It’s an honour to come home, says emotional Jessie Buckley as she picks up award

An emotional Jessie Buckley said the past year had been a “roller-coaster” as she was named winner in the lead actress in a film category at the Irish Film and Television Academy Awards (Iftas) on Friday.

She received the award for her portrayal of William Shakespeare’s wife in Hamnet, for which she has also been nominated for an Oscar and a Bafta.

Accepting the award, she said: “It’s really such an honour to come home and share this with you, mostly because growing up in Ireland, the very nature of storytelling, of music, of art, is a way of life, it is a way of community”.

She also thanked her co-star, Paul Mescal, who plays the Bard, saying: “I know everybody’s sick of me saying how much I love him. I love him.”

He was named best supporting actor in a film for Hamnet but was not at the ceremony to collect his prize.

Hamnet also won the international film and film script awards.

Channel 4 drama Trespasses was another big winner, picking up prizes for drama script, hair & makeup and lead actress in a drama.

Set in 1970s Northern Ireland, Lola Petticrew plays a young Catholic teacher, Cushla, who falls for a married Protestant man.

Collecting her award, Petticrew dedicated it to her late uncle Gerard who was her “biggest fan”, a Dublin city dry cleaner who helped her out of “a bit of a pickle” and “the kids of West Belfast”.

She said: “I’m under no illusion that a lot of the reason that I am here is because of luck”, adding: “The system is not designed for kids where I’m from to survive, let alone thrive.

“One in three kids in West Belfast live in poverty. That is the legacy of war.”

She said “they deserve so much more”.

There was also an emphasis on supporting underprivileged children from the filmmakers of Christy.

The coming-of-age film tells the story of two estranged brothers in Cork navigating the care system.

Nominated in 14 categories, it picked up some of the night’s top awards including best film, casting, editing and film director, for Brendan Canty.

Collecting the trophy, he noted the awards were taking place on 2026 Care Day, which highlights the experiences of children and young people in care.

He called on the government to do more to help people in the care system.

Christy was one of a large cohort of Cork nominees and Corkman Eanna Hardwicke was among the winners when he took home the award for actor in a lead role for his performance as Roy Keane in Saipan.

Unable to attend the event, Hardwicke’s co-star Steve Coogan collected the trophy on his behalf.

Ciaran Hinds was presented with the Irish Academy’s lifetime achievement award, for his contribution to the Irish and international screen industry, across both film and television.

Accepting the accolade he said: “It’s been a long old haul in this business or industry, profession, whatever you want to call it.

“And I have been remarkably lucky to work with so many brilliant, creative, talented people, gracious, open-minded, warm-hearted people, both here at home and further afield, both on camera and off camera.”

Rising star recipient and Derry Girls star Louisa Harland said she was “in awe” of “everybody in the room”.

She added: “I feel so lucky to be a part of this industry, especially in Ireland, it means the world”.