Leading artists, Ruth McGinley, Richard O’Rawe, Derek Keilty, Ian Cumberland and Darragh Morgan, honoured with Major Awards by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland

Supported by The National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, these awards are the highest value honour bestowed on artists in Northern Ireland each year by the Arts Council.

The prestigious awards are given in recognition of the contribution each artist has made to creative life in Northern Ireland and makes it possible for them to undertake a substantial, ambitious project that will make a significant impact on the development of their professional, artistic careers.

Each of the artists will now use the award to develop a series of new works:

Pianist, Ruth McGinley, from Derry-Londonderry, will use the MIA funding to develop her third album, spending time in Reykjavik, Iceland and receiving mentorship in composition.

Visual artist, Ian Cumberland, from Co.Down, will use the MIA funding to realise an ambitious new interdisciplinary project that delves into themes of persuasion and perception. The MIA opportunity will enable the artist to push the boundaries of his practice, blending traditional techniques with emerging technologies like AI to craft immersive and thought-provoking works.

Author, Richard O’Rawe, from Belfast, will use the MIA funding to purchase time to research and write the third novel in his Ructions O'Hare series. Richard expects to visit locations in France, London and Dublin to bring authenticity to the scenes in his work.

Children’s writer, Derek Keilty, from Belfast, will use the MIA funding to write his first novel for adults. He will also use the MIA award towards a book tour in the USA to promote his work and his Ivy Newt children’s book series.

Violinist, Darragh Morgan, from Belfast, will use his MIA funding to develop an innovative high-quality recording of works for solo violin and the Ulster Orchestra. The recorded works will be by four living composers from Northern Ireland including, Brian Irvine, Frank Lyons, Bill Campbell and Ryan Molloy.

Gilly Campbell, Director of Arts Development, Arts Council of Northern Ireland, said: “Congratulations to Ruth McGinley, Richard O’Rawe, Derek Keilty, Ian Cumberland and Darragh Morgan, five immensely talented artists who have already made a significant contribution to the arts in Northern Ireland and beyond. Each artist will benefit greatly from being able to take time out to concentrate on new, ambitious, high-quality projects with the financial backing they need to produce work of lasting value. This game-changing award, made possible thanks to The National Lottery players, will help to cement their national and international reputations as artists, and strengthen the positive cultural profile of Northern Ireland, both at home and abroad.”

The five join a distinguished list of artists who have previously benefited from the Major Individual Artist awards, including writers; Susan McKay, Moyra Donaldson, Carol Moore, Rosemary Jenkinson, Malachi O’Doherty, Jimmy McAleavey, Alice McCullough, Anne Devlin, Carlo Gébler, Damian Gorman, Patricia Craig, Sinéad Morrissey, Glenn Patterson, Owen McCafferty, Jan Carson, Stephanie Conn, Gail McConnell and Shannon Sickles (Yee), performance artist, Sinéad O’Donnell, visual artists, Mairéad McClean, Jennifer Trouton, Rita Duffy, Susan MacWilliam, Sharon Kelly and Cara Murphy; composers, Deirdre Gribben, Greg Caffrey, Ed Bennett, Piers Hellawell, Ian Wilson, Elaine Agnew, Conor Mitchell, Neil Martin and Deirdre McKay; musicians, Michael McHale, Giselle Allen and David Lyttle plus choreographers, Oona Doherty and Eileen McClory, among others.

Major Individual Artist awards form part of the wider Support for the Individual Artist Programme (SIAP) which is supported with funding from The National Lottery and administered by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland annually. Visit www.artscouncil-ni.org for information on all funding opportunities.