Animation Ireland has announced today (Wednesday 1st February) that Irish TV star Baz Ashmawy will host the 2023 Irish Animation Awards on Friday 27th May.

The premier event in the Irish animation calendar will be hosting its first in-person awards show since 2019 in Salthill in Galway to celebrate the creative brilliance and talent of the Irish animation sector.

The awards are also now open for entries in 20 categories and candidates can view the application process and enter via www.irishanimationwawards.ie. The entry process will be open until 27th February.

Commenting on announcing Baz as the MC for the awards ceremony, Animation Ireland Chief Executive, Ronan McCabe, said; ‘’We’re delighted to have Baz on board once again to host the awards ceremony. He hosted our virtual awards ceremony in 2021 and did an amazing job in illuminating and enlivening the whole event. We’re delighted that we are able to host this year’s ceremony in person for the first time since 2019. Once again, the talent and quality of productions this year has been immense. Entries for the awards are now open and candidates can enter via our website.’’

Winners of each category will receive a statuette designed by animator, film maker and teacher Eimhin McNamara. The statuette resembles a Phenakistoscope which was an early animation device used to create an illusion of motion.

Animation Ireland is the trade association for Ireland’s animation studios, representing 42 member studios, who employ more than 2,000 people nationwide. The sector has seen meteoric growth in recent years, with the sector now generating almost €200 million for the economy annually, as Irish animation projects are viewed in over 180 countries worldwide.

Please note: Ronan McCabe is available for interview.

For more details on the Irish Animation Awards please visit www.irishanimationawards.ie

For more information on Animation Ireland please visit www.animationireland.com