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. Two Belfast artists have been shortlisted for the AIB Portrait Prize alongside 24 other artists from across the country. Beverley Healy has been shortlisted for her piece in egg tempera and pencil on panel, The Known and the Unknown (Elsa and Carlton), and Evanna Devine has been named for her photograph Frank Flannelly, Farmer from Easky, Co. Sligo. 6 April, 2026. 

The AIB Portrait Prize shortlist includes paintings, video, pastel, mixed media 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 2026 are Dr Brian Fay, artist and lecturer at TU Dublin; Christina Kennedy, Senior Curator, Head of Collections at the Irish Museum of Modern Art; and Dr Joseph McBrinn, Art Historian and Lecturer at Belfast School of Art.

 The AIB Young Portrait Prize showcases the artistic talent of young people aged eighteen and under. Winners in each of the four categories (6 and under, 7–11, 12–15, and 16–18) as well as an overall winner, will be selected from the shortlist. Category 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 Amanda Coogan, artist; Carl Hickey, artist; and Donna Rose, Curator at the National Museum of Ireland.

 The exhibition of the shortlisted portraits in both competitions will be on display in the Portrait Gallery (Room 23) at the National Gallery of Ireland from 14 November 2026 – 14 March 2027. The winners of the Prizes will be announced at a ceremony held in the National Gallery of Ireland on 2 December 2026. 

The Gallery is delighted to partner with Galway Arts Centre and Limerick City Gallery of Art to present the AIB Portrait Prize and AIB Young Portrait Prize 2026. Following their display at the National Gallery of Ireland, the exhibitions will travel to Galway Arts Centre from 3 April to 27 June 2027, and to Limerick City Gallery of Art from 9 July to 15 August 2027.

 Shortlisted artists for the AIB Portrait Prize 2026 at the National Gallery of Ireland:

Aideen Barry (Silvermines, Co. Tipperary), The Creator of Birds, After Varo, 2025, photograph

Alannah Henry (Bray, Co. Wicklow), Sa Samhradh, photograph

Beverley Healy (Belfast, Co. Antrim), The Known and the Unknown (Elsa and Carlton), egg tempera and pencil on panel

Breda Kenny (Kildangan, Monasterevin, Co. Kildare), Making a Splash, Pastel on board

David Goldberg (Co. Dublin), Listening, oil on canvas on board

David Killeen (Raheny, Co. Dublin), Cricky Sea, Sandycove, December 2025, photograph

Diego Fabro (Co. Dublin), Reverie 26 “Venetia”, photograph

Domnick Sorace (Co. Dublin), Self-Extended, artist’s blood, distilled water, hollow glass spheres and resin

Elaine Adams (Kilmainham, Co. Dublin), Candid, photograph

Emma Coady (Rush, Co. Dublin), There’s an Artist in My Kitchen, oil on canvas

Enda Burke (Galway City), Dad and Elvis, photograph

Evan Dow (Co. Dublin), Marie Mullen, oil on steel

Evanna Devine (Belfast, Co. Antrim), Frank Flannelly, Farmer from Easkey, Co. Sligo. 6 April, 2026, photograph 

Gary Sheridan (Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan), Moments in Between: The Story of My Life, video 

Ivy Borden (Ballyvaughan, Co. Clare), Oikos Logia (I), tapestry woven on cotton with hand-spun wool, dyed with nettle, dock leaf and madder root and photograph 

Joe Caslin (Roscommon, Co. Roscommon), Seen, pencil and digital drawing on paper

Jonathan Dickson (Celbridge, Co. Kildare), Theo (Almost) Hiding Behind a Tree in the Phoenix Park., oil on canvas

Kathy Tynan (Co. Dublin), Sunday Morning, oil on canvas

Marcel Vidal (Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny), Allergy, oil on linen

Mark Fisher (Stradbally, Co. Laois), Belly Boy, acrylic on canvas

Mary Woods (Rathmore, Co. Kerry), Generation Game, acrylic on canvas

Merve Sagit (Walkinstown, Co. Dublin), Ritual Study I, photograph

Michelle Boyle (Virginia, Co. Cavan), Edith’s Night Out, a Pint and a Half One, acrylic on hardboard

Paul MacCormaic (Kilbarrack, Co. Dublin), Sister Stan in the Office of the Sanctuary, acrylic and oil on canvas

Rebecca Kehoe (North Strand, Co. Dublin), D A M O C L E S, graphite and polychromos pencil on paper

Rowan Williams Huber (Kinsale, Co. Cork), Rico, photograph

Shortlisted artists for the AIB Young Portrait Prize 2026 at the National Gallery of Ireland:

Ziiti DiMaio, Age 5 (Clongriffin, Co. Dublin), Mama, photograph

Tessa Brennan, Age 6 (Tullamore, Co. Offaly), Gaga Dom, pen on paper

Victoria Muradova, Age 6 (Sandyford, Co. Dublin), The Butterfly Chose Me, paint and pencils on paper

Fiadh O’Neill, Age 6 (Ballinteer, Co. Dublin), Swimming in the Sea, paint, pencil, dried flowers and gems on paper

Zoe Frida Wiercioch Chinatamunnee, Age 6 (Loch Gowna, Co. Cavan), This Is Me, Zoe, acrylic on paper

Elizaveta Egoshina, Age 9 (Stepaside, Co. Dublin), Sunny Days in Mount Congreve Gardens, watercolour and pencil on paper

Robin Corrigan, Age 10 (Rathmines, Co. Dublin), Me, acrylic on paper

Adam Wiercioch Chinatamunnee, Age 10 (Loch Gowna, Co. Cavan), Carlos the Creative Soul, clay and acrylic on a wooden base

Michael Ryan, Age 11 (Ennis, Co. Clare), My Grandad’s Smile, oil on canvas

Emily Yilin Situ, Age 11 (Stillorgan, Dublin), Kindness in a Note, oil pastel on paper

Charlotte Leahy, Age 14 (Rathgar, Co. Dublin), Girl with a Yellow Hat, acrylic on paper

Silke Semmler Marin, Age 14 (Donnycarney, Co. Dublin), Radiant Seasons, oil on canvas

Eve Harrigan, Age 15 (Shannon, Co. Clare), You Belong Here, oil and pencil on paper

Bentley O’Balogun, Age 15 (Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim), Oldest Trick in the Book, oil on canvas

Haomiao Xu, Age 15 (Rathfarnham, Co. Dublin), Snatches of Springtime, gouache and pencil on canvas

Eva Boyle, Age 16 (Carryduff, Co. Down), Do I Know You Yet, acrylic on canvas

Isla Case, Age 16 (Donard, Co. Wicklow), Immersed, oil on canvas

Aoibhinn McDermott, Age 17 (Malin Head, Co. Donegal), What I’m Really Reaching For, video

Aoife Newman, Age 17 (Carrigtwohill, Co. Cork), Come Out, We’re At the Curb, acrylic paint on canvas

Ruaidhrí Condon, Age 18 (Dún Laoghaire, Dublin), Distractions, oil on canvas 

Dr Caroline Campbell, Director of the National Gallery of Ireland, said, “We are proud to be working with AIB on the annual AIB Portrait Prize and AIB Young Portrait Prize again in 2026. Watching entries arrive is a highlight of our year, and the shortlist this year demonstrates an incredible breadth of Irish artistic talent. We look forward to the exhibitions later this year at the Gallery and next year in the Galway Arts Centre and the Limerick City Gallery of Art.”

Colin Hunt, Chief Executive Officer at AIB, said, “We are delighted to share the shortlist for the 2026 AIB Portrait Prize and AIB Young Portrait Prize. These portraits demonstrate the wonderful creativity of portrait artists of all ages in communities across the country, and we are thrilled to see such a strong selection of works once again in this year’s shortlists. AIB is proud to continue its sponsorship of these exciting competitions at the National Gallery of Ireland.”

Find out more at www.nationalgallery.ie