The Irish stars to watch in 2023 - from singer Cian Ducrot to actor Alisha Weir

The Irish arts scene is shining, with stars of stand-up, theatre, music and literature blazing a trail — Kate Demolder rounds up the best new talent
Kate Demolder
The Sunday Times
From left: the singer Cian Ducrot has a million followers on TikTok, stand-up comic Fiona Frawley, who has opened for a host of comedy stars, the writer and comic Hannah Mamalis, and Patrick Martins, whose theatre performances have won huge acclaim
From left: the singer Cian Ducrot has a million followers on TikTok, stand-up comic Fiona Frawley, who has opened for a host of comedy stars, the writer and comic Hannah Mamalis, and Patrick Martins, whose theatre performances have won huge acclaim
Kate Demolder
The Sunday Times

Talented, hungry and engaged — these are the new faces shaping culture and fashion in Ireland this year and beyond, from FeliSpeaks, voted best performer at the Dublin Fringe to Sally Hayden, winner of the 2022 Orwell Prize for Political Writing to the Beyoncé-approved designer Graham Cruz.

Michelle McDonagh
Freelance journalist Michelle McDonagh’s debut novel There’s Something I Have To Tell You will be published in spring by Hachette Ireland, under the subhead of Home Is Where the Secrets are Buried. Centred around a series of deaths in rural farmlands, McDonagh’s venture into mystery is long-awaited and she is already being credited by book editors as one to watch.

Sean Hewitt
The poet, writer and literary critic Dr Seán Hewitt has written books before