Animation Ireland’s Meitheal & Awards Returning in May

Animation Ireland’s Meitheal conference is set to return on May 23, followed by the Irish Animation Awards on May 24.

The day-long Meitheal conference will explore cutting-edge technology, investigate sustainability in AI and examine future animation content, platforming and audience trends. Among the planned speakers are media strategist Jo Redfern and Nickelodeon Animation’s Patty Henry Robinson.

Ronan McCabe, CEO of Animation Ireland, and Moe Honan, chair of Animation Ireland, will host the lineup guest speakers and panelists. Alongside Redfern and Henry Robinson, VP of production at Nickelodeon Animation, the lineup will feature Max Minor, supervising producer of Common Side Effects, and Dr. Patricia Scanlon, chair of Ireland’s Artificial Intelligence Council and Ireland’s Artificial Intelligence Ambassador.

Meitheal 2025 is supported by Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland as industry partner, alongside RTÉjr. Registration is now open, and attendance is free of charge. The conference will take place at The Galway Bat Hotel in Galway.

The Irish Animation Awards ceremony will take place the following day at the same location. More than 328 entries were submitted for consideration, and an Irish and international jury selected 35 Irish productions across 23 categories for nominations. The winners will receive awards created by filmmaker, animator and illustrator Eimhin McNamara.

“The Irish Animation Awards are a wonderful showcase for the industry on our shared island,” Animation Ireland’s McCabe said. “The talent and creativity on display is hugely impressive, and it’s a fantastic opportunity for us to come together as a community to celebrate our work and our people. A special mention to all the overseas guests who’ll be joining us on the night, the organizing team and committee, and major thanks to all our sponsors, without whom none of this would be possible.”

The nominees in the best animated preschool series for kids up to 6 years old are Turnip + Duck’s Maddie + Triggs, Cartoon Saloon’s Silly Sundays, Paper Owl Films’ Nikhil and Jay, Sixteen South’s ODO and Studio Meala’s Doodle Girl.

In the best animated kids series for children over 6 years old, nominations went to Giant Animation’s Fairly Odd Parents: A New Wish!, Triggerfish Animation’s Kizazi Moto Generation Fire, Firebrand Productions’ The Imagination Machine season two, Kavaleer Productions’ Boy Girl Dog Cat Mouse Cheese and Treehouse Republic’s Cozmo & Friends.

Contenders for best animated short film (Ireland) are Retirement Plan (John Kelly), A Wind and the Shadow (Out of Orbit & Enter Yes), Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 Screecher’s Reach (Cartoon Saloon), Eldritch Karaoke (Joe Loftus) and Introducing Bovina Creamcracker Buttermilk (Studio 9).

For best international animated short film, nominees are A Night at the Rest Area (Saki Muramoto), Voicemail (Iona Menzies), Wind Goes On (Eric Lee), Lifted (Daniel Robichaud) and The Old Man and the Robot (Callum Scott-Dyson).

Sixteen South’s Pinkalicious & Peterrific Special, Moetion Films’ The Magic Reindeer Saving Santa’s Sleigh, Brown Bag Films’ Lu and the Bally Bunch, Treehouse Republic’s Hungry Bear Tales: To the Pole! and Cartoon Saloon and Dog Ears’ Puffin Rock and the New Friends are up for the best feature film or special award.

Best new IP nominees are Studio Meala’s Doodle Girl, Sixteen South’s Coop Troop—The Animauville Horror, Paper Owl Films’ Lí Ban, Turnip + Duck’s Maddie + Triggs and Brown Bag Films’ Lu and the Bally Bunch.

Nominees for the other categories, including best script, best design and art direction, best direction, best original score, best editing, best storyboarding and many more, are available on the Irish Animation Awards website.