The Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts is delighted to announce that artists Eileen Leonard Sealy and Daniel Coleman have been awarded the Hennessy Craig Award 2026 and artists Manar Mervat Al Shouha and Conor O’Connell have been awarded the Homan Potterton Award, 2026. Both awards, the largest awards for painters in Ireland, were announced at a ceremony held at the RHA Gallery, on Thursday 12 February.
The Hennessy Craig/Potterton jury selected five artists, from both the 2024 and 2025 Annual Exhibitions, who were invited to submit two new works, currently showing at the RHA until 29 March.
Since 2002, the Hennessy Craig Award has recognised exceptional talent among painters under the age of thirty-five who have studied at a recognised art college on the island of Ireland and exhibited in the open submission section of the Academy’s Annual Exhibition. Introduced in 2024, the Homan Potterton Prize was established through a generous bequest from the late Homan Potterton, former Director of the National Gallery of Ireland and one of the country’s foremost art historians. The prize honours a painter under thirty-five whose work reflects the enduring traditions of figurative or landscape painting.
This year, the Hennessy Craig / Potterton jury has selected artists from both the 2024 and 2025 Annual Exhibitions. Each shortlisted artist has been invited to present two new works for this exhibition, with the final awards reflecting the artist’s overall practice.
2026 Shortlisted artists:
Maya Brezing · Mantas Poderys · Matthew Stickland · Liam Murray · Salvatore of Lucan · Owen de Forge · Manar Mervat Al Shouha · Eileen Leonard Sealy · Conor O’Connell · Daniel Coleman
The jurors would like to congratulate this group of artists on the exceptional quality of their work and for maintaining such uncompromising artistic integrity. In the contemporary art world, competing for awards is a strategy that extends beyond the pursuit of the award – it serves as a vital process for professional validation. It enables artists to engage in dialogue on why painting never loses its relevance. It transforms art practice from being a solitary pursuit into a dynamic, collective experience.
The standard was so high that the jury had great difficulty in selecting a single winner for each award and decided make joint awards for both categories.
The Hennessy Craig Award 2026, €20,000 – Bequest of the estate of Patrick Hennessy and Henry Robertson Craig. Awarded to: Eileen Leonard Sealy, Daniel Coleman, €10,000 each
The Homan Potterton Prize 2026, €20,000 – Bequest of the estate of Homan Potterton. Awarded to: Manar Mervat Al Shouha, Conor O’Connell, €10,000 each
These four artists, while different in their aesthetic and conceptual concerns, collectively demonstrate the enduring relevance of contemporary figurative painting. They each, in their unique way, push the boundaries of representation, inviting viewers to engage with questions about loss, identity, historic references and the human condition.
This exhibition presents a rare opportunity to experience – and for discerning collectors, to acquire – the finest work from Ireland’s most exciting new generation of painters.
