'Kneecap' dominates 2025 Irish Academy Awards nominations with 17 nominations

Kneecap, an Irish music biopic, has become one of the hottest independent films of 2024 and is currently on track to receive Oscar and BAFTA recognition. It's perhaps no surprise that it's well ahead of the nomination list for the 2025 Irish Film and Television Arts Awards. Institute of Television (IFTA) Awards.

Rich Peppiatt's raucous comedy about (and starring) the Belfast rap trio of the same name has been nominated for a staggering 17 awards, including the most Best Picture, Best Director, three out of six Best Actor nominations, three out of six Best Supporting Actress nominations, and Michael Fassbender won the Supporting Actor award.

“Little Things,” a fairly quiet Irish drama starring (and produced by) Cillian Murphy, scored nine nominations, including Murphy's leading actor win last year for “Oppenheimer.” won the award.

Ali Abbasi's Donald Trump biopic “The Apprentice,” co-produced by Irish company Tailored Films, is also on the shortlist, with four nominations.

On the TV side, Disney+'s critically acclaimed miniseries about the Troubles in Northern Ireland led the way with 10 nominations, followed by Bad Sisters Season 2 with eight.

Other actors in the running include Paul Mescal (“Gladiator 2”), Saoirse Ronan (“Breakers”), Barry Keoghan (“Birds”), Colin Farrell (“The Birds”) penguin”).

Academy chief executive Áine Moriarty said: “This year’s 2025 nominees for the Irish Academy Awards have demonstrated incredible skill and talent both in front of the camera and behind the scenes. “There is no doubt that Irish talent is some of the best in the world. “The Irish Academy is proud to showcase the great work of the industry and reward its achievements.”

The IFTA Awards Ceremony will be held on 14 February 2025 at the Royal Convention Center in Dublin.

See the full list of nominees below:

movie category

best film

“Catherine is here”
“King Frankie”
“patella”
“Little things like this”
“Milk spilled”
“apprentice”

film director

Eva Birthistle – “Catherine Is Here”
John Crowley – “We Live in Time”
Brian Durning – “Milk”
Damian McCarthy – “Strange”
Christine Molloy, Joe Lawler – “Baltimore”
Richie Peppiatt – “Knee”

Script – Movie

Eva Birthistle – “Catherine Is Here”
Kara Loftus – “Milk”
Christine Molloy, Joe Lawler – “Baltimore”
Richie Peppiatt – “Knee”
Stephen Shields – “Abigail”
Enda Walsh – “Little Things Like This”

movie starring

Peter Coonan – King Frankie
Paul Mescal – Gladiator II
Cillian Murphy – “Little Things Like This”
Naoise Ó Careallain – “Kneecap”
JJ Ó Dochartaigh – “Knee”
Liam Óg Ó Annaih – “Knees”

movie heroine

Caroline Bracken – “Strange”
Jesse Buckley – “Evil Little Letters”
Hazel Doupe – “Katherine Is Here”
Saoirse Ronan – “Beyond”
Erin Walsh – “Little Things Like This”
Alyssa Weir – “Abigail”

movie supporting role

Peter Coonan – “Katherine Was Here”
Michael Fassbender – “Knee”
Barry Keoghan – “Birds”
Brian F. O'Byrne – “Conclave”
Tom Vaughn-Lawler – “Baltimore”
Steve Wall – “Weird Things”

film supporting actress

Zara Devlin – “Little things like this”
Claire Dunne – “Katherine Is Here”
Fionnula Flaherty – “Knee”
Simone Kirby – “Knee”
Saoirse Ronan – Blitz
Jessica Reynolds – “Knee”

drama category

best drama

bad sisters
say nothing
dry
awl
blue light
anger

theater director

Paddy Bresnak – “Dry”
Brian Kirk – “The Day of the Jackal”
Michael Lennox – “Say Nothing”
Lisa Mulcahy – “Shelter”
Hannah Quinn – “The Boy Who Never Was”
Dearbhara Walsh – “Bad Sisters”

Script – Drama

Baz Ashmawi – “Unfaithful”
Ronan Bennett – “The Day of the Jackal”
Nancy Harris – “Dry”
Sharon Horgan – “Bad Sisters”
Adam Patterson, Declan Lawn – Blu-ray
Kirsten Sheridan, Joshua Zetumer – Say Nothing

Lead Actor – Drama

Anthony Boyle – “Say Nothing”
Colin Farrell – “Penguin”
Michael Fassbender – “The Secret Service”
Ciarán Hinds – “Dry”
Andrew Scott – “Ripley”
Aidan Turner – “Enemy”

drama heroine

Elaine Cassidy – “Shelter”
Nicola Coughlan – Bridgerton
Siobhan Cullen – Bodkin
Roisin Gallagher – “Dry”
Sharon Horgan – “Bad Sisters”
Lola Petticru – “Say Nothing”

Supporting Actor – Drama

Anthony Boyle – “Master of the Air”
Liam Cunningham – The Three-Body Problem
Michael Smiley – “Bad Sisters”
Tom Vaughn-Lawler – “Say Nothing”
Chris Worley – “Bodkin”
David Wilmot – “Bodkin”

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Siobhan Cullen – “Dry”
Hazel Doupe – “Say Nothing”
Eve Hewson – “Bad Sisters”
Ruth Negga – “Presumed Innocent”
Fiona Shaw – “Bad Sisters”
Victoria Smurfit – “Feud”

International Film Awards Categories

Best International Film

“Anora”
“Secret Meeting”
“Dune: Part 2”
“fauvism”
“beyond”
“substance”

Best International Actor

Adrien Brody – “The Fauves”
Timothée Chalamet – “Total Unknown”
Kieran Culkin – “True Pain”
Ralph Fiennes – “Conclave”
Sebastian Stan – “The Apprentice”
Denzel Washington – Gladiator II

Best International Actress

Cynthia Erivo – “Wicked”
Angelina Jolie – “Maria”
Mikey Madison – “Anora”
Demi Moore – “Material”
Florence Pugh – “We live in time”
Emily Watson – “Little Things Like This”

Other award categories

George Morrison feature documentary

“Face Down: The Disappearance of Thomas Niedermeyer”
“Don't forget to remember”
“The Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story”
“apartment”
“Mrs. Robinson”
“Brendan Gleeson's Farewell to Hughes”

Live action short film

“Clodagh”
“Farmer!?”
“The room is occupied”
“turn around”
“Two Mothers”
“We beg to differ”
“future wife”
“Wrecker”

animated short film

“Denbaya”
“Every other weekend”
“house bird”
“Night Pay”

Crafts category

casting

“Baltimore” – Emma Gonnery
“Bodkin” – Louise Keeley
“Knees” – Kara Strong
“Say Nothing” – Lucy Amos, Nina Gold
“Little things like this” – Maureen Hughes

photography

“Bird” – Robbie Ryan
“Fréwaka” – Narayan van Melle
“Knee” – Ryan Conahan
“Say nothing” – Stephen Murphy
“Penguin” – Daran Tiernan

clothing design

“Abigail” – Gwen Jeffares Houry
“House of the Dragon” – Caroline McCall
“Knees” – Zjena Glamocan
“Spill the Milk” – Gwen Jeffares Houry
“Viking Valhalla” – Susan O’Connor-Cave

production design

“Abigail” – Suzy Cullen
“Bodkin” – Parky Smith
“The Knee” – Nicola Moroni
“The Visitor” – Philip Murphy
“Viking Valhalla” – Tom Conroy

hair and makeup

“Abigail” – Linda Gannon, Liz Byrne
“Knees” – Liz Boston
“Little things like this” – Lorraine Green, Lynn Johnston
The Apprentice – Sandra Kelly, Tom McInerney
“Vikings of Valhalla” – Joe Whelan, Tom McInerney

sound

“Abigail” – Hugh Fox
“Dark Shore” – John Bob Brennan, Mark Henry, Finn Higgins
“Knee” – Azar Hand, Brendan Rehill, Chris Woodcock
“Strange” – Azar Hand, Hugo Palfrey
“Little things like this” – Hugh Fox, Senjan Janssen

original music

“Fréwaka” – the witch
The Apprentice – David Holmes
“Dry” – Sarah Lynch
“The Magic Reindeer: Saving Santa's Sleigh” – Emile Nunn, Craig Stewart Garfunkel
“Song Cycle” – Ray Harman

edit

“Bad Sisters” – Derek Holland
“Katherine Is Here” – Colin Campbell
“The Knee” – Julian Ulrich and Chris Gill
“Paddington of Peru” – Una Ni Donhale
“Say nothing” – Edel MacDonald

visual effects

“The Three-Body Problem” – Ed Bruce, Liam Neville
“Bodkin” – John F. Kennedy, Lisa Maher
“Shelter” – Dan Cullen
“Shogun” – Ed Bruce, Andrew Barry