The nominees for this year’s Irish Animation Awards have been announced by Animation Ireland, the representative trade body for Irish animation studios, and we're delighted to share that we have received a whopping 10 nominations!

The Irish Animation Awards are a biennial event, celebrating more than 2,500 highly skilled animation professionals who make and create across the island of Ireland, from Dublin to Galway, Belfast to Cork. Irish animated films and series are enjoyed by children and adults in 182 countries worldwide, with Irish animation studios and their workforces in huge demand internationally, valued for their creativity, craft, professionalism and commitment.

Our homegrown series Lu & The Bally Bunch has been nominated in 4 categories! Receiving nods for Best New IP, Best SCRIPT for a FEATURE FILM OR SPECIAL, Best Feature Film or Special and Best VOICE ACTING for Freya McLaughlin who voices the character of Lu.

Produced by 9 Story Media Group and our Brown Bag Films studios in Dublin and Toronto, Lu & The Bally Bunch was created and directed by Brown Bag Films’ director Nicky Phelan (Vampirina, Bing, Octonauts), Oscar®-nominated for his short film Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty.

Lu & The Bally Bunch follows Lu, a little ladybird who has just started preschool with her new friends. Together they explore their brand new social lives though play, music, big feelings and even bigger fun. The series, which was inspired by Nicky’s mother’s experience running a preschool, celebrates the messy reality of preschool and explores the everyday dramas of first friendships. Lu & The Bally Bunch is a funny and affectionate look at Lu and her friends as they learn to get along. Featuring original songs and grounded in a curriculum of preschool empowerment, stories are rooted in authentic interactions and experiences, inspired by conversations with preschoolers, their parents and teachers.

You can watch Lu & The Bally Bunch around the world on Cartoonito (UK, LatAm), CBeebies (UK), CBC Kids (CND), ABC (AU), TVNZ+ (NZ), and RTÉ (Ireland).

Dee & Friends in Oz has received 3 nominations for Best Direction of an Animated TV Series, Best VFX ANIMATION, and Best Storyboarding for Irene Martini (Storyboard Artist, Brown Bag Films Dublin)

Inspired by the world of L. Frank Baum’s iconic books, Dee & Friends in Oz is an animated preschool musical adventure which follows Dorothy “Dee” Davis. When Dee’s book unlocks a portal to the wonderful, whimsical, and magical World of Oz, she’ll soon learn that this story needs a hero. In a journey to rescue Oz and bring magic back to the land, Dee will meet new friends, defy expectations, and do things she never dreamed she could do. And of course, she’ll rewrite the story of Oz… with herself as its hero!

Created by Emmy-winner Angela C. Santomero, and developed by Emmy-nominated writers Halcyon Person and Keion Jackson, the series is directed by Declan Doyle (“Get Rolling with Otis” and “Doc McStuffins”) in our Brown Bag Films Dublin studio with animation services by our Bali studio.

You can stream Dee & Friends in Oz globally on Netflix.

Our charming animated kids and family original series for Apple TV+, Eva the Owlet has recieved 2 nominations for Best Design and Art Direction and Best Editing.

Eva the Owlet stars Eva, a creative, cheeky owlet who lives next door to her best friend Lucy in the woodland world of Treetopington. With big ideas and an even bigger personality, Eva goes on high-flying adventures, expressing herself in her journal along the way!

Produced by Scholastic Entertainment with production services and animation by Brown Bag Films' Dublin studio, Eva the Owlet also features original songs by critically acclaimed musician and singer-songwriter Fitz of Fitz and the Tantrums. The series is based on the New York Times best-selling Scholastic book series “Owl Diaries” by award-winning author Rebecca Elliott, since first being published the series now has eight foreign language translations and three million copies in print!

You can stream Eva the Owlet on AppleTV+.

Additionally, this year the Irish Animation Awards have included a brand new category—Industry Sustainability Champion (Impact and Awareness)—to recognise studios, groups or individuals who champion sustainability campaigns, through partnerships, outreach programs, social impact, charitable or educational initiatives. We are thrilled to have our Industry & Community Outreach Committee nominated in this category. The committee, which was established in 2024 to bridge gaps identified in the Animation Ireland Skill Gap Analysis report and to support initiatives established by Animation Ireland's Sustainability & Education & Industry Committee’s, is part of the studio's wider ESG commitment, and oversees both internal and external outreach initiatives with an aim to enhance the sustainability of the industry by inspiring future creatives through educational and community-focused programs and increasing the support and visibility of the studio within the Irish animation industry and the wider local community.

A huge congratulations to our nominated productions and teams and big shout outs to all the 2025 Irish Animation Awards nominees.

Ireland’s globally renowned animation sector will gather together to celebrate creativity and innovation at the 2025 Irish Animation Awards ceremony which will take place at The Galway Bay Hotel, Salthill, Galway on Saturday May 24th, which is supported by Primary Sponsor Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland. Winners in each category will receive awards created by filmmaker, animator and illustrator Eimhin McNamara. The statue resembles a Phenakistoscope which was an early animation device used to create an illusion of motion.

To learn more about the Irish Animation Awards and view the full list of nominations, visit: Irish Animation Awards 2025 Nominations