Ones to Watch: The names to know for 2026 and beyond

“People are less daunted by it than I thought they might be, and more excited,” Coburn says of BÁN’s success. “That’s really nice, because while I know the play has dark moments, I don’t feel like I went out of my way to contrive that – lots of that was in the parent play [Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba], and the rest is sort of just how the world looks to me.”

“I’m conscious that I’m maybe atypically critical of family life, though I try not to be cynical about it. All the same, if a friend is complaining over brunch about their shitty dad, I am the one biting my tongue not to say, ‘So just throw him in the bin and have done, blood isn’t magic and you’re not a punching bag’. Seeing how much people relate to the familial claustrophobia, the sibling relationships, the ways that giddiness and tenderness still well up even within deeply dysfunctional situations – that’s lovely, it makes me feel less lonely.”

As for 2026, Carys has many exciting developments in the works: “A piece about international adoption, which is designed to travel to countries I can’t go to safely anymore; a piece about harm reduction and the anti-drugs movement in Ireland; a piece about the language staff at the Nuremberg trials. I’d like someone to agree to put on an original play of mine, because it seems institutions are more risk-averse post-lockdown and that new work is viewed as a risk. I’d like to get to work with more trans artists.”

Florence Road

Wicklow’s Florence Road have been firing on all cylinders throughout 2025, and have rapidly established their niche as one of Ireland’s most exciting indie pop quartets. Made up of childhood friends Lily, Emma, Ailbhe, and Hannah – who have been grafting since their teenage shed rehearsal days – their sound floats from the heady nostalgia of the nineties to a much more gritty, angst-infused wall of sound.

Their debut EP, Fall Back, gives you ample warning for what’s to come from the four-piece, marking them as one of Ireland’s most exciting new bands. “The reaction has honestly blown us away,” the band tells us. “It’s our first ever EP, so we didn’t really know what to expect. We just wanted to put something out that felt true to who we are right now. Seeing people connect with it the way they have has been surreal. It’s been this mix of gratitude, disbelief, and pure excitement. It kind of made everything click.”

“There have been so many highlights this year: playing our first shows in the US, touring Australia and Europe for the first time, but a real personal highlight of 2025 was opening for Olivia Rodrigo at Marley Park in June. We played to about 30,000 people, which is the kind of thing you don’t fully process until you step off stage and see the videos back. Playing that show in Dublin made it even more special. It’s a park we all used to cycle around as kids, so to stand there years later felt like a very big milestone moment for us.”

Having played Other Voices in November and New Year’s Festival in Dublin, Florence Road are also opening for Royel Otis and Wolf Alice, and heading out on their first headline tour in Ireland and the UK. “Playing shows is our absolute favourite thing to do, and we were blown away that the tour sold out so fast. We’re also playing some incredible festivals next summer, including the Primavera Sound in Spain, which has always been a dream of ours.” With lots of new music on the way and plenty of live sets to look forward to, it’s only just beginning for Florence Road.

Louise Nealon

Arriving on the Irish literary scene with a flourish in 2021 with her debut novel, Snowflake, becoming an instant bestseller, Louise won Newcomer of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards, and later was chosen for the One Dublin One Book campaign in 2024.

In April 2026, the Kildare-born, Belfast-based writer will release her sophomore title, Everything That Is Beautiful, a feat she describes as terrifying. “I signed a two-book deal, and being a catastrophic thinker, I had visions of never fulfilling my contract,” she tells us. “I surprised myself with this book. I’m so proud of it. I pushed myself to write the kind of book that people would read and talk about – to make space within fiction to talk about difficult things.”

The novel explores family, both chosen and biological, and the version of the truth we choose to tell the people we love most. “Niamh Ryan grew up on the Foleys’ farm, playing with her best friend Peter and his sister Kate, doted on by his mother Helen and coached by his father Liam, a hurling legend,” Louise explains. “After a series of distressing events, Niamh’s relationship to the Foley family changes in ways she could never have imagined. When a family wedding brings everyone together again, she has to decide whether she can stay a part of a community that she can’t be fully honest with. The story is told from the point of view of three women – Niamh, Helen and Kate, and features, among other things, an Elvis tribute act and a dog named Tayto.”

Having already begun writing her next book, Louise tells us: “My hope for 2026 is to live in a world where we can treat each other and our environment with more respect. I hope for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and a free Palestine.”

Liath Hannon

Liath Hannon is a model and actress whose performance in Girls & Boys marked her card as a rising star on the Irish film scene. Described as Normal People with a queer flair, the film premiered at Galway Film Fleadh –where it was awarded Best Independent Irish Film– before screening at GAZE International LGBTQIA Film Festival, which Liath describes as, “an especially magical experience, like something between a homecoming and a wedding.”

“It’s been incredible to see how deeply the film resonates with people, whether it’s young love, coming of age, or even how beautifully Dublin city is depicted,” Liath explains. “Personally, it’s been really special to hear how many young trans women have felt seen in and represented by Charlie.”

“What I loved about Charlie from my first reading of the script was her complexity: she’s fiercely loyal yet often myopic; she needs to be loved, but she’s terrified to be fully seen. There was something incredibly human in her contradictions that drew me in from the first read.”

Looking ahead, Liath is laser-focused on continuing her work in Irish film, television and stage, citing the Abbey and Gate theatres as dream stages to perform upon. Adding another string to her bow, she is also enjoying writing her own work, which she hopes to develop further, both on stage and screen.

“I’m doing some amazing short films that I’m very excited about,” Liath says of what’s to come in 2026. “I’m preparing for a film based on the life of Dr Lydia Foy, who fought the Irish State for the recognition of her gender in the 1990s and early 2000s. It’s a huge honour to get to tell Lydia’s story, and I feel very lucky to be entrusted with the responsibility of portraying it.”

Cúpla Designs

In 2025, Donegal-born and Belfast-based twins Brodie and Mirren McFeely of Cúpla Designs dressed CMAT, fielded calls from Danielle and Majella O’Donnell, and sold out of stock entirely. With only a year in business under their belt, it’s safe to say their star is rising exceptionally fast.

Brodie’s background is in Textile Art, Design and Fashion with a specialism in Knitwear, while Mirren studied Graphic Design and Illustration at Ulster University, and together, they’ve merged knitwear, illustration, and design to create pieces that feel playful, personal, and distinctly theirs.

From their “Suckin’ Diesel” tees to their “Pint?” scarves, their designs are playful, tongue-in-cheek, and firmly rooted in the vernacular. When CMAT’s team reached out to use a Cúpla Designs piece in the music video for “When a Good Man Cries”, the excitement rippled through the twins. Later, when CMAT took to the stage in Belfast wearing her own custom Daniel O’Donnell dress, well, suffice to say the twins’ stock was gone in a flash.

“The very same day CMAT wore the dress, we restocked our “I [heart] Donegal” t-shirts and they sold out in under ten minutes,” they say. “Moments like that make all the hard work, long hours, and challenges completely worth it.”

Looking forward to the year ahead, Brodie and Mirren are keeping their noses firmly on the grindstone. “We are very much learning as we go, but it has turned out alright for us so far! A big stock up of our previous works is on the way, the “Suckin’ Diesel” tank will be released, and we’ve got lots of new designs and new collections in the works.”

“We would love to launch some knitwear next year too, and there’s a potential exciting collaboration on the cards for 2026. We hope the brand continues as it has been – if 2026 is half as good as 2025, we will be chuffed. We keep joking about Cúpla world domination, and hey, it just might happen!”

This article originally appeared in the Winter issue of IMAGE Magazine.