2015 IFTA Gala Television Award Winners Announced

Winners of the 2015 IFTA Gala Television Awards have been announced at a glittering Ceremony at Double Tree Hotel in Dublin

The TV winners of the 2015 IFTA Gala Television Awards were revealed tonight at a TV star-studded Awards ceremony at the Double Tree Hilton Ballroom where the cream of Irish television were in attendance to mark and celebrate the highest standard of output of Irish television programming of the past twelve months with the strong support of Gala Retail as the headline sponsor of the Awards Ceremony.

The event was hosted by Chief Executive of the Irish Film and Television Academy, Áine Moriarty, who congratulated all winners and nominees working in the Irish television industry. IFTA welcomed those working in television in front of and behind the screen, television directors, writers, actors and producers whose work was showcased throughout the evening. The IFTA Gala Television Awards is the showcase of Ireland’s television industry calendar and celebrate the very best of Irish television across all TV Programming from entertainment, comedy, Soap and Performance to factual, current affairs and news across all of the Irish broadcasters RTÉ One, RTÉ Two, TV3, 3e, TG4, Sky, UTV and BBC Northern Ireland.

The IFTA Gala Television Awards saw Brendan O Carroll receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for Comedy following the worldwide success of award-winning Mrs Browns Boys, presented in a moving tribute by Gay Byrne, one of the first broadcasters to bring Brendan to our screens many years ago – the tribute included messages from Roddy Doyle, Joe Duffy, John McColgan, Rory Cowen, Jason Byrne and many more.

Speaking about the awards IFTA CEO Áine Moriarty said: “The Academy is delighted to put the spotlight on Irish television with a dedicated Ceremony to celebrate television production. The Nominees and Winners tonight demonstrate clearly that Irish creative TV talent consistently delivers the highest standard of television programming to audience in Ireland and around the world.”

Hosted by actress and television presenter, Amanda Byram, the Awards Ceremony will be televised on TV3 on Friday 23rd October 2015 at 9pm.

Gala Retail are the official title Sponsor of the IFTA Gala Television Awards.

Guest presenters included Miriam O Callaghan, Rachel Wyse, Ronan Keating, Imelda May, Kathryn Thomas, Maria Walsh, Barry Murphy, Republic of Telly’s Kevin McGahern, Vogue Williams and Andy Quirke, Emmerdale’s John Bowe & Bhasker Patel Amanda Brunker, Brent Pope, UTV’s Alison Comyn, Tristan Rosenstock (TG4), Martin King and Lucy Kennedy, Colette Fitzpatrick, Jedward, Karen Koster and Anna Daly.

Among those in attendance celebrating the industry included Rory Cowen (Mrs Browns Boys), Jennifer Gibney & Danny O Carroll (Mrs. Browns Boys), Deirdre O Kane, Victoria Smurfit, Rosanna Davison & Wes Quirke, Gay Byrne, Nadia Forde, Baz & Nancy Ashmawy, Anthony Murnane, Bryan Dobson, Sharon Ní Bheolain, David Rawle and Ian O Reilly, Norma Sheahan from Moone Boy, Lisa Fitzpatrick, Lorraine Keane, Matt Cooper, Cathy Belton and Jane McGrath, Enda Oates and Martina Stanley (Fair City); Catherine Fulvio, Brendan Courtney, David Brophy (High Hopes Choir conductor), Jenny Buckley (UTV); Sean Mahon (Red Rock), Norah Casey, Anna Daly (TV3); Joe Duffy (RTE), Mairéad Ni Chuaig (TG4), Bill Cullen and Jackie Lavin, Darren Kennedy, Lisa Cannon (TV3), Elaine Crowley, Second Captains Live (Mark Horgan & Ken Early), Sinead Kennedy and Eoghan McDermott.

This year TV3 will deliver coverage of all the excitement around the Red Carpet, Nominees, Special Guests, Backstage interviews, and Winners from the Ceremony in an exclusive (non-live) one hour ‘Awards Special’ programme broadcast on TV3 at 9pm on Friday 23rd October.

FULL 2015 IFTA GALA TELEVISION WINNERS’ LIST:

COMEDY

Mrs Browns Boys

ENTERTAINMENT

50 Ways to Kill Your Mammy

MALE PERFORMANCE IN SOAP OR COMEDY

Enda Oates, Fair City

FEMALE PERFORMANCE IN SOAP OR COMEDY

Sharon Horgan, Catastrophe

FACTUAL

Wild Ireland

REALITY

Connected

DOCUMENTARY SERIES

The High Hopes Choir

DOCUMENTARY SINGLE

Close to Evil

SOAP & CONTINUING DRAMA

Red Rock

NEWS

BBC Newsline: The Death of Ian Paisley

CURRENT AFFAIRS

Inside Bungalow 3 – RTÉ Investigations Unit

SPECIALIST FACTUAL

Cumann na mBan - Mná na Réabhlóide

SPORTS

Arkle – The Legend Lives On

LIVE EVENT

Fleadh TV

CHILDRENS/YOUNG PEOPLES – LIVE ACTION

Our Farm

ANIMATION – CHILDRENS/YOUNG PEOPLES

Lily’s Driftwood Bay

IRISH LANGUAGE

Corp is Anam

DIRECTOR SOAP/COMEDY

Lisa Mulcahy, Red Rock

WRITER SOAP / COMEDY

Sharon Horgan, Catastrophe

DIRECTOR TELEVISION

Liam McGrath, Dolores Keane – A Storm in the Heart

SOUND TELEVISION

John Brennan and Mark Henry, Ceolchuairt

EDITING TELEVISION

Mick Mahon, Rough Rider

CAMERA TELEVISION

Colm Whelan, Aille an Ufais/A Terrible Beauty

PEOPLE’S CHOICE TV SHOW OF THE YEAR

Red Rock