough his own furrow. Having made his debut in the 2022 movie LOLA, the teenage son of Cillian Murphy and artist Yvonne McGuinness has recently landed parts in upcoming legal drama War, Taika Waititi’s adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel Klara and the Sun, and Sharon Horgan’s new HBO series Youth.
2. Cúpla Designs (Brodie and Mirren McFeely)
These young Donegal-born, Belfast-based twins have been working together under the Cúpla banner for the past two years or so, but they came to prominence in a big way last summer when CMAT donned their designs – including that incredible custom-made Daniel O’Donnell dress, which she wore in the video for When a Good Man Cries and which even earned the wholehearted approval of Wee Daniel himself. Embracing Irish culture in a playful manner, their other popular designs from their ‘Greetings from Donegal’ collection include their ‘Suckin’ Diesel’ tank tops and ‘I Heart Donegal’ t-shirts.
3. Stella and the Dreaming
Hotly-tipped by practically every tastemaker in Ireland, this enigmatic artist from Waterford has already cultivated quite a buzz with her ethereal piano-based compositions, made “from behind a garage door somewhere, stuffed with duvets and carpet-covered frames” in her own words. Stella’s promising single releases, including The First Time and the Cocteau Twins-esque In Another Life, have already earned her a support slot with The Cure at their Marlay Park gig in June.
4. Eileen Leonard Sealy
A relatively recent graduate of NCAD, Howth-born artist Eileen Leonard Sealy staged her debut solo show at The Lab last year to great success. Her striking visual style, which she has said ‘inhabit the realm of theatre’, is inspired by “landscapes marked by human intervention” and she previously held a residency at a natural burial ground in the Netherlands. Sealy was recently announced as a winner of the prestigious Hennessy Craig award, and her Spring exhibition is currently running at Draiocht until May 2nd.
5. Flynn Gray
Being cast in one of the biggest movie franchises of all time, alongside some of the biggest movie stars of all time? All in a day’s work for Flynn Gray. Having impressed in roles on RTE shows Borderline and Showkids, as well as a small role in Wednesday, the Dublin actor will star alongside Ryan Gosling and Amy Adams in Star Wars: Starfighter, which is set for release in 2027. Expect to hear a lot more of this young actor in the next year or two.
Flynn Gray
6. Madra Salach
The contemporary folk movement is not slowing down – especially not with bands like Madra Salach leading the charge. The Paul Banks-led six-piece are blazing a trail through the scene, having formed from the ashes of various Dublin indie bands. Their recently-released debut EP It’s a Hell of an Age, which featured a ferocious take on Spancil Hill, has teed them up for an even bigger 2026.
7. Lainey Whelan
A fashion designer who works across print, digital media and installation, Dublin’s Lainey Whelan has caused a stir in recent years with her eye-catching and unique tights, available under her ‘T-Lainey’ banner. In her own words, the Fine Art graduate’s practice is “the pursuit of morbid curiosity through a post-internet lens” and some of her previous work incorporated forensics. She has also designed custom-made tights for CMAT’s band, as seen during their recent performance on Stephen Colbert’s talk show.
8. Danielle James
This Irish theatremaker has made incredible waves out foreign in recent years, notching up several awards and nominations (including her work Three Boys being a finalist for the 2025 Women’s Prize for Playwriting.) She has worked with artists including Florence + the Machine, Shania Twain and Cyndi Lauper, has performed everywhere from Carnegie Hall to the National Theatre and is currently developing work with London’s Bush Theatre, The Royal Court Theatre, and An Grianán Theatre. The girl’s going places.
9. Nóra Ní Anluain Fay and Ben Sullivan
A “comedic, contemporary dance duet about the world of the GAA”? It’s been done – and how, thanks to choreographer and performer Nóra Ní Anluain Fay, whose work fuses dance and theatre along with music, text and film. That show, Ham Sandwiches and Discipline, ran at the Dublin Fringe Festival in 2024 and was performed with her fellow dancer and choreographer Ben Sullivan – himself a rising star in dance, having received a Dance Ireland Residency Award last year and featured in various shows as well as dance film CASTLE X by Eoin Heaney.
Ben Sullivan and Nóra Ní Anluain Fay in Ham Sandwiches and Discipline
(Pic: Carol Cumins)
10. Djamel White
One of the most eagerly-anticipated Irish novels of 2026 is the crime debut by Dubliner Djamel White. All Them Dogs tells the story of Tony Ward, a young queer gangster whose arrival back in west Dublin after years spent in London finds him caught in “a brutal dance between desire and loyalty.” White’s own story to publication is inspiring, having gone through an early-leavers programme at school only to find his calling at Fighting Words, the creative writing organization and charity co-founded by Roddy Doyle. He’s already winning serious praise: Booker winner Anne Enright calls the book “a stylish, adroit and gritty debut”.