24/01/2012

The Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) has announced that veteran Irish actress Fionnula Flanagan will be honoured with the IFTA Lifetime Achievement Award at the 9th Annual Irish Film & Television Awards, in Dublin on February 11.

IFTA Chief Executive Áine Moriarty said, “IFTA is proud to pay tribute to one of Ireland’s finest actresses, celebrating her work spanning almost 50 years and showcasing her great skill and craft in illuminating every character she has portrayed, captivating audiences around the world. Fionnula is a wonderful representative internationally, of Ireland’s film and television industry and continues to support home productions along with her international work; she has the greatest respect from her peers here at home.”

Flanagan said, “I am bowled over to be chosen by the Irish Academy to receive this wonderful Award. It is a great honour to be invited to join the ranks of the gifted former recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award and, having checked, I am encouraged to find that their work lives continue, some even flourishing, so that if I learn my lines and hit my marks and don't bump into the furniture, my own career might just continue on also. All the more enriched by this beautiful recognition from my IFTA colleagues to whom I say a big thank you!”

Born in Dublin 1941, Flanagan’s vast array of credits include Ulysses, The Others, The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Waking Ned Devine and Transamerica for which she won the Best Supporting Actress IFTA. She has just finished production on her latest project Life’s a Breeze, a new Irish feature film from Kisses [+see also:
trailer
film profile] director Lance Daly, on locations across Ireland and Sweden.