Colm Meaney will receive the 2025 IFTA Lifetime Achievement Award in February.Courtesy IFTA

Colm Meaney will be honored with the Irish Academy Award for his Lifetime Achievement, the Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) announced on January 9.

Dublin native Meaney is being recognized for "his outstanding contribution to the Irish and international screen industry," IFTA said.

IFTA noted how throughout Meaney's career, which has spanned five decades, he has worked with renowned filmmakers including John Huston, Robert Redford, Michael Mann, Jim Sheridan, Neil Jordan, Alan Parker, Warren Beatty, and Ron Howard.

The Irish actor has also worked alongside the likes of Al Pacino, Tom Cruise, Denzel Washington, Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, Bruce Willis, Anjelica Huston, Hugh Grant, Nicolas Cage, John Malkovich, Julie Walters, Brian Cox, Samuel L. Jackson, James Caan, Burt Reynolds, Patrick Stewart, and Michael Gambon.

“To say I was surprised when I got the news that IFTA wanted to give me this award, would be an understatement,"  Meaney said, responding to the news.

"I was truly shocked.

"To be asked to join this long list of very illustrious previous recipients is a huge honour, and I'm thrilled and looking forward to a good night in Dublin on the 14th of February.

"Thank you to the Academy. It's a source of great pride and joy.”

Acknowledging Meaney’s contributions to the Irish screen industry, IFTA CEO Áine Moriarty said: "Colm is one of Ireland’s most beloved and versatile actors, with a one-of-a-kind warmth and roguish persona and wit that has endeared him to audiences right across the globe.

"His illustrious screen and stage career has shown him to be such a skillful and nuanced actor as well as a superbly funny leading man.

"Despite his international success, Colm has always been an unflinching supporter of home-grown Irish projects and talent coming through.

"The Irish Academy is honoured to pay tribute to Colm’s achievements, and his remarkable career.”

Meaney will be presented with the Award in the presence of industry colleagues, friends, and family, at the upcoming 22nd Anniversary IFTA Awards Ceremony, which will take place on Friday, February 14 at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre.

The 2025 IFTA Nominations will be announced next Tuesday, January 14.

Who is Colm Meaney?

Golden Globe and Olivier Award nominee Colm Meaney has maintained an incredible career across five decades as a hugely admired actor both in Ireland and internationally, with a body of work as diverse as it has been entertaining, bringing characters to life on screen from earth to outer space.

Since he began studying in the Abbey Theatre School, he has appeared in countless stage productions alongside his exceptional body of film and TV work, making an indelible mark both at home and abroad.

Meaney starred in all three films in Roddy Doyle’s Barrytown Trilogy in the 1990s - "The Commitments," "The Snapper," and "The Van," winning the hearts and minds of audiences everywhere and receiving a Golden Globe nomination in 1994 for his lead performance in "The Snapper."

While continuing to work in Irish productions, he gained global recognition as Miles O’Brien in the "Star Trek" franchise, and has appeared in Irish and international films such as "Intermission," "The Dead," "The Last of the Mohicans," "Con Air," "Layer Cake," "Under Siege," "Far and Away," "Marlowe," "Tolkien," "Seberg," "The Damned United," "The Banker," and "Die Hard 2."

From 2011-2016, he played the villainous role of railroad magnate Thomas C. Durant in the AMC series "Hell on Wheels."

In the past year, Meaney has starred opposite Barry Keoghan in "Bring Them Down" and opposite Liam Neeson and Kerry Condon in "In The Land of Saints and Sinners," as well as a lead performance in "The Problem With People."

He will soon be seen in Jim Sheridan’s "Re-creation" alongside Aidan Gillen and Vicky Krieps, and in TV series "The Panic" and "Safe Harbor."

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Colm Meaney’s love for Ireland, Irish culture, and native language has been close to his heart, a passion and insight that shone through in his remarkable lead performance in Tom Collins’s "Kings" in 2007. He won his first Irish Academy Award in 2003 for his performance in "How Harry Became a Tree," and won again in 2017 for his role as Martin McGuinness in  "The Journey" opposite Timothy Spall. He has been IFTA nominated a further five times for his performances in "Kings," "Parked," 'Hell on Wheels," "Pixie," and "Gangs of London."

On stage, Meaney has appeared in a wide array of productions including "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" on the West End, and opposite Denzel Washington in the Tony-nominated Broadway production of "The Iceman Cometh."

In 2007 he received a prestigious Olivier Award nomination for his role in "A Moon for the Misbegotten" at London’s Old Vic.

While he continues to bring great characters to the screen, Meaney also maintains his long-standing role as an outspoken advocate for social justice, frequently appearing in Irish media to speak passionately on a variety of issues, and has become one of Ireland’s most-loved creative voices.