The twenty-three year old comedian was revealed as the recipient of the prestigious award from the Irish Academy on Friday, October 7th at the IFTA Gala TV Awards Ceremony in Dublin.

The award which is sponsored by Gala Retail is dedicated to honouring the very best of leading young talent among Irish broadcasters. This is the first Rising Star Award to be presented at the ceremony, which is dedicated especially to honouring the best of Irish talent on the small screen and is now in its second year.

Porter was nominated alongside Darren Kennedy, Kevin McGahern, Máire Treasa Ní Dhubhgaill, Vogue Williams and Angela Scanlon, in the highly contested category, which is the only of this year’s awards put to a public vote.

Porter made his television debut as a participant of ‘New Comedy Award’ on RTÉ 2. He is also known for his writing and performances in panto and co-wrote ‘Freezin’: The Story of The Snow Queen’ with Carl Spain in 2015.

His regular appearances on television and radio see him take the lead as host and guest alike. He is a regular guest of Colm Hayes’ ‘Drivetime’ on 2fm, has appeared on TV3’s ‘The Seven O’Clock Show’ hosted by Lucy Kennedy and Martin King, RTÉ’s ‘The Late Late Show’ and UK stand-up show ‘Live at the Apollo’.

Just this week he is the focal point of the latest ‘Living with Lucy’, and current stand-up show ‘Al Porter At Large: The Honeymoon Tour’ has taken the twenty-three year old comedian nationwide, with dates scheduled until this November.

Previous accolades for Porter include becoming a semi-finalist in the UK-wide ‘So You Think You’re Funny’ competition at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and finalist and Audience Choice Winner in the nationwide Craic Attack competition.

.@TheAlPorter dedicates his award to the people of Tallaght and the young people his age who are trying to make it #IFTAGala16

— Irish FilmTV Academy (@IFTA) October 7, 2016

Congratulations to all of the nominees and winners.