Claire McGettrick

The Clann Project

Claire McGettrick and Dr Maeve O’Rourke direct the Clann Project, which assisted 82 people to give witness statements to the Mother and Baby Homes Commission.

Éirénne Carroll

CEO Transgender Equality Network of Ireland

In July 2020, Éirénne assumed her post at TENI following a long career in the nonprofit sector. Commenting on her new position, Carroll said, “I envision achieving the long-term goal of an Ireland where transgender people are not just accepted but are thriving, welcomed and supported in every single way.”

Eileen Flynn

Senator in the Seanad

In June 2020, Senator Eileen Flynn made history as the first woman from the Travelling community to sit in the Seanad. In November, she was elected chair of the Joint Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community.

She has made some very strong contributions to the Seanad since her appointment on a variety of topics.

SHEILA REILLY

Emily Logan

Garda Siochána Ombudsman Commission

Emily Logan was appointed to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission in February 2021. Ms Logan served as Chief Commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (2014 to 2019). Before this, she served as Ireland’s first Ombudsman for Children (2003 to 2014).

Holly Cairns

Cork South West Social Democrats TD

Holly is the only female TD in all of Cork city and county’s 18 Dáil representatives. She has fought vocally for women’s rights in the 33rd Dail and is passionate about the need for more women in Government. 

Hazel Chu

Lord Mayor of Dublin

Since taking office in June 2020, Chu has been using her platform to challenge racism and misogyny, despite an avalanche of sustained and unrelenting abuse online, directed at Chu and her family.

Jackie Fox

Coco’s Law

Jackie Fox pushed for new legislation to tackle cyber-bullying in Ireland after her daughter, Nicole, took her own life. Her campaign led to the establishment of Coco’s Law.

DENISE O'DONOGHUE

Joanne Hession

Co-founder Lift

As co-founder of Lift Joanne helps to build authentic leadership across the country, at the kitchen table, in the classroom, clubhouse and boardroom.

Joanne Hession is changing the way we view leadership in Ireland through LIFT.

SONYA LENNON

Prof Karina Butler

Chair of National Immunisation Advisory Committee

She is an authoritative voice who manages to bring optimism to the table even when it is hard found.

ALISON O'CONNOR

Laura Kehoe

Founder of 400trees.org

Laura is a wildlife biologist committed to solving conservation problems. She is also the founder of 400trees.org, a campaign that allows individuals to replant their share of deforestation. So far, they have planted over one hundred thousand trees that are growing up in food forests.

Linda Coogan Byrne

Activist

Linda Coogan Byrne is the founder of the Why Not Her campaign which aims to amplify the voices of Irish women creating, recording and producing music in Ireland. The campaign is raising funds to bring about gender equality on the airwaves.

CLODAGH FINN

Dr Maeve O'Rourke

The Clann Project

Dr Maeve O’Rourke and Claire McGettrick direct the Clann Project, which assisted 82 people to give witness statements to the Mother and Baby Homes Commission.

Dr Marie Casey

Specialist in Public Health Medicine with the HSE

As a specialist in public health medicine with the HSE Department of Public Health Mid-West, Dr Casey has become a strong voice in calling for better resourcing for a wide range of public health issues heightened by the pandemic.

JESS CASEY

Mairéad McGuinness

European Commissioner for financial services, financial stability and Capital Markets Union

She has been described as unapologetically ambitious and her career trajectory certainly implies it. She served as an MEP from Ireland for sixteen years and was Vice-President of the European Parliament from 2017.

Prof Mary Horgan

President of the Royal College of Physicians Ireland

In the absence of leadership from those [men] in charge of leading our response, women like Professor Mary Horgan are providing an insight into how we are handling the pandemic through their communications in the media and their everyday work.

DEIRDRE O'SHAUGHNESSY

Phil Ní Sheaghdha

General Secretary INMO

Women like Phil buck the narrative that there are no women involved in leading on the response to Covid-19. Professionally successful, articulate and seeing the issues some of their male colleagues do not, we would be in even more trouble without them.

NIAMH GRIFFIN

Tammy Darcy

The Shona Project

Tammy founded The Shona Project, a website and survival kit for girls, by girls. This weekend, they hold Shine Festival, a three-day online event for young women. Tammy Darcy says, “at Shona, we have seen first-hand the challenges that our young women are experiencing. Covid has increased levels of anxiety, stress, and isolation.”

Vicky Phelan

Activist

Vicky Phelan has become a sort of talisman of who we are as a people. She is the embodied Irish woman - bright, articulate, intelligent, a mother, a professional, and the subject of a great injustice. Despite this, she has come out fighting, not just for herself but for all of us. Her ongoing campaign not just for her own life but for others who are suffering due to official incompetence is awe-inspiring.

DEIRDRE O'SHAUGHNESSY

Aileen Carville

Tech entrepreneur

Carville is the founder and CEO of Skmmp, a B2B online order platform for luxury wholesale brands. The system digitises collections and uploads them onto an e-commerce order interface. Designers are then able to showcase ‘ready-to-wear’ collections to global luxury retail buyers.

Dr Áine Behan

Neuroscientist

Áine is the founder and CEO of Cortechs, a company that has created data-driven, therapeutic games that use cognitive training to improve attention deficit.

Áine Kerr

Kinzen

Aine is the co-founder of Kinzen, a technology company that positions itself as ‘an early warning system in the fight against misinformation.’ In November 2020 Kinzen raised $2.2m in investment.

Aisling Kirwan

Positive Carbon

Aisling Kirwan’s Positive Carbon has developed a fully automated food waste monitoring system that can save hotels and kitchens thousands of euro each month on their food bills as well as significantly reducing food waste in the industry.

Dr Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin

Academic

Dr Ní Shúilleabháin took on her workplace harasser and then helped so many other women by talking about it. As an assistant professor at the School of Mathematics and Statistics, she is also a great role model to encourage girls to study STEM subjects.

CLODAGH FINN

Ciara Garvan

WorkJuggle

Years before the whisper of a pandemic, Ciara Garvan came up with the idea of WorkJuggle, a recruitment service that specialises in flexible working, time-bound projects and remote working. She says, “Remote working has accelerated beyond what would ever have been considered possible. 2021 will involve a more nuanced exploration of the pros and cons of remote working now that we all have such deep experience of it.”

Evelyn Namayo

Tech mentor

Evelyn is the founder of Phase Innovate, an organisation that trains and mentors underrepresented minorities and women in tech. In 2020 she mentored Rachael Akano, Margaret Akano and Joy Njekwe - three teens from Drogheda - as they developed Memory Haven, an app designed to help people with dementia. 

Dr Fiona Edwards Murphy

ApisProtect

ApisProtect is a Cork-based company producing beehive monitoring technology for commercial beekeepers. Dr Fiona Edwards Murphy applied her doctoral research on sensors and networking in beehives to found the company, which helps farmers monitor their hives, encouraging healthier colonies with larger growth.

Prof Geraldine Boylan

INFANT

Geraldine is the Director of INFANT, Professor of Neonatal Physiology at University College Cork. Geraldine led the successful Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre bid which underpins INFANT and is a founding director of the Centre. “Professor Boylan heads up a world-leading data hub in obstetrics and neonatology.”

IRENE FEIGHAN

Jenny McNally

Farmer

Jenny McNally, along with her family, has created a thriving organic farm in North County Dublin. It is unusual in Ireland to create a farm growing such a wide variety of crops and one which promotes soil health and supports biodiversity.

MICHELLE DARMODY

Jenny O'Halloran

Blath Na Mara

In 2015, Jenny O’Halloran returned from New Zealand with her Kiwi-born husband, David to her homeplace of Inis Mor, to help the family business of seaweed farming. Together, she and her husband launched an innovative range of food products, ranging from kombu to sea spaghetti noodles. 

Joyce Timmins

Chef

Joyce Timmins changed the food served to patients in The Rotunda and now she is on a mission to bring the joy back to eating for members of the older generation who have trouble swallowing their food.

JESS CASEY

Julie Currid

vicinity.ie

Vicinity is an online marketplace that provides producers with a platform to sell to consumers who want to shop sustainably and locally.

Prof Maggie Cusack

Academic

As the inaugural president of Munster Technological University (MTU), Prof. Cusack has become just the second woman ever to be appointed President of an Irish university. 

Maria Flynn

Farmer

Maria Flynn pivoted her restaurant-only supply business, Ballymakenny Potatoes, to a spud shack and it is now a national brand which some describe as the best spuds in Ireland.

ALISON O'CONNOR

Dr Martina Scallan

Virologist

Virologist at UCC’s School of Microbiology Dr Martina Scallan, who teaches and examines over 500 undergraduate students every year played a pivotal role in formulating the chemical reagent needed to test for Covid-19.

Norah Patton

Aeronautical engineer

Dr Norah Patten is an aeronautical Engineer and astronaut candidate. Norah is a great role model for girls of all ages, unravelling gender-biased notions within all STEM professions.

DR. NAOMI LAVELLE

Dr Sabina Brennan

Health psychologist, neuroscientist

Dr Brennan is a health psychologist and a neuroscientist whose podcasts and books have helped to make brain health accessible to all.

IRENE FEIGHAN

Teresa Lambe

Scientist

Teresa "Tess" Lambe is an Irish scientist working at Oxford University's Jenner Institute. She is one of the co-developers of the Oxford vaccine against the new coronavirus causing COVID-19. Teresa was the right person in the right place.

IRENE FEIGHAN

Ailbhe Smith

Activist

Ailbhe is a tireless advocate for equality who has campaigned successfully over decades on issues such as divorce, marriage equality and abortion.

ALISON O'CONNOR

Alice Leahy

Founder of The Alice Leahy Trust

Alice Leahy has been working with people that she calls Outsiders for over forty years. The Alice Leahy Trust is a befriending, social and health service for people experiencing homelessness, offering compassion and care to those who need it most.

Dr Brigid Quilligan

Activist

Dr Quilligan is project manager at Kerry Travellers Health & Community Development Project. As an activist and proud Traveller woman, Quilligan works to ensure that all Travellers are afforded human rights and that those rights are legislated. 

Caitriona Twomey

Penny Dinners

Known and loved across Cork, Caitriona Twomey is the force behind Penny Dinners which serves up to 2,000 hot meals a week and is one of Ireland’s longest-standing charitable organisations.

Dr Ebun Joseph

Academic and activist

Dr Ebun Joseph is a race relations consultant. She is a campaigner for social justice and a Teaching Fellow at TCD and a lecturer and coordinator of the Black Studies and critical race theory in Education at UCD. Joseph uses her platform to expose social injustice and is a staunch advocate for education as a vehicle for battling social inequality. 

Elber Twomey

Activist

Elber is a local of my home village, Rockchapel. She lost her husband, her son and her unborn daughter in a horrific car accident in Wales. She has campaigned since 2013 that all Gardaí/Police officers will receive specific training in suicide awareness and how to apprehend suicidal drivers.

BRÍD STACK

Erica Coates

Proud transgender woman

In July of 2020, Erica Coates of North Cork shared her story of life as a transgender woman when she called the Joe Duffy Show to offer advice to a transgender young man experiencing delays for his endocrinologist appointments.

Erica Coates has helped so many people by sharing her inspirational story.

ANNA O'DONOGHUE

Linda Hayden

The Victims Alliance

Linda Hayden is a founding member of The Victims Alliance and a victim advocate. In November 2020, The Victims Alliance reported the alleged uploading of images and videos of Irish women and girls, without their consent, to several online forums to the Gardai. Following the passing of the 'Coco's Law' legislation in February, an "urgent and prioritised" inquiry into the mass-leaking of intimate images last year was ordered by the Garda Commissioner.

Lydia Gratis

Anti-racism educator and activist

Lydia is a part of the European Union for Deaf Youth (EUDY) where she has set up the first focus group catering to BIPOC youth all over Europe, with a mission to de-stigmatise deafness in ethnic minority households.

Mary Crilly

Sexual Violence Centre, Cork

Mary Crilly is there for men and women at one of the most harrowing moments a person can experience. Her work in the Sexual Violence Centre has been a support for so many.

ANNA O'DONOGHUE

Mother & Baby Homes

Survivors

All women who endured, all women who survived, all women who were heard and all women still to be heard.

Orla Egan

Activist

Orla Egan is a Queer Archival Activist. She has been actively involved in the Cork LGBT Community since the 1980s. She established the Cork LGBT Archive to preserve, store, share and display information concerning the rich history of the LGBT community in Cork.

Rosemary Adaser

Activist

Rosemary Adaser grew up in mother and baby institutions in Ireland and founded the association of mixed-race Irish. She fought hard to put race onto the agenda of the mother and baby homes commission long before anyone was talking about BLM and she helped others in similar positions to realise they were not alone. She wrote about her experience for the Irish Examiner last year and it was deeply moving and a whole new insight into different inequalities in our history.

DEIRDRE O'SHAUGHNESSY

Sarah Benson

Women's Aid CEO

Sarah Benson has been a voice for the voiceless throughout the pandemic, shedding light on the domestic violence happening in homes across the country. In December Women’s Aid released statistics that indicated calls to Women’s Aid had risen by 41% since the start of the pandemic. Benson said, “In recent months we have received calls from women phoning in garden sheds, their cars or bathroom with the shower turned on to mask the conversation.”

Sinéad Burke

Activist

Sinéad Burke is a teacher, writer, broadcaster, fashion-admirer and advocate for disability and design. In 2020 her book Break The Mould became a bestseller and in October 2020 she became the executive producer and editor at large of Juniper Unlimited, an adaptive clothing marketplace. She is also the founder of Tilting the Lens, an organisation that aims to bring visibility to inaccessibility and develop solutions with disabled people – not just for disabled people.

Sinéad Kane

Double PhD doctorate, Double Guinness World Record holder, Freelance Researcher, Visually Impaired Athlete, & Qualified Lawyer

Sinead is Ireland’s first legally blind solicitor and first blind person to complete the seven-day World Marathon Challenge. She is inspirational.

IRENE FEIGHAN

Síona Cahill

Gaisce

In 2017 Síona represented 374,000 students across Ireland when she was elected president of the USI (Union of Students Ireland). More recently Síona has been appointed to the board of two Irish Organisations, The Irish Family Planning Association and the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre. In November, she took on a new role as Public Affairs & Communications Manager for Gaisce.

Sr Stan

Activist

Founder and Life President of Focus Ireland, Sr Stan (Stanislaus Kennedy) is an untiring advocate for those experiencing homelessness. She says that the ‘pandemic should be a turning point in the struggle to defeat homelessness.’ Never afraid to speak up, Sr Stan shows us the importance of speaking up for the issues that matter. 

Tara Shine

Environmental scientist, policy advisor and science communicator

In October, Shine was appointed to a senior UN role with a brief to improve co-ordination between climate scientists and policymakers in meeting key Paris Agreement targets on containing global temperature rise.

Aifric Keogh

Women’s fours, rowing

In October, the women's four crew of Fiona Murtagh (NUIG), Aileen Crowley (Old Collegians BC), Eimear Lambe (OC) and Aifric Keogh (UCC) put in a great performance to narrowly miss out on silver at the European Senior Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland.

Aileen Crowley

Women’s fours, rowing

In October, the women's four crew of Fiona Murtagh (NUIG), Aileen Crowley (Old Collegians BC), Eimear Lambe (OC) and Aifric Keogh (UCC) put in a great performance to narrowly miss out on silver at the European Senior Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland.

Aimee Macken

Ladies football

Armagh forward Aimee Mackin has been crowned TG4 Senior Players’ Player of the Year for 2020. Mackin (23) was voted best in class by her peers, with the Shane O’Neills player fending off stiff competition from Dublin duo Carla Rowe and Sinead Goldrick to claim the coveted individual award.

Áine Terry O'Sullivan

Ladies football

In November, Áine Terry O’Sullivan scored a hat-trick for Cork against Cavan, setting them up for a semi-final against Galway. The Allihies woman also captained West Cork to their first Cork LGFA senior club championship title at the expense of Mourneabbey last September.

Áine O'Gorman

Ladies football

After 12 years in the green jersey and 100 caps, O’Gorman returned to the Irish squad last year to be part of their Euro 2021 qualifiers. She spoke to the Irish Examiner in Ireland her hopes that the women’s national league can begin a journey towards the extinction of “pay for play.”

Annalise Murphy

Sailing

Annalise Murphy will compete on behalf of Ireland in the Laser Radial class at the rescheduled Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021. Murphy also competed in the 2012 Olympics, when she narrowly missed out on a medal. She won a silver medal in the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Ciara Griffin

Rugby

It’s been a challenging year for Irish women’s rugby. Munster back-row and Ireland captain Griffin says “I’m looking forward to 2021, kicking on and getting back onto the pitch as a group.”

Denise O'Sullivan

Ladies Football

Cork woman O’Sullivan says “Knocknaheeny has made me the player I am today". A member of the Irish squad, O’Sullivan is currently playing for US NWSL champions North Carolina Courage.

Eimear Lambe

Women’s fours, rowing

In October, the women's four crew of Fiona Murtagh (NUIG), Aileen Crowley (Old Collegians BC), Eimear Lambe (OC) and Aifric Keogh (UCC) put in a great performance to narrowly miss out on silver at the European Senior Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland.

Ellen Keane

Swimmer

Keane became a Paralympian at 13 years of age and Tokyo will be her fourth time competing at the Paralympic Games. She recently tweeted her frustration at the reporting around The games: “the fact that the people responsible for reporting on sport seem to love to exclude Paralympics is really frustrating and it takes away from all the hard work that Paralympians do.”

Fiona Murtagh

Women’s fours, rowing

In October, the women's four crew of Fiona Murtagh (NUIG), Aileen Crowley (Old Collegians BC), Eimear Lambe (OC) and Aifric Keogh (UCC) put in a great performance to narrowly miss out on silver at the European Senior Rowing Championships in Poznan, Poland.

Katie McCabe

Ladies Football

Ireland’s captain and Arsenal player, McCabe is both a stellar player and an advocate for inclusivity in sport.

Katie Taylor

Boxer

Katie Taylor fought twice in 2020 and will fight twice in the opening half of this year with the first of those bouts taking place on April 24. Her promoter Eddie Hearn told the Irish Examiner “I seem to say it every year, but this one is a really big one for her because she has that chance to make even more history.”

Kelly Harrington

Boxer

“Kellie is a star both inside and outside the ring. She returned to work as a cleaner in St Vincent's Hospital during the COVID-19 outbreak.”

ELAINE LOUGHLIN

Leona Maguire

Golf

Maguire began 2020 as part of elite women’s professional golf on the LPGA Tour, starting with a tied-4th result at ISPS Vic HANDA Open in February. A full year later, Maguire moved up the leaderboard into a share of 16th place following an impressive three-under 69 at the Gainbridge LPGA in Florida.

Lynne Cantwell

Rugby

In February, former Ireland captain Lynne Cantwell was appointed as South African rugby's first women's high-performance manager.

Meighan Farrell

Camogie

Three-time All-Star Meighan Farrell will captain Kilkenny for 2021. She steered the team to victory in a memorable All-Ireland final in December.

Niamh McEvoy

Ladies football, Aussie Rules

McEvoy’s basketball experience at Malahide Community School has been on show for a number of years in ladies’ football and translated very well to Aussie Rules in terms of fielding and the accuracy of her handballs. She is another four-in-a-row winner, who got an All-Star nod in 2019.

BRÍD STACK

Nicci Daly

Hockey and motorsports

Daly is busy preparing for the Tokyo Olympics at the moment, as a part of the Irish women’s hockey team. When not with the team, Daly is passionate about promoting women in motorsports. 

Phil Healy

Sprinter

Healy is a recipient of the FBD Insurance ‘Make A Difference’ programme which is a €50,000 fund that will assist Ireland’s Olympic hopefuls in their preparation for the Games.

Sanita Puspure

Rower

Double World and European rowing champion, Puspure was born in Latvia but now lives in Ballincollig, and is considered a favourite to take a gold medal in this summer’s Tokyo Olympics.

Síofra Cléirigh Buttner

Runner

The second fastest Irish woman indoors over 1,500 metres, Síofra beat her own personal best at the World Indoor Tour meeting in Boston last month. She is representing Ireland at the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Torun this weekend. 

Amanda Coogan

Artist

Performance artist Amanda Coogan produces art that challenges our perceptions of ability and disability and raises awareness of Deaf culture. Most recently, Coogan has been translating the daily news briefings at Stormont into ISL (Irish Sign Language).

CLODAGH FINN

Aoife McNamara

Fashion

Designer Namara is founder of luxury label AOIFE Ireland, champions authenticity, sustainable fabrics and slow fashion.

CLODAGH FINN

Catherine Magee

Producer

As producer on Normal People and Conversations With Friends, Catherine leads her productions with integrity, heart and profound creativity and understanding

SONYA LENNON

Emma Langford

Music

2021 is going to be Emma Langford's year - her album Sowing Acorns is superb, and her cover of Janis Ian's At Seventeen is gorgeous, and has the singer's imprimatur.

DEIRDRE O'SHAUGHNESSY

Denise Chaila

Music

Denise Chaila from Limerick has emerged as one of big the stars of the last year having just won the RTÉ Choice Music Award Album of the Year 2020 for 'Going Bravely'.  Her music challenges Irish hip-hop identity as well as the male-dominated world of rap.

Caitriona McLaughlin

Theatre

Last month, Caitríona McLaughlin was announced as the new Artistic Director at The Abbey Theatre She is a highly-distinguished, award-winning theatre director, who has been an Associate Director at the Abbey since 2017.

Doireann Ní Ghriofa

Writer

Doireann Ní Ghríofa's beautifully crafted book A Ghost in the Throat was written in moments between caring for her four children. Focusing on a female life that previously been forgotten, a story untold, she weaves this in with her account of life and motherhood.

MICHELLE DARMODY

Eimear Noone

Music

Eimear Noone is an Irish conductor and the first woman to ever conduct the Academy Awards Ceremony, which she did in 2020.

HELEN O'CALLAGHAN

Elaine Feeney

Writer

Poet and playwright Feeney released her debut fictional novel last year to great review. “Feeney is a talented writer with an uncanny ability to evoke empathy and pain within a reader, a talent perhaps honed from her years of poetry writing. Although a debut fiction writer, Feeney is highly regarded as a talented poet, with four poetry collections published since 2007.

DENISE O'DONOGHUE

Emma Dabiri

Writer and broadcaster

Emma Dabiri poses the still-unanswered question herself: "I’m Irish but not white. Why is that still a problem 100 years after the Easter Rising?

CLODAGH FINN

Jodie O'Neill

Performer and writer

Cork writer and actor Jody O’Neill wrote and acted in What I (Don't) Know About Autism at the Everyman Theatre this time last year, working with other autistic actors. She says, “A lot of people said they heard their childhood being reflected back at them in the play, they said ‘ah OK, now I get it’.

Laura Weber

Fashion

The NCAD graduate, now among the ranks of celebrity designers after her work on US First Lady Jill Biden’s evening outfit for the Presidential inauguration. The Dublin native created the embroidery for the white cashmere coat and silk wool dress, designed by Gabriela Hearst.

ALISON O'CONNOR

Lisa McInerney

Writer

McInerney enthralled readers and nabbed some high-profile prizes with her debut novel The Glorious Heresies and the follow-up, The Blood Miracles. The final instalment The Rules of Revelation is out in May of this year and will be as well-received as its predecessors.

Marian Keyes

Writer

Beloved for her writing and her wit on social media, Marian Keyes has helped countless people by sharing her struggles during the pandemic. In January of this year, she announced a free online writing course for those wishing to become a novelist. “She showed wonderful leadership by selflessly sharing her gift and her craft this lockdown.”

SONYA LENNON

Pearl Reddington

Fashion

The contemporary knitwear designer has managed to make the Aran sweater an edgy piece of clothing and her sizes are inclusive.

ELAINE LOUGHLIN

Radie Peat

Music

Singer with Lankum, Radie is among a group of young, creative musicians who have found ways to perform during lockdown.

ELAINE LOUGHLIN

RuthAnne Cunningham

Music

Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Cunningham has written songs for Britney Spears and Niall Horan. Last year she spoke out about the debilitating effects of living with endometriosis, to destigmatise the condition. 

Sophie Motley

Theatre

Sophie took up the role of Artistic Director of The Everyman Theatre Cork in January. On her appointment, Denis McSweeney, Chair of The Everyman Board said “Sophie will lead the further development of The Everyman in its position as the beating heart of theatre in Cork.”

Tolu Makay

Music

Tolu Makay sang us into 2021 with her haunting rendition of N17 by the Saw Doctors. The Nigerian-born Irish singer's voice has been soundtracking our lives since.

DENISE O'DONOGHUE

Alison Oliver

Actor

Though not a household name just yet, the Cork actor was recently announced as the lead actor in the upcoming television adaptation of Sally Rooney’s novel, Conversations With Friends. Director Lenny Abrahamson says, “Alison is a major talent with a brilliant career in front of her, and it’s a privilege to be able to cast her in her first screen role.”