8 Irish Creators Set For Big Things In 2026

Ireland is home to some of the most successful creatives in the world.

In our past, we saw the likes of James Joyce and Seamus Heaney rise to fame in literature and more recently Cillian Murphy, Saoirse Ronan and Hozier in the film and music industry.

For a country so small we have always produced amazing talent. Going back to our roots, creativity was the only way the people of Ireland were allowed to express themselves.

We saw many Irish creatives step forward in the Abbey Theatre, publish best-selling novels and perform on some of the largest stages in the world expressing their culture.

Our small country is not slowing down when it comes to its creative nature, if anything we may be growing stronger. Here’s a list of some of our favourite Irish creatives at the moment that you may have not heard of yet!

John Farrelly

Known for his most recent creative project, An Táibhse, John Farrelly is a young Irish director and screenwriter. The terrifying film brought Farrelly into the spotlight for its unique qualities as well as it being the first Irish-spoken horror film ever made.

The film was played at multiple film festivals around the world such as North America, Leicester, Iceland and many more.

Since the movie’s release, John has received amazing reviews for his directorial and writing skills. For his first large project to be so successful we can’t even imagine what the rest of his career will look like. Definitely one to keep an eye out for!

Finn Harney

 

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Visual artist Finn Harney is a talented freelance photographer from Ireland. Finn has been at the centre of the Dublin creative space for the last few years, capturing unique moments across the city.

Finn has worked with many talented artists over the years including Slowthai, Plaintain Sound, THiRTY TWO CREW, Kojaque and MNLY.

Some of the moments Harney has captured have been featured in District Magazine, Hotpress Magazine, Spotify and Earmilk. We’ve also seen him take part in successful exhibitions in Ireland and Paris. Finn takes private clients specialising in portrait-style photos.

“I focus on presenting my subject as authentically as possible,” he says.

Honeypot

 

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The Honeypot collective was founded in 2022 by DJs Kerry Mahony and Emma Murphy. The pair have organised the first Irish electronic music night specifically for queer women with their motto being “for the girls, the gays, queer people and everyone in between.”

The pair organise night events, and parties, raise money for charities and help bring emerging queer DJs into the spotlight and to find their footing in a safe environment.

Since their initial launch, Honeypot has partnered with many brands such as Smirnoff, Jameson and White Claw. The pair also managed to receive the Music Project Award from The Arts Council for their Pride party in 2024.

Kerry and Emma have created a safe place for the queer community to express themselves as well as their art. Their platform is truly inspirational.

F3miii

 

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Dublin-based singer, songwriter and music producer F3miii has been on the music scene for many years now. Most known for his songs ‘FROM YOUR EYES’, ‘LOSTWITHOUTMARIA’ and ‘in my head’, F3miii has begun to take up more space in the public eye.

Most recently we’ve seen him focus on the music production side of his career while working on one of Ireland’s rising hits at the moment ‘Date Night’ by KhakiKid.

F3miii also featured on KhahiKid’s album Moanbag on the track ‘Germ’. F3miii’s music involves melodic vocals mixed with unique and upbeat chords. Lucky for us this talented artist will be taking up space on the Forbidden Fruits Festival stage this year, hopefully with some new music!

Gemma Cowan Fine Art

 

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Talented artist from County Offaly, Ireland, Gemma Cowan has a background in Fine Art from The Limerick School of Art and Design.

Gemma specialises in painting Irish landscapes and nature in general however, her art form is much more abstract with rich colours and specs of gold.

Throughout her artwork, Gemma likes to include Irish messages of heritage and beautiful cultural sayings blurred into the background of her landscapes.

She enjoys using gold detailing to bring to life the gorgeous Irish sunlight shining on the landscapes. Gemma creates the most beautiful bespoke pieces that everyone should have in their home.

Meg Hughes

 

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You may already know Meg from her large platform across TikTok and Instagram however, you may have missed this creatives recent ventures into the journalistic world.

Meg has always shared her love and passion for the film industry by taking us on her journey through her Film and Television Production degree over the last few years and giving us countless film reviews.

Over the last year, Meg has been front and centre at many movie premiers such as Challengers, The Last of Us, The Amateur and most recently Sinners.

During these premiers we’ve seen Meg interview celebrities as large as Rami Malek, Zendaya, Delroy Lindo and many more. Over the years we’ve seen Meg grow her online platform into a passionate career in the film industry. We can’t wait to see who she interviews next!

Choy Creates

 

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Seán Choy O’Byrne is a multimedia street artist based in Dublin who uses his platform and his street art as a form of protest. Throughout his work, O’Byrne likes to use vibrant, bold colours and fonts to highlight the lack of public spaces in Dublin City.

With his use of mixed media, we’ve seen Seán create some stand-out pieces such as sculptures, statement street art, graphic posters and much more.

Using art as a form of protest has been within the Irish creative community all the way back to the Abbey Theatre to most recently with artists such as Kneecap. O’Byrne is bringing a new life to political art with striking colours and new, interesting concepts.

Matthew Ryan Thomas

 

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Matthew Ryan Thomas was born and bred in the North of Ireland and over the last few years has been releasing indie-pop, retro-styled music exploring themes of queer identity through his lyrics and pairing them with an upbeat melody. His debut single ‘Song of the Summer’ was released back in 2023 and since then we’ve seen three more singles from Matthew.

Now living in London and navigating a new city, Matthew continues to write about his life experiences, his sexuality, religion and the relationships that come in and out of his life.

This talented artist also has a brand new single which will be released May 8th titled ‘The Shame We Called Salvation’. We can’t wait to see what’s next for this “campy Irish pop singer”.