Megan McGuigan

Fashion designer, Seeking Judy

Megan McGuigan is the designer behind Seeking Judy, a stunning range of ready-to-wear clothes available for purchase in St. George’s Arcade. Having attracted attention at Copenhagen Fashion Week 2024, and featured in Vogue four times, the Seeking Judy brand is garnering the recognition it deserves.

Effortlessly oozing style, Megan’s distinctive handcrafted knitwear was part of Dublin Independent Fashion week’s gift shop, where Seeking Judy opened a pop-up shop for 48 hours in Temple Bar. Speaking to Hot Press last December, Megan commented on the vital role of sustainability in her brand. “Sustainability is an integral part of my design process,” she said. “If people could veer towards using natural fibres and cut out polyesters, it would be a huge step in the right direction.” We can’t wait to see what gorgeous designs Seeking Judy will release in 2025.

Greg Hall

Fashion designer, Pellador

Pellador is a fashion label founded in 2022 by Limerick-based designer Greg Hall. They offer knitwear and sportswear drawing from both the design and sporting history of Ireland. By embracing traditional Celtic symbolism and combining it with contemporary football and fashion design, Pellador creates vibrant, unique and playful clothes.

2024 saw the label do a show at Dublin Independent Fashion Week; create a pop-up shop in London; collaborate with B.93 for a new collection in Copenhagen; and also collaborate with Skehans pub for a Pellador Runway Show. The brand also teamed up with Guinness to bring a pop-up shop to Dublin, where they sold Pellador x Guinness jumpers.

The Pellador label is available to buy from Brown Thomas, and we can’t get enough of their original and unique designs.

Jeda De Brí

Writer/Director

Meet Jeda de Brí, a dynamic director and writer making waves from her creative base in Dublin. With a talent for crafting evocative narratives across film and theatre, Jeda is quickly cementing her place as a storyteller to watch.

Her latest triumph, Naked Lights, was the story of Emma, a night-shift attendant at a petrol station, who is one night confronted by a masked stranger threatening to burn the building to the ground. The short captivated audiences at the Galway Film Fleadh 2024, before winning Best Short at the Irish Film Festival in London – a testament to her distinctive cinematic voice.

Adding to her momentum, Jeda’s debut feature film, Tryst, an adaptation of her acclaimed stage play, is currently in development with Treasure Entertainment and Screen Ireland. Jeda’s previous works are equally celebrated. With an eye for human connection and a flair for the extraordinary, Jeda de Brí is a creative force lighting up the screen and stage.

Ella Lily Hyland

Actor

With her scene-stealing performance as the hilarious assassin Williams in Netflix’s spy thriller Black Doves, 26-year-old Ella Lily Hyland is proving to be one of Ireland’s most exciting new talents. Hailing from Carlow, she brings authenticity to her performances, proudly showcasing her midlands accent – a choice she says helps affirm her Irish identity on the global stage.

Hyland honed her craft at Dublin’s prestigious Lir Academy, sharing hallways with future stars like Paul Mescal. Her breakout role came in Amazon Prime’s Fifteen-Love, where she played Justine Pearce, a pro tennis player fighting to expose her coach’s misconduct. Critics raved about her performance, with The Guardian lauding it as “superlative”.

But Hyland isn’t slowing down. She’s set to star in the BBC’s 2025 Agatha Christie adaptation, Towards Zero, alongside industry heavyweights like Anjelica Huston and Matthew Rhys. Whether delivering laughs as a fierce assassin or commanding attention in powerful dramas, Hyland is carving a path to international stardom.

Thaddea Graham

Actor

Thaddea Graham is quickly becoming one of the most versatile and compelling talents in Ireland. In 2024, she captivated audiences as Una Hoolihan, a determined young police officer in the second season of Apple TV’s Bad Sisters. Her pivotal role in the dramatic plot and season finale firmly established her as a star on the rise.

But Graham’s momentum doesn’t stop there. This year, she’s set to shine in two major film projects: Luca Guadagnino’s After The Hunt, alongside Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield and Ayo Edebiri; and Noah Baumbach’s next Netflix feature with George Clooney and Adam Sandler. Additionally, she’ll take on a series regular role in Apple TV+’s Margo’s Got Money Troubles, starring Elle Fanning and Nicole Kidman.

Born in China and raised in Northern Ireland, Thaddea’s unique journey informs her creative pursuits. A graduate of ArtsEd Drama School, her credits include Netflix’s The Letter For The King and The Irregulars, BBC’s Wreck, and Doctor Who. She’s also a passionate musician and burgeoning writer-director, currently developing her first original series and play.

Aislinn Clarke

Director

Aislinn Clarke, an accomplished writer and director from Northern Ireland, has emerged as an exciting force in the world of film. Her journey began in theatre, but it was her groundbreaking feature debut, The Devil’s Doorway (2018), that cemented her status as a trailblazer. As the first Irish horror directed by an Irish female filmmaker, the film – a chilling tale of priests uncovering sinister truths in a 1960s home for ‘fallen women’ – received critical acclaim and a Screen International Rising Star Award nomination.

In 2021, Clarke showcased her writing prowess with Doineann, an atmospheric thriller set on a remote Irish island. This year, she’s stepping into even more ambitious territory with Fréwaka, a psychological horror supported by Screen Ireland. Starring Clare Monnelly and Bríd Ní Neachtain, the bilingual film interweaves Irish folklore, eerie landscapes, and themes of trauma, centring on a palliative care nurse navigating unsettling mysteries in a secluded village.

She’s also developing a genre-driven horror project with Paramount, signalling her growing status in international cinema.

Niamh Moriarty

Actor

At just 18, Dubliner Niamh Moriarty is carving out an inspiring path as both a performer and advocate. With a résumé that boasts notable roles across stage and screen, Moriarty’s talent is undeniable, but it’s her passion for inclusivity and representation that also makes her stand out.

Moriarty first captured attention in the Gate Theatre’s 2019 production of A Christmas Carol, playing Tiny Tim in a 10-week run directed by Selina Cartmell. She’s since lent her voice to Netflix’s Riverdance: The Animated Adventure and starred in the short film My Mother’s Shoes. But it’s her portrayal of Marnie in Jack Thorne’s critically acclaimed BBC drama Best Interests that has catapulted her into the spotlight.

Sharing the screen with Sharon Horgan, Michael Sheen, and Alison Oliver, Moriarty delivered a moving performance as a teenager with a life-threatening condition at the centre of an emotionally charged family drama.

Diagnosed with spastic diplegia cerebral palsy at age three, Moriarty is determined to break barriers for disabled actors. Her work reflects a deep commitment to advocating for on-screen diversity and industry-wide inclusion, with the rising star noting, “Access and representation is something I feel passionately about.”

Rachel Galvo

Comedian

A first-rate example of someone who was able to turn online traction into tangible success, Rachel Galvo made a name for herself as a popular TikTok comedian, racking up close to three million likes and 50,000 followers on the platform.

In 2024, the twenty-something proved that her abilities went much further than the ephemeral online realm, quitting her London-based office job and bringing her Shite Feminist show to packed venues on both sides of the Irish sea, including the storied Edinburgh Fringe Festival and seven sold-out shows in her hometown of Dublin. 2025 promises to be even bigger and better, with a highly-anticipated 3Olympia gig in May.

Catherine Airey

Author

Writer Catherine Airey grew up in England in a family of mixed Irish and English heritage. In 2021, lockdown spurred a revelation that she should quit her job in the British civil service, move to Skibbereen in West Cork, and have a pop at writing her first novel.

A few years later and Airey’s debut, Confessions, was at the centre of a six-figure bidding war, which saw Viking emerge from the scrum with the publishing rights.

Upon reading the ambitious and beautifully crafted story, there’s little surprise as to what all the fuss was about. Set between New York and Donegal, Confessions is a deftly weaved detailing of the cross-generational pressures of womanhood, immigration and an Irish family saga, filled with secrets, trauma and loss.

It’s undoubtedly one of 2025’s must-reads, and already has readers itching for a follow-up from this exciting young author.

Credit: Teri Pengilley

Ulysses Ecosystem Engineering

Tech/Environment

Modern problems call for suitably contemporary solutions. CO2 – primarily emitted through the burning of fossil fuels – is by far the largest contributor to global warming and while things seem bleak, some bright minds are finding innovative ways of fighting the good fight.

Ulysses Ecosystem Engineering, spearheaded by Irishmen Will and Colm O’Brien, as well as Jamie Wedderburn and Akhil Voorakkara, was founded in 2023 with a mission to “rewild the ocean and remove gigatons of carbon”. Seagrass is extremely productive at taking carbon out of the atmosphere (35 times more so than rainforests), which is why Ulysess have put their focus on using automated drones to spread seeds into coastal areas, where the plant has been depleted.

The start-up raised $2m towards the end of last year, and has also partnered with governments in Florida and Australia for massive-scale marine ecosystem restoration projects.

Emer Dineen

Playwright

2024 has been an eventful year for playwright Emer Dinneen and her THISISPOPBABY production 0800-CUPID. Premiering at Project Arts Centre Dublin as part of Dublin Theatre Festival, the bustling play, as intimate as it is extravagant, has since travelled to Soho Theatre in London, and been met with a wide range of rave reviews, including from this very publication.

Over the next year, there’s no doubt Dineen’s surreal and genre-defying writing style will garner further acclaim.

Louise Bagnall

Filmmaker and animator

Best known for her 2019 Academy Award nomination for her animated short Late Afternoon, Louise Bagnall has also worked on other Oscar-nominated features such as The Breadwinner and Wolfwalkers. In recent years, Bagnall has also worked as an assistant director on Nora Twomey’s upcoming Netflix feature film My Father’s Dragon.

Now, she is directing her first animated feature with the Kilkenny studio Cartoon Saloon, Julián. Telling the story of a boy who wants to become a mermaid, the delicately and brightly designed feature film is based on Jessica Love’s book, Julián Is A Mermaid.

Chris Kerley

Fashion designer, fryday

With his brand fryday, textile designer Chris Kerley is making waves in the Irish fashion scene. The Dublin-based creative has gained attention for his bold and distinctive designs, including his Doberman Tees and the recent Palestine Tees – with all profits from the drop going towards Doctors Without Borders and donations made in the name of the buyer.

Chris’s journey began as a textile design graduate from NCAD, where he co-founded Off Cuts, a collective of eight designers. Their work earned spots in Om Diva on Drury Street and attracted nationwide media buzz.

In 2022, Chris launched fryday solo, debuting a line of football-inspired scarves. Last year, he brought us numerous fresh designs, including Doberman-themed tshirts and sweatshirts and the impactful Palestine Tees. Chris has also hinted at plans to expand beyond t-shirts and sweats this year, and return to his roots with knitwear.

Joshua Reynolds

Jewellery designer, josh.ie

Dublin-based goldsmith and stonesetter Joshua Reynolds has carved out a name for himself with his handcrafted pieces that celebrate Irish culture.

From pendants to engagement rings, Joshua’s pieces are as diverse as they are meticulously crafted. As a graduate of NCAD, his training has taken him from Dublin to Antwerp and Stockholm.

In 2024, Joshua joined forces with fellow Irish creatives, Emporium, for a collaboration that resulted in the creation of a limited-edition pendant featuring their trademark logo.
With a deep passion for his craft and heritage, Reynolds is set to make a major mark in the world of Irish design in 2025.