The popular judge, who hosts the hugely successful Ireland’s Got Talent, was 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.

Jason has numerous radio credits and won the Sony Radio Gold Award in 2011 for ‘The Jason Byrne Show’ which ran for three series on BBC Radio 2. As he picked up more and more international experience, the well known comedian has performed shows all over the world.

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 awards will be taking place at the RDS Concert Hall, on Thursday 31st May 2018.