![\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/4977806_6_articleinline_IFTA_20Awards_202026_20K5.jpg\" "\\"")
Brendan Canty at the IFTA Awards 2026 at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre. Picture: Brian McEvoy.<\/p>\nAward-winning Cork-born director Brendan Canty has said recognition at the recent Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) awards was \u201csurreal and humbling\u201d.<\/p>\n
The awards ceremony, which took place last Friday at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre, saw several Cork-linked films and TV shows honoured, including Christy, Saipan, and The Young Offenders, as well as Hamnet, Blue Lights, and Trespasses on a national scale.<\/p>\n
Mr Canty was among several winners for Christy, seeing the Kinsale native recognised with Best Director, alongside colleagues Allyn Quigley who won for editing and Amy Rowan who won for casting, as well as the piece being awarded the title of Best Film.<\/p>\n
Cork actor \u00c9anna Hardwicke was also awarded for his leading role as Roy Keane in Saipan, as well as Chris Walley, who won for his supporting role in the fourth season of The Young Offenders.<\/p>\n
Speaking to The Echo, Mr Canty said while he didn\u2019t expect a win on the night, it was \u201ca lovely surprise\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re on a high after it to be honest, it feels really good to be recognised like this in Ireland,\u201d said Mr Canty.<\/p>\n
Brendan Canty at the IFTA Awards 2026 at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre. Picture: Brian McEvoy.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince the film came out, especially in Ireland, people have been so warm and supportive \u2013 it seems like they\u2019ve been really batting for it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe way it was made, it was such a communal project, there were so many first-time actors and everyone had ownership of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be recognised in the way we were was so special \u2013 it was surreal and really humbling,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t expect it, I thought we had a chance, but it was a lovely surprise.<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI’m definitely not going to stop making films and TV now, I\u2019ve got wind in my sails, so I\u2019ve got to keep sailing.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
Mr Canty\u2019s father, Greg Canty also expressed how proud the family is of Brendan\u2019s achievement, saying \u201cthis was no accident\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile this probably feels like a bolt out of the blue, being his first movie, he has been so focused,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has been perfecting his craft ever since the Take me to Church music video with Hozier.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe amazing thing with Brendan is he has a huge affinity and understanding of stories \u2013 he has been particularly drawn to the northside of Cork \u2013 he loved going up there on bonfire night to take pictures.<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe film in a weird way captures who he is \u2013 his craft and the magic of storytelling \u2013 and the final scene being bonfire night, it\u2019s a full loop to everything.\n <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re absolutely proud of him, it\u2019s amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Award-winning Cork-born director Brendan Canty has said recognition at the recent Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) awards…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":312492,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[7328,79,93,61,60],"class_list":["post-312491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-film-tv","tag-cork-news","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=312491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312491\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/312492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=312491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=312491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=312491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}