The Irish Animation Awards took place in Galway over the weekend, returning in-person for the first time in four years.
The 2023 Animation Awards, the first live event since 2019, were held at the Galway Bay Hotel on Saturday, hosted by Irish TV and radio star, Baz Ashmawy.
Cartoon Saloon’s animated fantasy film My Father’s Dragon came out on top on the night, taking home a total of five awards.
Directed by the Oscar nominated Nora Twomey, My Father’s Dragon claimed the coveted Best Irish Feature.
Igloo Animation’s children’s series produced for RTÉjr, Tales from Dún Draíochta came away with two wins, including Best Animated Kids Series. Sixteen South’s preschool series Odo also bagged two awards on the night.
The ceremony this year featured the inaugural Outstanding Contribution to the Industry Award, which was presented to Teresa Mc Grane, formerly of Screen Ireland, who has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to support and nurture the growth of the Irish Animation industry.
Commenting on the awards ceremony, Animation Ireland’s Chief Executive, Ronan McCabe said; “It has been yet another superb and record-breaking year for Irish animation with 53 productions nominated.”
“The sector is continuing to power ahead both in terms of the quality of the work being produced, which you can certainly see from the awards ceremony and the number of productions being delivered.”
“The Irish Animation Awards is a wonderful occasion to celebrate the hard work, dedication, talent and outstanding creativity we have here in Ireland.’’
Ronan went on to say, “Animation Ireland puts a huge emphasis on education and training and helping the next generation of animators to thrive, so it was amazing to see so many fantastic entries for Best Student Film, which was won by Avery Angle for Small Makings of a Storm.”
Winners of each category received a statuette designed by animator, film maker and teacher Eimhín McNamara. The statuette resembles a Phenakistoscope, an early animation device used to create an illusion of motion.
Animation Ireland is the trade association for Ireland’s animation studios, representing forty-four member studios, who employ more than two thousand people on the island of Ireland.
The sector has seen meteoric growth in recent years, with the industry now generating almost €200 million for the economy annually, as Irish animation projects are viewed in over 190 countries worldwide.
The full list of winners for the 2023 Irish Animation Awards is:
| Category | Production | Winners |
| Best Animated Preschool Series | Circle Square | Kavaleer Productions, Wyndley Animation
|
| Best Animated Kids Series 6+ | Tales from Dún Draíochta | Igloo Animations, Trevor Courtney |
| Kids Choice Preschool | Fia’s Fairies | Little Moon Animation, Vanessa Robinson, Eoghan Garvey |
| Kids Choice 6+ | The Cuphead Show! | Lighthouse Studios
Ruchi Shah – Paul Madden – Cormac Slevin
|
| Best Animated Short Film
|
Soul Office | TAUNT |
| Best International Short Film
|
The Stranger | Jihye Jung, Jusuk Lee, Hyunju Kim |
| Best Writer for Preschool Animation
|
Odo – Doodle Song | Ishai Ravid |
| Best Writer for an animated series | Tales from Dún Draíochta- Lusmore and the Rapping Fairy
|
Trevor Courtney |
| Best Animation for Apps, Games and Interactive
|
Waggle | Katie McNeice, Maeve MacNamara, Jim Pipe |
| Best Art Direction and Design
|
Bardo | Aisling Conroy, Alan Holly, Cora McKenna |
| Best Director of an Animated Series
|
Karma’s world | Bronagh O’Hanlon, Pete McEvoy, Brian O’Brien |
| Best Animation Sequence | The Cuphead Show! | Julius Mingi, Dindo Santos, Gian Carla Atienza |
| Best Music | My Father’s Dragon | Jeff Danna, Mychael Danna |
| Best Sound Design
|
Memento Mori | Ed Costello, Ryan Quinn |
| Best Irish Feature or Special
|
My Father’s Dragon | Cartoon Saloon |
| Best Innovation in Animation
|
Face2Face – Charles & Camilla | Retinize & Flickerpix |
| Best Irish IP
|
Odo – Reggie | Colin Williams |
| Best Student Film
|
Small Makings of a Storm | Avery Angle |
| Best Editing
|
My Father’s Dragon | Richie Cody, Darren Holmes |
| Best Storyboarding
|
My Father’s Dragon | Giovanna Ferrari |
| Best VFX
|
My Father’s Dragon | Cartoon Saloon |
| Outstanding Contribution to the Industry
|
Teresa Mc Grane |
|
