Jason Byrne Announced as the New Host of the IFTA Gala Television Awards 2018

16th May 2018

The Irish Film & Television Academy is delighted to announce that award-winning Irish comedian Jason Byrne will host the 2018 IFTA Gala Television Awards, taking place at the RDS Concert Hall, on Thursday 31st May 2018.

Hold onto your hats, as Jason Byrne takes the reins at the IFTA TV Awards. The popular Judge on the hugely successful Ireland’s Got Talent, is the biggest selling comedian at the Edinburgh Fringe; his inspired original brand of high-energy intelligent lunacy has ensured that he is one of the most exciting live comedy performers in the world. His sell out shows have attracted accolades including the highly coveted Perrier Newcomer Award Nomination and the Perrier Award Nomination.

His television credits include ‘Live At The Apollo’ (BBC1), ‘Don’t Say It, Bring It’ (Dave), ‘Wild Things’ (Sky1), ‘Anonymous’ (RTE2), ‘Dave’s One Night Stand’ (Dave), ‘Jason Byrne’s Snaptastic Show’ (TV3) and ‘Irelands Got Talent’ (TV3).

Jason has numerous radio credits and won the Sony Radio Gold Award in 2011 for ‘The Jason Byrne Show’ which ran for 3 series on BBC Radio 2.

With a growing international profile, Jason has performed in New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, Milan, Paris, India, Finland, Sweden and Australia. He recently returned from Melbourne where he had sell out shows during the Comedy Festival.

CEO of the Irish Film & Television Academy, Áine Moriarty, welcomed Jason into his new role saying: “The Academy is very excited to introduce Jason Byrne as our new host for the IFTA Gala Television Awards. Jason is a brilliant live performer and is such a funny and much loved entertainer. We look forward a great night of celebration at the ceremony, recognising the great work achieved by the industry and no doubt some great fun too with Jason at the helm.”

Commenting today on the announcement as the IFTA host Jason Byrne said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be hosting the IFTA Gala awards this year. At a time when more quality television is being made all over the world, it’s great to see Irish Television being able to hold its own. In this era of ‘choice’, television is and always will be, a very important medium for me personally, mainly because I don’t like cat videos or being told how to apply make-up by a twelve year old”.

The IFTA GALA Television Awards will honour the finest work produced by Irish screen talent in the past 12 months. The Nominees were announced 9th May and amongst the 2018 shortlist are The Young Offenders, Derry Girls, Dancing with the Stars, Ireland’s Got Talent, Can’t Cope Won’t Cope, Brendan O’Connor’s Cutting Edge, Fair City, Red Rock, Ros na Rún, First Dates Ireland, Room to Improve, The Tommy Tiernan Show, and The Zoo, among many others.

IFTA 2018 also will see legendary veteran broadcaster Shay Healy receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, a tribute to a career that spans over 50 years.

For interview opportunities with Jason Byrne contact:
IFTA

press@ifta.ie