Kneecap, the Irish hip-hop comedy featuring Michael Fassbender, is leading the nominations for the movie portion of the Irish Film & Television Awards 2025, unveiled Tuesday. Rich Peppiatt’s comedy that follows the West Belfast hip-hop trio of the same name on their mission to save their mother tongue earned 17 nominations, including for best film, director, script, lead actor (a category in which all three members, namely Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin and JJ Ó Dochartaigh are in the running) and supporting actor for Fassbender.
Michael Fassbender is also nominated in the lead actor in a TV drama category for his role in The Agency.
Saoirse Ronan is another double 2025 IFTAs nominee. She is in contention for the leading film actress honor for her work in The Outrun, as well as for her supporting actress role in Steve McQueen’s Blitz.
Behind Kneecap in the film section, Tim Mielants’ historical drama Small Things Like These earned nine nominations, including for Cillian Murphy, who is in the running for the best film actor honor. His competition includes Paul Mescal, who earned a nom for Gladiator II, the three Kneecap guys and Peter Coonan (King Frankie).
Among the other big names looking for IFTAs acting honors are the likes of Colin Farrell, who is nominated in the best TV drama actor category for The Penguin in a showdown that also includes the likes of Fassbender (The Agency), Andrew Scott for Ripley, Ciarán Hinds (The Dry) and Rivals star Aidan Turner. Meanwhile, Jessie Buckley is up for the lead film actress honor for Wicked Little Letters, while Barry Keoghan is in contention for the best film supporting actor honor for his work in Bird.
Nicola Coughlan is up for the best TV lead actress award for Bridgerton, together with the likes of Sharon Horgan, nominated for Bad Sisters. And the best female drama lead actress race also features much star power as Eve Hewson and Fiona Shaw are both nominated for their roles in Bad Sisters, while Ruth Negga earned a nom for Presumed Innocent.
Bad Sisters earned eight TV nominations overall, just behind Irish Troubles drama Say Nothing with 10.
In the international film awards categories, the nominated movies are Anora, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, The Brutalist, The Outrun and The Substance. And the international acting nominees include such big names as Adrien Brody, Ralph Fiennes, Sebastian Stan, Denzel Washington, Cynthia Erivo, Angelina Jolie, Mikey Madison and Demi Moore.
The IFTAs ceremony will be taking place Feb. 14 at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre. Also on that night, Colm Meaney (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, In the Land of Saints & Sinners) will receive the Irish Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement for his “outstanding contribution to the Irish and international screen industry.”
A full list of nominations for the IFTAs 2025 follows.
BEST FILM
Kathleen Is Here
King Frankie
Kneecap
Small Things Like These
Spilt Milk
The Apprentice
DIRECTOR – FILM
Eva Birthistle – Kathleen Is Here
John Crowley – We Live in Time
Brian Durnin – Spilt Milk
Damian McCarthy – Oddity
Christine Molloy, Joe Lawlor – Baltimore
Rich Peppiatt – Kneecap
SCRIPT – FILM
Eva Birthistle – Kathleen Is Here
Cara Loftus – Spilt Milk
Christine Molloy, Joe Lawlor – Baltimore
Rich Peppiatt – Kneecap
Stephen Shields – Abigail
Enda Walsh – Small Things Like These
LEAD ACTOR – FILM
Peter Coonan – King Frankie
Paul Mescal – Gladiator II
Cillian Murphy – Small Things Like These
Naoise Ó Caireallain – Kneecap
J.J. Ó Dochartaigh – Kneecap
Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh – Kneecap
LEAD ACTRESS – FILM
Carolyn Bracken – Oddity
Jessie Buckley – Wicked Little Letters
Hazel Doupe – Kathleen Is Here
Saoirse Ronan – The Outrun
Eileen Walsh – Small Things Like These
Alisha Weir – Abigail
SUPPORTING ACTOR – FILM
Peter Coonan – Kathleen Is Here
Michael Fassbender – Kneecap
Barry Keoghan – Bird
Brían F. O’Byrne – Conclave
Tom Vaughan-Lawlor – Baltimore
Steve Wall – Oddity
SUPPORTING ACTRESS – FILM
Zara Devlin – Small Things Like These
Clare Dunne – Kathleen Is Here
Fionnuala Flaherty – Kneecap
Simone Kirby – Kneecap
Saoirse Ronan – Blitz
Jessica Reynolds – Kneecap
BEST DRAMA – TV
Bad Sisters
Say Nothing
The Dry
Bodkin
Blue Lights
Crá
DIRECTOR, DRAMA – TV
Paddy Breathnach – The Dry
Brian Kirk – The Day of the Jackal
Michael Lennox – Say Nothing
Lisa Mulcahy – Sanctuary
Hannah Quinn – The Boy That Never Was
Dearbhla Walsh – Bad Sisters
SCRIPT, DRAMA (TV)
Baz Ashmawy – Faithless
Ronan Bennett – The Day of the Jackal
Nancy Harris – The Dry
Sharon Horgan – Bad Sisters
Adam Patterson, Declan Lawn – Blue Lights
Kirsten Sheridan, Joshua Zetumer – Say Nothing
LEAD ACTOR, DRAMA – TV
Anthony Boyle – Say Nothing
Colin Farrell – The Penguin
Michael Fassbender – The Agency
Ciarán Hinds – The Dry
Andrew Scott – Ripley
Aidan Turner – Rivals
LEAD ACTRESS, DRAMA – TV
Elaine Cassidy – Sanctuary
Nicola Coughlan – Bridgerton
Siobhán Cullen – Bodkin
Roisin Gallagher – The Dry
Sharon Horgan – Bad Sisters
Lola Petticrew – Say Nothing
SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA – TV
Anthony Boyle – Masters of the Air
Liam Cunningham – 3 Body Problem
Michael Smiley – Bad Sisters
Tom Vaughan-Lawlor – Say Nothing
Chris Walley – Bodkin
David Wilmot – Bodkin
SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA – TV
Siobhán Cullen – The Dry
Hazel Doupe – Say Nothing
Eve Hewson – Bad Sisters
Ruth Negga – Presumed Innocent
Fiona Shaw – Bad Sisters
Victoria Smurfit – Rivals
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
Anora
Conclave
Dune Part Two
The Brutalist
The Outrun
The Substance
BEST INTERNATIONAL ACTOR
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Timothee Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
Kieran Culkin – A Real 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 – The Substance
Florence Pugh – We Live in Time
Emily Watson – Small Things Like These
GEORGE MORRISON FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
Face Down: The Disappearance of Thomas Niedermayer
Don’t Forget to Remember
Blue Road: The Edna O’Brien Story
The Flats
Mrs Robinson
Brendan Gleeson’s Farewell to Hughes’s
LIVE-ACTION SHORT FILM
Clodagh
Farmers!?
Room Taken
Turnaround
Two Mothers
We Beg to Differ
Wife of the Future
Wrecker
ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Dembaya
Every Other Weekend
Homebird
Nightpay
CASTING
Baltimore – Emma Gunnery
Bodkin – Louise Kiely
Kneecap – Carla Stronge
Say Nothing – Lucy Amos, Nina Gold
Small Things Like These – Maureen Hughes
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Bird – Robbie Ryan
Fréwaka – Narayan Van Maele
Kneecap – Ryan Kernaghan
Say Nothing – Stephen Murphy
The Penguin – Darran Tiernan
COSTUME DESIGN
Abigail – Gwen Jeffares Hourie
House of the Dragon – Caroline McCall
Kneecap – Zjena Glamocanin
Spilt Milk – Gwen Jeffares Hourie
Vikings Valhalla – Susan O’Connor-Cave
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Abigail – Susie Cullen
Bodkin – Paki Smith
Kneecap – Nicola Moroney
The Tourist – Philip Murphy
Vikings Valhalla – Tom Conroy
HAIR & MAKEUP
Abigail – Linda Gannon, Liz Byrne
Kneecap – Liz Boston
Small Things Like These – Lorraine Glynn, Lynn Johnston
The Apprentice – Sandra Kelly, Tom McInerney
Vikings Valhalla – Joe Whelan, Tom McInerney
SOUND
Abigail – Hugh Fox
Blackshore – John ‘Bob’ Brennan, Mark Henry, Fionan Higgins
Kneecap – Aza Hand, Brendan Rehill, Chris Woodcock
Oddity – Aza Hand, Hugo Parvery
Small Things Like These – Hugh Fox, Senjan Jansen
ORIGINAL MUSIC
Fréwaka – Die Hexen
The Apprentice – David Holmes
The Dry – Sarah Lynch
The Magic Reindeer: Saving Santa’s Sleigh – Eimear Noone, Craig Stuart Garfinkle
The Song Cycle – Ray Harman
EDITING
Bad Sisters – Derek Holland
Kathleen Is Here – Colin Campbell
Kneecap – Julian Ulrichs & Chris Gill
Paddington in Peru – Úna Ní Dhonghaíle
Say Nothing – Edel McDonnell
VFX
3 Body Problem – Ed Bruce, Liam Neville
Bodkin – John Kennedy, Lisa Maher
Sanctuary – Dan Cullen
Shogun – Ed Bruce, Andrew Barry
