From hundreds of entries, the shortlists for this year’s AIB Portrait Prize and AIB Young Portrait Prize have been announced by the National Gallery of Ireland. This year, Clonmel native Sean Taylor has been shortlisted along with 25 other artists for the AIB Portrait Prize with his work AUDIBLE: A sound/video portrait of the University of Limerick Vikings American Football Team.
The AIB Portrait Prize shortlist includes paintings, video and photography by artists from across the country. The winner of the AIB Portrait Prize will receive a cash prize of €15,000 and will be commissioned to create a work for the National Portrait Collection, for which they will be awarded a further €5,000. Two additional awards of €1,500 will be given to highly commended works. Judges for the AIB Portrait Prize are Gareth Reid, artist; Professor Emily Mark-FitzGerald, Professor in the School of Art History & Cultural Policy in UCD; and Dr Barbara Dawson, Director of the Hugh Lane Gallery.
The AIB Young Portrait Prize returns for its seventh year in 2025, showcasing the artistic talent of young people aged eighteen and under. Five winners (one from each respective age category and an overall winner) will be selected from the shortlist. Winners will receive a bespoke art box and a cash prize. The overall competition winner will be awarded a personalised wooden box of high-quality art materials and a cash prize of €500. This year’s AIB Young Portrait Prize judges are Cian O’Brien of COBA: Cian O’Brien Arts; Neil-Jack (Alphonsus) Hamilton, artist; and Alice Rekab, artist.
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Exhibitions of the shortlisted works in both competitions will be on display in the Portrait Gallery (Room 23) in the National Gallery of Ireland from 8 November 2025 – 15 March 2026. The winners of the Prizes will be announced at a ceremony held in the National Gallery of Ireland on 25 November 2025.
The Gallery is delighted to partner with Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny and Waterford Gallery of Art to present the AIB Portrait Prize and AIB Young Portrait Prize 2025. Following the exhibitions at the National Gallery of Ireland, the works will travel to Letterkenny from 4 April to 20 June 2026, and to Waterford from 18 July to 11 October 2026.
Shortlisted artists for the AIB Portrait Prize 2025 at the National Gallery of Ireland:
Peter Bradley (Galway City), Pink Triangle, oil on panel (triptych)
Missy Brinkmeyer (Cabra, Dublin), Essence of Flow, photograph
Enda Burke (Galway City), Bruised Still Blooming, photograph
Siobhán Clancy (Cork City), Invasive, photograph
David Creedon (Carrigaline, Cork), Becky with her Bee Hives, photograph
Ian Cumberland (Down, based in Belfast), The Boys, oil on linen
Rebecca Ruth Ewnetu (based in Clapham, South London), Irish, photograph
John Foley (Waterford City), Biddy Boy, photograph
Shane Hynan (Carbury, Kildare), Residents of Coill Dubh Bord na Móna workers village built in 1952 and designed by Frank Gibney. Owen Denneny, Peadar Cosgrove, Josie Byrne, Ray Lenehan and Ann Moore, from the collaborative and community engaged project ‘Tóch | Dig’ (2024 present), photograph
Joe Laverty (Stewartstown, Tyrone), Declan, Lough Neagh Fisherman, photograph
Miseon Lee (Dundalk, Louth), Blues, oil on linen
Frances Leogue (Glasnevin, Dublin), Field Trip, oil on linen
Nathan Lowry (Kinsealy/Swords, Dublin), Circle of Life, acrylic on canvas
Kenny McKendry (Whitehead, Antrim), Ole Bendik, oil on panel
Jillian Murphy (Phibsborough, Dublin), Here, is a Stranger, oil on canvas
Daniel Nelis (Ramelton, Donegal), Late Spring, oil on panel
Kevin O’Farrell (Glasnevin, Dublin), ‘Paul Simon’ (1972) cover version, acrylic on wood panel
Áine O’Hara (Mayo, based in Dublin), Day 261 Bedbound/I miss ye, photograph
Clodagh O’Leary (Kerry, based in Dublin), Never Be Without Your Horse, photograph
Conor O’Leary (Wexford, based in London), The Final Portrait, photograph
Francis O’Toole (Dublin City), The Waste Land, oil on linen
Misaki Parbrook (Carrigaline, Cork), Crossing, oil on canvas
Kathy Raftery (Ballinlough, Roscommon), Fireside Beauty Parlour, photograph
Darren Ryan (Limerick City), Portrait of The Artist as a Middle Aged Man, photograph
Niamh Swanton (Dunmore East, Waterford), God, I Hope it All Goes Away, photograph
Sean Taylor (Clonmel, Tipperary), AUDIBLE: A sound/video portrait of the University of Limerick Vikings American Football Team, video
Shortlisted artists for the AIB Young Portrait Prize 2025 at the National Gallery of Ireland:
Abigail Leonard, Age 4 (Sallins, Kildare), Rainy Day, pencil, charcoal, collage and paint on paper
Victoria Muradova, Age 5 (Sandyford, Dublin), This is me with Flowers Walking Around Istanbul, chalk on paper
Rohan Agrawal, Age 6 (Sandymount, Dublin), Me and My Curls, oil pastels and acrylic on canvas
Elijah Coada, Age 6 (Sligo Town), Sharing Ice Cream is Fun, collage: watercolour, oil pastels, paper, leaf, posca markers on paper
Darra Murphy, Age 6 (Rathmines, Dublin), Louis, my brother, pencil and marker on paper
Emilie Cowley Lane, Age 9 (Drumree, Meath), Mom, clay on board
Cillian Rush, Age 9 (Rostrevor, Down), Thumbs Up, acrylic painting on paper
Michael Ryan, Age 10 (Kilmaley, Clare), In Deep Thought, paint on paper
James Scally, Age 11 (Terenure, Dublin), Depends How You Look at It, pencil on paper
Guorui Sui, Age 11 (Cabinteely, Dublin), My Own World of Fantasy, oil pastel on canvas
Alice Agafonova, Age 13 (Dublin 8), Presence, acrylic on paper
Claire Darcy, Age 14 (Portumna, Galway), Six, digital illustration on paper
Samuel Deasy, Age 14 (Ballincollig, Cork), Mark, photograph
Ruixin Chen, Age 15 (Bray, Wicklow), Climbing Through, oil paint on canvas
Jiayi Sun, Age 15 (Ardilea, Dublin), Guess How Much I Love You, gouache, polychromos colour pencils on canvas
Martha McKeown, Age 16 (Newry, Armagh) Obscure, pencil on paper
Walt Russell, Age 16 (Raheny, Dublin), Memento Mori, oil on paper
Matthew Foley, Age 18 (Stillorgan, Dublin), 05/03/2025, acrylic paint on acrylic paper
Jill Tritschler, Age 18 (Greystones, Wicklow), Minerva, oil on canvas
Danny Walsh, Age 18 (Claremorris, Mayo), Queen of the May, acrylic on canvas
Dr Caroline Campbell, Director of the National Gallery of Ireland, said, “We’re thrilled to continue our collaboration with AIB on the annual AIB Portrait Prize and AIB Young Portrait Prize. Watching entries arrive and the shortlist be announced for the competitions is a highlight of our year every year. We’re excited for the exhibitions to open here at the Gallery in November and happy that audiences in Donegal and Waterford will have a chance to see these works close to home at the Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny and Waterford Gallery of Art in 2026.”
Colin Hunt, Chief Executive Officer of AIB, said, “Irish Portraiture holds a valuable place in our cultural tapestry. The AIB Portrait Prize and AIB Young Portrait Prize capture a moment in time in Irish society and are a reflection of our people, our stories and our history. These Portraits demonstrate the wonderful creativity and talent of portrait artists of all ages in communities across the country. Last year I had the pleasure of meeting the entrant artists and seeing their work. AIB is very proud to once again sponsor these competitions and I am delighted to see the inspiring works that artists have produced this year.
