'Christy' and 'Saipan' Lead Irish Film & TV Award Nominations
The nominations have been announced for this year's Irish Film & TV Awards.
Brendan Canty's acclaimed drama Christy leads the nomination list with fourteen appearances. Starring Danny Power and Diarmuid Noyes, the film tells the story of two brothers who grew up separately in the care system and are brought together many years later.
Canty was nominated for Best Director, while Powers and Noyes were nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, respectively.
Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D'Sa's buzzy biopic Saipan trailed closely behind with twelve nominations, including Best Director for the filmmaking duo and Best Actor for Steve Coogan.
Saipan retells the public disagreement between Irish soccer captain Roy Keane and the team's manager, Mick McCarthy, in the run-up to the 2002 World Cup.
Richard Linklater's Blue Moon performed especially strongly in the International Film categories, securing acting nominations for both Ethan Hawke and Margaret Qualley. Bugonia, One Battle After Another, and Hamnet also had impressive turnouts.
Daniel Day-Lewis and Jessie Buckley are strong favorites to take home their respective acting awards, with Buckley potentially repeating her success at the Oscars in March. Other nominees include Cillian Murphy for Steve, Colin Farrell for Ballad of a Small Player, and Fiona Shaw for Hot Milk.
2026 IFTA Nominees - Film Categories
BEST FILM
Aontas
Blue Moon
Christy
Four Mothers
Saipan
Steve
DIRECTOR – FILM
Lisa Barros D’Sa, Glenn Leyburn – Saipan
Brendan Canty – Christy
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
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
Cillian Murphy – Steve
Daniel Power – Christy
LEAD ACTRESS – FILM
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
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
Diarmuid Noyes – Christy
Seán T. Ó Meallaigh – Aontas
Andrew Scott – Blue Moon
SUPPORTING ACTRESS – FILM
Brid Brennan – Aontas
Kerry Condon – F1
Sarah Greene – Trad
Dearbhla Molloy – Four Mothers
Kerry Condon – Train Dreams
Emma Willis – Christy