50 people to watch in 2019: Ireland's most prominent young talent

We have looked for men and women in Ireland who will make waves in the fields of fashion, food, sport, activism, art, cinema, entrepreneurship, technology , media and music.

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MOVIE

Cathy Brady
Cathy Brady claims to be the best kept secret of Irish cinema. Proud daughter of Newry, the director first attracted attention with her brilliant short film Small change Named "Star of Tomorrow" by Screen Daily, she has also made excellent short films, completed a Masters degree at the National Film and Television School in England, and worked on the television series. I can not get away, I will not do it. In 2019, we will finally see his first feature film. fires, featuring Nika McGuigan and Brady's frequent badociate, Nora-Jane Noone, follows two sisters who are growing up on the border. "I started this project five years ago and I did not know that Brexit was going to happen," she says. "We will have finished the film in the spring and the Brexit just happened.The timing is really remarkable." The film has a lot to do with the "transgenerational trauma" that affects too many heirs of violence in this region. "The trauma that parents could not handle is pbaded on to the next generation," she says, "keep your eyes open.

Aisling Franciosi
In the life of a young actor, there are times when they find themselves in the center of the whirlwind. This is about to arrive at Aisling Franciosi, a busy city. Born in Dublin, having grown up in Ireland and Italy – her melodious name reveals origins mixed exotic – Franciosi has already received praise for her role in the exhausting drama of the Australian revenge Jennifer Kent, The Nightingale. Jessica Kiang from playlist calls it "striking, luminous" at the premiere of the film at the Venice Film Festival. "It was difficult in terms of performance. It was emotionally heavy, but incredibly rewarding, "says Franciosi about the shoot in Tasmania. The Nightingale, who is Kent's follow-up for The babadook, will be released later in the year. Before that, Franciosi, based in New York, will attend the screening at the Sundance Film Festival and, in February, will follow in the footsteps of Domhnall Gleeson and Ruth Negga as "Shooting Star" delegate at the Berlin International Film Festival. "It's so flattering and overwhelming," she says.

Lee Cronin
The Sundance Film Festival has been beneficial for the Irish. These domestic smash like Singing Street, Brooklyn and The guard All the successes have been revealed, but it is a special honor for a filmmaker to project his debut in the snow of Utah. Skerries man Lee Cronin will do exactly that when The hole in the groundSeána Kerslake, a horror featuring world film royalty. The film is about a mother wondering if the changes to her young son are related to an ominous chasm in the woods. "I'm really drawn to the horror of the domestic world," he says. "If you come from a place of trauma, the way you see something from your abuser within your offspring can be terrifying. But it's still a horror movie. It aims to entertain you and to captivate you. "What does the Sundance news mean to him?" It's the dream of every first filmmaker, "he says." I can minimize that, but it's a super exciting storyline. "

Lara McDonnell
In recent years, there have been few more sought-after juvenile roles than the leading roles in Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of Eoin Colfer's fantasy for young adults. Artemis Fowl. After much research, Holly Short, the charismatic elf, landed with the gifted girl, Lara McDonnell. "My mother had an agent who said there was a role to play," she says. "I immediately recognized the name of the book, because I loved it when I was a kid." A series of auditions and a reminder were followed before Lara ensured the role in one of the biggest tent pole outings of the summer. The Dubliner modestly explains that she arrived there with little experience, but she has an extremely busy resume for a 15-year-old girl. She played Cillian Murphy's daughter in Offender season and spent time as a leader in West End music Matilda "It was just life changing," she says. "It confirmed that this is what I wanted to do." She will be a star by the end of the year.

Hazelnut
In September, Carmel Winters's Float like a butterfly, a touching saga about a young traveler who portrays Muhammad Ali as a model, has been highly praised at the Toronto International Film Festival. The praises of Hazel Doupe, a charismatic actor from North Co Dublin, were particularly virulent. Yet everyone was surprised when Cork's second feature film won the Discovery Award. "We did not expect it to win!" Says Hazel. "I did not even expect to receive a prize there." The photo then won the Audience Award at the Cork Film Festival. It will open here later in the year. Doupe, who had already played a few on-screen roles before playing, plunges effortlessly into the film's mood in the mid-1960s. "There was a very deep connection between Carmel and me," she says. "We just felt it was right and it clicked. I am so happy that she had that feeling. " – Donald Clarke
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L & # 39; ENTREPRENEURISME

Hugh Weldon and Ahmad Mu'azzam
Co-Founders of Evocco
Winning a prestigious United Nations award at the age of 25 is certainly impressive, but it's only the beginning for Hugh Weldon, who, along with Ahmad Mu'azzam, heads up the Irish company Evocco. Last year, Weldon was named "Young Champion of the Earth" by the UN for his work on Evocco, a smartphone app that calculates the user's ecological footprint based on digitized shopping receipts. Over time, the app provides users with all the sustainable development tips and tricks they need to educate their eco-warrior and align their beliefs to what they buy. It's a smart idea, which has already given rise to many awards. The company has recently won awards, including the Carbon Footprint Challenge and the WDCD Climate Action Challenge. Evocco's co-founders met while studying for a master's degree in mechanical engineering at Trinity College Dublin and are now making the transition from students to entrepreneurs. The application of Evocco is still in the pilot state, with the intention of seeking investment at an early stage in 2019, but with more consumers concerned about their consumption habits, it has the potential to be extremely powerful .

Simon Phelan
Founder and CEO of Hometree
After collecting more than 7 million euros and appearing on Forbes' highly regarded list of young troublemakers, "Forbes", Simon Phelan can look back on a good 2018 year. London-based Dubliner has not created the company. Hometree's online boilers installation in 2016, but it has grown phenomenally since then and won impressive backers. Glamor may not be the case, but the UK boilers market is huge: 1.7 million installations are installed each year. In terms of facilities, consumers have generally had to choose between paying a premium from British Gas or opting for a local merchant who may not be up to the task. Hometree, however, defends a "radically more transparent, practical and trustworthy model" which, according to Phelan, also halves British Gas's figure. It may be a question of boilers at the moment, but Phelan is aiming for a higher price and is looking for other complementary services, such as smart home and insurance.

Rosanne Longmore
CEO and co-founder of Coroflo
Getting the attention of none other than Richard Branson as a company to watch is not a bad thing. But it is likely that Rosanne Longmore and her company Coroflo would be making waves all over the world, even without the approval of the well-known entrepreneur. Coroflo is a Dublin-based medical technology company that has developed what it claims to be the world's first precision monitor for badfeeding. It has been hailed many times since its inception last year. The company has developed a revolutionary pacifier shield and application that helps mothers monitor the flow of milk to their baby in real time. The silicon shield comes with a built-in patented micro-flux sensor, which provides precise details on the amount of bad milk consumed by the infant. The device will be marketed in the early 2019 Republic, with Longmore and his colleagues aligning their launches on several other European markets later in the year.

Naomh McElhatton
Founder of She Said Club and Smart Global
Naomh McElhatton, one of Northern Ireland's most dynamic entrepreneurs, will already be recognized by many as the founder of the Dani Awards, which celebrate the local digital and creative industries. McElhatton has also founded countless other initiatives, including House of Comms, a public relations and digital communications company that she sold in 2014, and the Digital Exchange networking group. More recently, McElhatton emerged as the founder of She Said Club, an online community "for real women, real experiences and real stories." McElhatton sees it as a platform for women to network, find support from their peers, and share their life experiences. However, her main job during the day is the founder and director of Smart Global, created in June 2017 to help businesses in various sectors learn to master digital. Smart Global organizes each year a series of so-called "must-attend" events specific to the industry. He also provides marketing and training services to clients such as PayPal and Ulster Bank.

Stephen Costello
Managing Director and co-founder of Spectrum Wellness
It may have taken some time, but workplace health and wellness programs are more appropriate in today's businesses. This is good news for Spectrum Wellness, a fast-growing Irish company that provides evidence-based health and wellness services to 175,000 employees in 1,000 companies. Led by Stephen Costello, the company, which counts Aer Lingus customers – Google, Microsoft, Bank of Ireland and Iarnród Éireann – is looking to improve its own financial well-being with additional contracts won this year. Costello, which had recently mobilized 4 million euros from investors to finance its expansion plans, aims to increase its turnover from 4 to 7 million euros this year. In July, the company announced the creation of 100 new jobs. to enter the UK and other markets. According to Costello, Spectrum, whose services cover everything from gym management to consulting, is seeking to become "the airbnb of the world of well-being". – Charlie Taylor
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ACTIVISM

MotsBox
Anna Cosgrave, founder of Repeal Project, created the movement's clothing with her iconic REPEAL sweaters. Today, she is broadening her vision with journalist Sasha Brady, producer Karen Twomey, and public relations and communications strategist Fiona Gwozdz. According to Cosgrave, MotsBox, whose launch took place in the summer of 2019, is "a media movement company focused on politics, eras and popular culture. The intention is to appropriately represent women's interests and broaden the scope of the policy to a new audience. We want to build a community based on content. This community will live online and offline, with essential representation. "The repeal was the beginning," said Cosgrave, "that showed that people are ready to fight for what they believe in. But many people have been left behind in the movement. I think this is a very difficult and exciting time for young people in the first place. They want opportunities for change to happen.

Direct supply activism
Last year, the best Irish drama of the year, Taken Down, put Direct Provision at the center of discussions about water coolers. This is a new light on an old problem that is struggling to gain ground at the political level. Although direct activism has enjoyed excellent activism over the years – with #EndDP campaigns and rallies, the growing profile of activist Ellie Kisyombe, as well as initiatives such as Our Table – the " lack of voice "perceived in the number have allowed political parties to ignore it. Now, initiatives are underway at the local level to use 2019 as a key moment to raise awareness and put the unfairness of the direct provision system on the political agenda at the local and national levels, while combating misinformation and racism around the fate of asylum seekers in Ireland. The PD activism is multiple and comes from many backgrounds, but the role of Irish citizens, who have proved to be key players in the movement of water royalties, the movement for equality of marriages, the repeal movement and housing, will be essential. So, the Direct Provision 2019 activist to watch for is: you.

Emma Blake
Emma Blake, aka ESTR, has been perfecting her art on the walls of Dublin for years. With intricate stencil work, the use of bright colors and a strong political outlook, particularly with respect to LGBTQ rights and feminism, his art is gaining ground. Last November, in Cork, his fresco on consent drew the attention of the international community to the artist. This image has been used by national and global media and widely distributed online. During the repeal campaign, Blake painted a large wall mural of Trust Women, as well as a Banksy-Maser mash-up. She is also a member of the all-female street art team Minaw. Frequent graffiti, her work is rooted in the iconography of Dublin, as evidenced by her mini-murals by Ronnie Drew, Luke Kelly and Christy Dignam, but it is his policy that sets it apart from others, especially in a group activist demographic of art. women are still underrepresented.

Alliance4Choice
Although Stormont is still stagnating, political activism for the equality of marriage and reproductive rights is dynamic in Northern Ireland. Alliance4Choice #AbortionRightsNI is at the center of campaigns and advocacy for reproductive rights in the North. Danielle Roberts is an A4C activist: "We are still on the wave of repeal and change in 2018. We were in favor of repeal, and a lot of cases were heard. We will begin the month of January with two judicial reviews, a beginner and a final. Diana Johnson's Westminster bill could be released at the end of January, the report of the Women and Equality Committee will be released, as well as the Domestic Violence Bill. We also have a video that will be released on March 8, 2019. "Roberts says activists receive support from the Republic and Britain, as well as from their sister organization, the Campaign for the Right to Abortion . "We are on a wave of possibility. It's exciting from a bureaucratic point of view because we have changes on paper, changes in processes, but that does not change real lives yet. "

Take back the city
It often happens that a wave of activism crashes on the shore. But as a result of the repeal movement, the Irish people seemed more mobilized than ever. Nowhere was this more evident than the mobilization created by Take Back the City, which seized the spine of Dublin housing and the whole country. An umbrella movement of several grbadroots organizations, "Take Back the Busy City" and mobilized thousands of people on the streets. With a rental market forcing people to leave the capital and the country, an increasing number of homeless people, and a lack of social housing, Take Back the City's claims are: "All properties formerly occupied by TBTC must be taken by compulsory order and used for social purposes. as universal public housing. All land and vacant properties across the country must become public property and be used for social housing and community purposes. Tenants 'security and fair rent: prohibit all evictions, reduce and cap rent to 20% of occupants' income or € 300 per room per month. " – Una Mullally
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SPORT

Aidan Harris Igiehon
Basketball
Aidan Igiehon will probably become the most famous Irish sportsman in the world in five years. The 18-year-old from Clondalkin is one of America's top basketball hopefuls in high school and has committed to play for Louisville at the university next year. Everything is going as planned, he could play in the NBA, perhaps by 2020, but certainly by 2021 – current projections put him in 12th place in this year's NBA project. This is an extraordinary step forward for a child who only started playing basketball in 2013 while playing football in Moyle Park, West Dublin, when local basketball coach Mick White called him to ask if his friend Joe and he wanted to be under 13, he was running. He was 5 feet 6 inches and had never held a basketball before. Six years later, he stands at 6 feet 10 inches and has the world at his feet. He has been a revelation at the high school level in New York since moving in 2014. He has never been so excited about an Irish basketball player, but if he continues in the same direction, Igiehon will be worth watching for a good part of the next decade.

Will Addison
Rugby
In a World Cup year, everything matters. Addison has come out of nowhere by the end of the year 2018 to register as part of a plane ticket to Japan this fall, offering versatility that makes it extremely useful to Joe Schmidt. In the current state of affairs, it seems likely that only two of Addison's members, Andrew Conway and Chris Farrell, will travel to the World Cup and Ulster at the back would have been an absolute underdog until a few months ago. Addison's ability to position itself at the back, center and even half distance makes it a considerable badet. But beyond that, the 26-year-old was impressed by his ability to tune in as soon as possible. He made his debut in Ireland in November in Chicago in front of the Italian bench, before facing Argentina at the last minute, when Robbie Henshaw was injured in the warm-up. After playing back against Italy, he suddenly had 20 minutes to shed his center against a much harder opponent. He crossed brilliantly. Ulster improves under Dan McFarland and Addison is a boat on a rising tide. He could be the best player of the Irish team at the World Cup.

Sarah Rowe
Gaelic Football / Australian Rules
Rowe is currently in Melbourne preparing for the Australian Women's Rules season with her new club, Collingwood, after registering with them over the winter. After the successful pbadage of Cora Staunton with Great Western Sydney last year, it will be fascinating to see if a second Irish player can have an impact on the AFLW. If Rowe is making waves, it seems reasonable that more and more cross-country teams are losing players to Australia for the coming spring. The AFLW season is short and lively, taking only nine weeks in February and March. So it's entirely possible for Rowe – or whoever else – to spend the winter in Down Under, playing and getting paid for it, before coming back for the championship at home. Anyway, Rowe also had a great summer in front of Mayo. The 2017 finalists from Ireland had a bad season in 2018, making the headlines for the wrong reasons with a huge internal conflict. They need to tidy up this and with Rowe, one of the remaining players who stands out, her form on her return will be crucial.

Leanne Kiernan
Soccer
West Ham Cavan striker, 19, is injured but should be back in action before the end of January. And not a minute too early, because 2019 promises to be a major year in the life of a player that could prove to be one of the most important in Ireland in the years to come. Kiernan is in her early days with West Ham, which she joined last summer. The Hammers play in the FA Super League Women. The standard is extremely high. Kiernan is thus one of the few Irish players to be regularly submitted to this level. Almost his first act in England was to score the goal of the month in West Ham – chosen from both bades – during a Continental Cup game, a glorious curling attempt that took place under the bar cross. A hamstring injury in November prevented her from staying for a few weeks, but if she recovers normally, she will try to return to the West Ham team.

Troy Parrott
Soccer
We should probably be paying much more attention than we are tempted to do the Troy Parrott anointing the next big thing. He is only 16, after all, and the newspaper's archives teem with careers that have never been so bright as certainties. But the least we can say for the former striker of Belvedere, is that he did everything that one could have hoped for to make a career. . Towards the end of the year 2018, the Spurs' director, Mauricio Pochettino, interviewed him without being invited. He scores regularly for Tottenhams under the age of 18, even though he's been a minor for two years at this level. He is a mainstay of the Irish minor teams recently placed under the control of the future Irish coach Stephen Kenny and was the most powerful player in the Under-17 team who was cruelly – and controversially – eliminated from the World Championship. Europe under 17 years old penalties last year. With a favorable wind, Parrott could make his senior debut at Spurs sometime in 2019. If we sit here this time next year with that accomplished, it will have been a huge 12-month period. – Malachy Clerkin
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FOOD

Niall Davidson
Chief
In the spring of 2019, Dublin City Center will have a new restaurant. This one, still unnamed, will be a little different, however. Chefs will work in a kitchen immersed in the dining room, cooking on a wood fire fueled by Irish wood and dried herbs. Niall Davidson, who grew up on a farm in Derry, came back from London, where he opened the fashionable Nuala restaurant (named after his sister), to open 45 seats on South Frederick Street in Dublin. launch in April The date is scheduled and its number two will be Hugh Higgins, former chef at Luna. The two men are already working on the menu, from a test kitchen that they rented, and are traveling the country to meet suppliers. "My goal here is to present the best Irish ingredients, whether they are farmed, caught in the wild or fished at sea, to be cooked and served in a relaxed, fun and perhaps even conducive environment. thinking, "says Davidson.

Lisa Cope
Food Media Entrepreneur
Last January, people who follow the news of Irish restaurants on social networks have begun to notice a newcomer – an acute voice who is not afraid to say it as it is. The weekly review of restaurant reviews in allthefood.ie national newspapers quickly attracted a loyal following, and Lisa Cope was revealed as being the author behind her. Cope, who studied journalism and worked on television in Dublin and London, created the All The Food website during her maternity leave. He is now a respected source of information, reviews and reports on what is happening on the Dublin culinary scene. She is also undertaking a master's degree in gastronomy at DIT, which she will complete in May this year. "My main goal with All The Food is to continue to produce quality content and to be aware of what is going on in Dublin, while ensuring that its integrity is preserved. We want to build something that has real value, "she says.

Jack Lenards
Chief
When Baltimore's Mews restaurant in West Cork won a Michelin star for the first time last October, the award-winning kitchen team included Jack Lenards from Kilcoole in Co Wicklow. The celebrations continued in November, when Lenards was named Euro-Toques' Young Chef of the Year at a gala dinner in Dublin. To win, the young leader had three rounds of judges, from July. The jury was made up of Ireland-born Liam Tomlin, who is now one of the most renowned chefs and restaurateurs in South Africa. As part of its award, Lenards, who is currently working at the restaurant Patrick Guilbaud, will travel this month (January) to Cape Town and Singita Lebombo Lodge in Kruger National Park, to work with Tomlin. Lenards returned to Dublin to work at the Patrick Guilbaud restaurant at the end of 2018 and this month, he started working at Geranium, a three-star Michelin restaurant in Copenhagen.

Eoin Cluskey
baker
The former carpenter turned chef and baker Eoin Cluskey and his partner Stephen McKenna opened Bread41, an organic bakery and coffee shop, on Pearse Street in Dublin 2 in September. This month they will start grinding their own flour internally. "We hope to work with a number of Irish producers to grow old organic cereals again that we can mill and use in our breads," he said. In February, they will start selling pizzas using a fermented sourdough base for 48 hours. D'autres projets pour 2019 verront Cluskey lancer un programme d'éducation intitulé «Le pain de l'amour» qui, selon lui, «enseignera aux enfants et aux adultes de la région les valeurs nutritionnelles du vrai pain, ses avantages et l'importance d'une alimentation saine». Bread Nation, la branche de gros de la société, est également en expansion et a identifié des ouvertures sur le marché des entreprises. «Nous avons un certain nombre de grandes entreprises qui, dans le cadre de leur responsabilité sociale envers leurs employés, nous demandent de livrer nos pains au levain quotidiennement. Aujourd'hui, par exemple, nous avons livré 50 pains à LinkedIn. "

Laura Caulwell
Chef
Laura Caulwell est une changeuse de carrière qui a délaissé le domaine du design – où elle était déjà très performante, après avoir été finaliste aux James Dyson International Design Awards – pour la cuisine. Après avoir suivi une formation à Ballymaloe, elle a rejoint la famille Fumbally, travaillant dans le collectif de cafés et cafés culinaires de Dublin 8. En juin 2017, elle faisait partie de l'équipe qui a ouvert Storyboard à Islandbridge, à propos de laquelle un critique de restaurants d'Irish Times a déclaré: «C'est le meilleur aliment de café que j'ai mangé en Irlande.» L'année dernière, elle est revenue au bercail à Fumbally, et en septembre, elle s’est impliquée dans le projet de reprendre la cantine de l’établissement voisin Presentation Secondary School Warrenmount. Elle et son collègue cuisinier, Harry Colley, y cuisinent tous les jours et initient les élèves aux joies de la cuisine fraîche préparée à partir de rien. «Notre objectif est de montrer qu’il est possible de disposer d’aliments sains et abordables dans les écoles et d’établir un document qui aide d’autres partenariats entre cafés et écoles à proposer une offre similaire», dit-elle. – Marie-Claire Digby
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ARTS

Dreamgun
The comedy
Dreamgun comprend Stephen Colfer, Gavin Drea, Heber Hanly et James McDonnell. Écrivains, animateurs et interprètes à part entière, le groupe s'est réuni après avoir obtenu son diplôme en 2014 et s'est rendu compte que «nous avions soudainement beaucoup moins à faire avec nous-mêmes». Avec également Ronan Carey, Vanya Eccles, Hannah Mamalis, Erin McGathy et Ed Salmon, l’émission de Dreamgun, Film Reads, est un film improvisé à travers des scénarios de films emblématiques. "Il est difficile de choisir un moment où il a grimpé en puissance", a déclaré Colfer. «Tout s'est pbadé très lentement, mais à un moment donné, nous avons tous remarqué que nos amis nous racontaient nos blagues.» Le meilleur amusement est «la folie partagée qui découle des 72 heures pbadées en immersion dans chaque film, en pensant davantage à GoldenEye qu'à quiconque devrait jamais ». Quel que soit l’ingrédient secret, il est pris au dépourvu. Les lectures sont enregistrées et diffusées sous forme de podcasts sur SoundCloud. En 2019, l'équipe se rendra à Adelaide Fringe en février, avant de retourner sur Vicar Street le 15 mars.

Stephen Doyle
Artiste
Diplômé du Crawford College de Cork en 2017, Stephen Doyle (24 ans) possède déjà une liste impressionnante de récompenses. Gagnant à la fois du Ashurst Emerging Artist et du Sunny Art Prize en 2018, il a également été sélectionné pour le Zurich Portrait Prize à la National Gallery. «La pièce au Musée des beaux-arts a une signification particulière pour moi», déclare Doyle. «En tant qu’artiste émergent, avoir du travail là-bas est incroyablement validant. Plus important encore, Dylan est une société. . . est le premier travail sur les murs de la galerie à discuter ouvertement de l'identité transgenre. Considérant le manque de représentation des personnes queer dans les arts visuels, en particulier les personnes trans, c'est un immense honneur de leur donner une voix. »Actuellement, résident des Backwater Studios à Cork, les prix offrent une plate-forme, qui est tout pour un artiste qui regarde en dehors". Alors que deux expositions personnelles étaient déjà programmées pour 2019, notamment en février dans les éditions SO Fine Art, Doyle se rendra à Londres grâce au Sunny Art Prize, qui comprend également une résidence d'un mois en Chine. "Il est juste de dire que je serai occupé."

Anishta Chooramun
Sculpteur
Anishta Chooramun (32 ans), d'origine mauricienne, vit en Irlande depuis 2006. Actuellement étudiante à la maîtrise à l'IADT, la conservatrice Amanda Coogan l'a choisie pour les 2018 RDS Visual Art Awards. «Quand les gens me demandaient ce que je voulais faire, je disais que je voulais être un artiste célèbre», se souvient Chooramun. «Je considère notre société comme un cbade-tête. As we move through the environment, encounter different aspects of life, meet new individuals or a novel situation, we transform. These changes help us grow and become who we are, but we also lose a little of ourselves as individuals,” says the artist. Chooramun first came to Ireland on holiday, and fell in love with the country. “I got my Irish citizenship in 2012, which I’m very proud of.” As the 2019 winner of the RHA Graduate Studio Awards, she’ll have the space and time to really explore her fascinating insights, making sculptures that can help to tell us all more about who we really are.

Kevin Corcoran
Homeware designer
Born in Denmark, and now based in Skibbereen, Kevin Corcoran (31) is on a mission to make us fall in love with concrete. Alongside his day job as a graphic designer, Corcoran is (ahem) cementing his role on the design stage with his awarding winning Concrete Forest. “Because of how widely concrete is used, people can forget what an incredible and versatile material it is,” says Corcoran pbadionately. “What you can achieve – different textures, forms and finishes – is endless. With the right technique and processes, you can take something considered a coarse, ordinary material and transform it into something smooth, polished and refined.” The results, including highly desirable pots and candle holders, can be bought online, and in outlets including Designist in Dublin, Tree Bark Store in Galway and the Glucksman Gallery shop in Cork. Now experimenting with new accents, Corcoran also works with interior designers, and recently made concrete table tops for one of his favourite restaurants, Café Paradiso in Cork.

Simone Collins
Actor
Simone Collins (23) hadn’t yet graduated from the Lir when she won her first leading role as Dorothy in Wayne Jordan’s Wizard of Oz at the Cork Opera House last year. “I always wanted to act, but it wasn’t until my mid-teens that I knew I wanted to pursue it without a musical number in the mix,” she says. Two episodes of Quantico, the ABC FBI series, followed, and now the Dublin actress is once again centre stage as Daisy Buchanan in the Gate’s Great Gatsby. Collins had auditioned for Daisy when the Gate first staged it. “I was delighted to be seen before graduating college. When I was told it wasn’t going to happen, I was pretty disappointed. I was overjoyed to get a second chance this Christmas. The Gate’s imagining of Gatsby is different to any other theatrical experience: “You’re not on stage as such, it’s entirely immersive, so you can have an unscripted full-on conversation with an audience member you’ve never met before. Something flips in your brain.” The Great Gatsby has been extended to February 16th. – Gemma Tipton
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FASHION/BEAUTY

Hope McCaulay
Designer
From Portstewart on the Antrim coast, McCauley (22) earned a first from Rochester’s Creative Arts course last year, after which she showcased her graduate collection at Graduate Fashion Week in London in September. Her collection, with its vibrant colour, pattern (with something of the same exuberance as Richard Quinn) and overblown chunky knits called “A Surreal Rome” drew from her research on surrealist painters like Salvador Dali coupled with a visit to the Italian city, where her photographs were used as a basis for a mixed media collage. That was then digitally printed onto her widely acclaimed dresses, skirts, trousers and jackets. Her own “out of mind” surreal experience at the age of 12, when she was given laughing gas at the dentist, contributed to the hallucinatory world of her large expressive paintings and distorted collaged photographs. She is now making her spring/summer collection in “more wearable” ways, which she will show at Pure in London in February. In the meantime, she has also received her first commission – from a male fashion lecturer in London – and her collection goes on sale on her website hopemaccaulay.com this month.

Andrew Bell
Designer
Dundalk man Bell (27), a graduate of NCAD and recipient of the Kildare Village scholarship to the RCA, will graduate this June with an an MA in Womenswear from the Royal College of Art in London. He has ambitious plans involving future systems of manufacturing and the production of clothing. Bell interned with J W Anderson and Antipodium in London but after college took a job in Dunnes Stores to repay student loans. He has been developing pioneering techniques borrowed from other sectors like ultrasonic perforation inspired by bin bags, welding technology used in seam-free underwear and packaging adapted for luxury tailoring. He is also developing his own custom-made fabrics, like one in which herringbone tweed is printed onto fabric. “I am looking at the future but thinking about the present and how fashion has come down to digital consumption. I want to create something beautiful that will last and a new version of tailoring – tailoring that is not sewn.” His prototype eyewear with custom-made Perspex arms takes a similar innovative approach.

Oisín Murphy
Model
The young Offaly hurler, who plays on the Birr senior team, made news in August when he modelled in a fashion shoot for French Vogue with the model, activist and Vogue cover girl Adwoa Aboah, shot in Antrim by Alasdair McLellan. Posing with her in full hurling kit for a feature described as “a 90s tinged tale of romance”, he was also featured leaning on horses wearing an Aran sweater. Spotted originally by Not Another Agency, he was taken up in London by IMG, following in the footsteps of his brother Ronan. Since then Murphy (19) has worked on shoots for Asos and a lookbook for All Saints. An apprentice steel fabricator in Tullamore, he now has to juggle phase two of his training with modelling. “I didn’t grow up thinking I was going to be a model – I was just one of the lads – but the opportunities are good and the money is good and I like meeting new people.” He reckons he has got more “fashion friendly” since he started modelling “and I appreciate it more. Before that I would wear my brother’s hand-me-downs. Now I buy my own.”

Freya Oatway
Milliner
Dubliner Oatway’s ambition to be a milliner started at the age of 16 during transition year, when she bombarded Philip Treacy with daily letters begging to be taken on as an intern. It paid off and the 33-year-old spent two summers in his studio, learning the trade and meeting fashion legends like Isabella Blow. Her craftsmanship shows in her hats, which are bold, modern and elegant – straw boaters, fedoras, homburgs and little pillboxes, colourful beanies and hairpieces. For two brides wearing trouser suits, she made stylish white boaters with black veiling while some hats are colourful, high-crowned versions that are a mix of fedora and homburg. A graduate of the Grafton Academy, Oatway trained in London with Giles Deacon, Roland Mouret and Mulberry, later working for four years building a London fashion brand, before returning home.FAO Millinery was set up a year ago in March 2017 and a big break was when actor Aoibhín Garrihy wore one of her white boaters to the Galway Races. She makes to measure but also produces headpieces and woolly caps that can be currently found in Bloss, Dundrum. “When I design a collection, I think of a strong woman and her whole outfit before I start,” she says.

Joanne Browne
Perfumer
Carlow-based Joanne Browne launched her natural solid fragrance brand in 2016. With a background in reflexology and holistic therapy, Browne first translated her interest in essential oils in 2013, making organic beeswax solid perfumes out of her kitchen, which can be worn by those who are often allergic to spray fragrances, which have high preservative and alcohol contents. Since its start, the brand has grown exponentially and made impressive strides into the natural skincare market with its cleanser and serum releases. Recognisable by their chic sustainable bamboo packaging, Jo Browne products have become increasingly present in Irish media coverage, though all of the fragrances are still handmade by Browne herself. The brand is currently stocked in larger Irish retailers, among them the Kilkenny Shop, Meadows & Byrne, and Avoca. In 2018, Browne opened an office in Singapore, with a view to bringing Jo Browne products to Asian markets. – Deirdre McQuillan and Laura Kennedy
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MUSIC

Maija Sofia
A real timeless quality is rare in so much of modern music, but the delicate timbre of Maija Sofia’s music is impossible to ascribe to a particular moment. She doesn’t occupy an easily identifiable space – there are few genres which would accurately pinpoint her sound – and the ease with which she weaves grand tales of mythos into short and delicate folk tunes suggests a true finesse. Her subject matter is seldom trivial – abuse, mythological stories, feminism and loss are considered with a confident serenity. The pinnacle of her work so far came at the beginning of the year in the form of the dreamy Phil Spector-esque Flowers, easily one of the best new releases of 2018, either at home or abroad. Now embracing a fuller sound, Sofia’s work has strengthened with time and experimentation while never losing the ethereal quality which makes it so effective. Fans of Sofia wait with bated breath for the release of her first full-length LP in 2019.

Daithí
If you’re unfamiliar with the sound of 28-year-old Daithí Ó Drónaí, it’s time to get on the bandwagon. Writing and producing as Daithí, he has gigged consistently in 2018 with no end in sight. As far as modern electronic music goes in this country, Daithí is the one to beat. A self-confessed Irish culture obsessive, his music incorporates boisterous electronic beats with the strange bedfellow of the Irish fiddle. This year, Daithí’s sound has become somewhat more introspective. His exploration of personal loss on Take The Wheel (featuring Paul Noonan of Bell X1) was a stunning moment in the development of his unique creative voice. Released alongside this was In My Darkest Moments, a compelling work explorating male isolation and loneliness, brought to visual life by Irish director Lochlainn McKenna in its accompanying music video. 2018 has been a real turning point for Daithí, pointing to a promising reception for his first LP in almost five years in 2019.

Pillow Queens
From the success of the Repeal movement to the abolition of the Irish blasphemy law, the country has been politically upended by a new wave of Irish feminism. A true marker of Irish girls anew is the music video for Pillow Queens’ Gay Girls released earlier this year. Communion dress-clad girls are shot with scraped knees, gambling with more money than they know what to do with and cartwheeling through Dublin estate greenery picking up dirt, grbad and blood stains on the way. If ever there was a band with a buzz, it’s Pillow Queens. Their DIY, garage-rock-inspired sound is an exhilarating force of positivity, seemingly embracing all manner of alternative aesthetics while maintaining a distinctively Irish sensibility. Colloquial witticisms are sung with a wink in Irish accents, resulting in songs with such charming familiarity that it’s impossible not to become hooked instantly.

Kobina
Electronic music is becoming synonymous with modern music-making in Ireland, with one of the freshest voices emerging in the form of Sean Arthur, AKA Kobina. Boasting a wealth of collaborations and production credits (including Daithí, Bodies, Blooms and others), as well as solo collections of experimental electronic sounds, Kobina is primed for a truly promising career. Incorporating rich textures with ambient tones, he constructs dramatic soundscapes which manoeuvre compelling aural narratives. There is a real affection for collaboration, while also maintaining a style that is truly his own. Whether he takes influence from R&B beats, electronic subgenres or dreamy textures, the narrative of the work is always foregrounded. 2019 looks bright for Kobina, with a new EP featuring vocal interpretations of a series of poems written by the artist, as well a collaborative project with Dublin producer Moving Still in February.

Ailbhe Reddy
With each new release, songwriter Ailbhe Reddy tweaks and adds to her sound. Tangible additions come in the form of fuller instrumentation, while a quiet yet distinct confidence grows over time. Reddy first caught the eye of critics in 2015 with the release of her debut EP Dwell, a dreamy beginning to a career which culminated in more risk-taking the following year. Hollowed out Sea followed, and highlighted her flair for melodic hooks and beautiful depictions of personal experiences. There is no shortage of vocal ability here either, and the true artistry of Reddy’s form is in her ability to trust when to hold back, and when to let go. Reddy’s position in the Irish folk scene is stronger than ever, and with her debut album due to be released in 2019, she is certainly one to get on board with soon. – Andrea Cleary
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TECH

Richie Power
Showtime Analytics
Everything these days is about data. But with so many companies trying to make their mark in badytics, Richie Power, Joe Spurling and Paul Lynch decided to take a different tack. Showtime Analytics is aimed at the global cinema industry, providing cinema owners and film distributors with a way to gather, understand and best use operational data in real time. Next year looks set to be an exciting one for the company. Following a fundraise of €2 million in October, the company, led by Power, is planning to expand and further develop its platform. Among its backers is ecommerce giant Alibaba, which invested for a second time through its subsidiary Alibaba Pictures. Also on the cards is an expanded team for the Blackrock-based firm as it looks to increase its business in 2019. Power is confident that the importance of badytics in the film industry is going to continue to increase – experience says he may well be right.

Niall Dennehy and Joe Thompson
AidTech
It was lost charity money that led Niall Dennehy and Joe Thompson to set up AidTech. The company ticks a couple of boxes: not only is it focused on tech for good, it uses the technology of the moment – blockchain – to do it. According to Dennehy, about 30 per cent of international aid goes missing each year; the duo wanted to bring that to an end and let donors verify their money had gone where it was intended. And so AidTech was born, bringing a secure way to deliver aid to people around the world. It has already partnered with the Irish Red Cross to deliver aid to Syrian refugees using QR codes that store digital identity details on phones or plastic ID cards. The platform also allows for the creation of a secure identity for an aid recipient that can be stored on a blockchain ledger – making it almost impossible to alter or erase. As the understanding of blockchain technology grows, so too do the applications. AidTech has already scooped the overall prize at the 2018 Irish Times Innovation Awards. According to Dennehy, the plans for the coming months include rolling the technology out to help people participate in the digital economy, gaining access to micropayment services, banks and so on.

Dr Fiona Edwards Murphy
Chief executive, ApisProtect
Bees are vital to our ecosystem, so keeping a close eye on them – and the potential risks to colonies – is important. Technology developed in Ireland could play an important role. Cork-based ApisProtect, founded by Dr Fiona Edwards Murphy, uses the internet to monitor the health of honey bee colonies, helping commercial beekeepers more effectively manage them. The system can help beekeepers pick up on diseases, pests and other issues in hives before they become a serious problem. Things are really taking off for the firm. It raised €1.5 million in funding late in 2018 to help fund its international expansion, and is already planning its first US office in California. Also on the agenda for the near future is an office in South Africa and the UK, and an increase in its Irish-based team as the company brings the bee-monitoring system to more climates. As chief executive, Murphy is taking a leading role in the protection of hive health, and the UCC graduate’s work has been internationally recognised by academic publications, Google and the Irish Research Council. The company’s technology is now being used in hives across the world, monitoring the health of more than 6 million honeybees and, with more to come, it’s worth keeping a close eye on this work.

Prof Maire O’Neill
Queen’s University Belfast
You may not have heard of Prof Maire O’Neill yet, but keep a close eye on cybersecurity and you likely will. Based in Queen’s University, the Donegal native is heading up the new €5.5 million research unit at the university’s Centre for Secure Information Technologies. As we turn even the simplest of devices into internet connected ones, the risk to our cybersecurity grows. That makes O’Neill’s role even more important; part of her job is to beef up hardware security and reduce vulnerability to online threats. You might think it won’t affect you, but everything from connected toys to wifi plugs could be a potential risk. O’Neill certainly has previous form for hard work. Not content with being the youngest engineering professor ever at Queen’s – she was appointed to the role at 32 – she was also the youngest fellow elected to the Irish Academy of Engineering and she previously won the “British” Female Inventor of the Year award for work on high-speed data security. Her role as head of the research institute should be equally impressive.

Theo Goyvaerts
Chief executive, Aeonspark Events
For Theo Goyvaerts, chief executive of Aeonspark Events, it all started out with an interest in games. That quickly morphed into a career, when he set up the G Series esports events with Bryan McNamara. “The very first event we did was in the Alex hotel, with 10 PCs and 140 people,” he said. “The second event three months later had over 1,000 people attending and three different tournaments.” G Series wound up last year; now Goyvaerts is chief executive of Aeonspark Events, a company he set up with co-founders Graeme Moore and Daire Hardesty. The gaming events firm is hoping to establish Ireland as a games hub and help grow the esports scene here. It has already run a couple of events as part of its roadmap towards that goal. In 2019, things are set to get more interesting. The initial events – Dublin Games Summit and Dublin Games Festival – will be amalgamated to set up Dublin Games Week, and hopefully advance that dream a little more. – Ciara O’Brien
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MEDIA

Emma Dabiri
Author, broadcaster
Author, presenter, teaching fellow in the Africa department at SOAS University of London, visual sociology PhD researcher at Goldsmiths, and broadcaster, Emma Dabiri holds a range of expertise encompbading a vast crossover between popular culture, art, history and much more. Her upcoming book, Don’t Touch My Hair, is published by Penguin on May 4th. She also presents BBC4’s Britain’s Lost Masterpieces. “I teach African Studies, and there is so much subjugated African history and knowledge that is not only fascinating but also provides a lot of alternative solutions to contemporary issues that we have in the world,” she says. “I love that the book has given me an opportunity to introduce some of those ideas and concepts to a wide audience of people. I’m looking forward to hearing how people respond and engage, and to those ideas being out there in a mainstream and acceptable form.” In 2019, Dabiri will also finish her PhD, titled Mixed Race, A Ghost Story.

Kate Dolan
Director and writer
Kate Dolan is a rising director and writer, a fan of horror, and a skilful artist making playful, slick work. “2018 was a really good year. Before, I was so used to doing everything DIY, struggling, making everything myself.” Dolan’s 2016 short film Little Doll caught the eye of Screen Ireland / Fís Éireann, which led to funding for another short, Catcalls, which took off at festivals. She was selected for Screen Ireland’s POV round, enabling women directors and writers to make their first feature film. Dolan has made excellent music videos for the band Bitch Falcon, and towards the end of 2018, her video for Pillow Queens’ Gay Girls received acclaim online. “There’s no point in making something unless you’re challenging people’s perceptions and exploring social issues,” Dolan says, “You see so many films and you think ‘what are they trying to say?’” A US colleague mentioned the phrase “hiding the vitamins in the ice-cream” to Dolan recently, something that chimed with her: “make fun pieces, but that are saying something as well.” She also has another project – Silent Caller – in development with Fastnet Films.

Dublin Digital Radio
Dublin Digital Radio is pursuing a new era of volunteer-led, independent community radio that leans in to left-of-centre programming. Having showcased a stable of interesting and interested musicians and DJs including Cáit, Dowry, Wastefellow, r.kitt and Jill Woodnut’s Staxx Lyrical, DDR’s scope and scale has grown since its beginnings. “At the start we felt that there was a lot of areas of the music industry that weren’t be represented on national radio and media,” co-founder Brian McNamara says. “We focus on a lot more than just music now, but it’s all about giving a voice to people who feel like they don’t have a voice in other areas.” This year, 2019, will see them move to a new space, and seek to build on community connections in Dublin, Ireland, and in the online radio community across Europe. The station throws up unexpected and avant-garde sounds and an eclectic, freewheeling sentiment. At a time when many radio stations feel like they’re stuck in the past, DDR is pushing things forward.

Tara Stewart
DJ
Tara Stewart is a DJ, 2fm’s entertainment news reporter, and increasingly represents a cohort of young women in Ireland who are eschewing the filtered, pristine trends on Instagram – a platform she characterises as a “visual CV” – for a more fun-loving approach. It’s that attitude (she says her motto is “f**k it”) that has seen her presence grow in Ireland, DJing brand events and festivals. After taking her first Christmas off in three years, her goal in 2019 is to look towards London while remaining Dublin-based, and incorporating more fashion work into her life. In 2018, Stewart worked with brands including Tommy Hilfiger and Pretty Little Thing, but avoids the dreaded ‘influencer’ trap of chasing a pay cheque. “I’m lucky to be in a position where I can be selective with what I do. I’m really happy with the way things are going, but I don’t like staying on one level. I’m planning to step up a level.”

Goblin
Publication
Goblin is a new Irish skate culture publication, which launched towards the end of 2018 with Philip Halton at its helm, “I’m a skateboarder who’s a builder,” he says. “I always loved writing, I read quite a lot. I guess I’m the editor.” With a queue forming outside its debut issue launch party, the enthusiasm for Goblin reflects a growing skate scene in Ireland bolstered by the skate shop High Rollers, young skateboarders emerging, and a welcome influx of Brazilian skateboarders into the capital. “The idea was very small to begin with, and snowballed,” Halton says. A new issue is planned for 2019. Despite the decline of print, hard-copy magazines are essential to skateboard culture, particularly when it comes to sponsors and brands. “I didn’t want it to just be for skating,” Halton says of the publication, “Skateboarding revolves around its surroundings . . . I wanted to keep it as social commentary as well. Skating occupies a space between an art form, sport, a social thing – it taps into a lot of areas.” – Una Mullally
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