Pavilion Pulse Award 2026 - Announced
First launched by Pavilion Theatre in July 2025, Pavilion Pulse Award supports daring ideas and champions work that has its finger on the pulse of today. With the kind support of the Arts Council, €50,000 in funding has been made available to fund development in a variety of ways to bring exciting projects closer to completion.
This year there are two strands: Strand One: Foundation (€1,500 per award) which is for work at the beginning of creation and Strand Two: Acceleration (up to €5,000 per award) for work that can be structured and rehearsed.
Today, we are delighted to announce the 2026 Pavilion Pulse Award recipients. These 14 awardees will be supported with funding to develop ambitious new projects in theatre, dance, music, opera, children's and young people's arts, and multidisciplinary work. They will also have the opportunity to attend gathering events to connect with other awardees over treats and hot beverages.
Chosen from a highly competitive callout of 287 applications, this award champions artists celebrating identity, making sense of an ever-changing world and bringing the past to light. We look forward to supporting them as they further develop their work.
Awardees in Alphabetical Order
Strand One: Foundation
- ArínọláTheatre
- Colm McCready
- Oisín Kearney
- Rose Henderson
- Shane Mac an Bhaird
- Tom Creed
Strand Two: Acceleration
- Alison Teahan
- Cahoots NI & Score Draw Music
- FELISPEAKS
- Fishamble: The New Play Company for development of a new Pat Kinevane play
- Last Apollo
- Liam McCarthy
- Luke Murphy
- Michelle Read
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Awardee Biographies
ArínọláTheatre
Tishé Fatunbi is an actor, writer and theatre maker from Blanchardstown, Dublin. Praise Titus is a writer and director from Kerry with a BA from Guildhall School of Drama. They make up two of the three co-founders of ArínọláTheatre, a company focused on championing stories of POC artists.
Colm McCready
Colm is a theatre-maker and associate artist of SkelpieLimmer Productions. His credits include Scaredy Fat (Les Enfants Terribles' LET Award Winner), SHAME SHOW (First Fortnight Award, Dublin Fringe), and The Upside Down House (Tinderbox, Best Kiss at NI Theatre Awards).
Oisín Kearney
Oisín Kearney is an award-winning director and writer from the North of Ireland. Oisín’s work explores questions of conflict, contested identities, power and moral complexity. He is an alumni of the BBC’s Comedy Collective, the National Theatre Directors Course, and Headlong Origins.
Rose Henderson
Rose studied with Betty Anne Norton and at the New York School of Polish Mime and crafted a career in theatre of the absurd, comedy and physical theatre. Plays include Ruby Tuesday, Take Off Your Cornflakes and three ten-minute plays for Pavilion Playwrights under Conall Morrison.
Shane Mac an Bhaird
Previous plays include: The Delirium Archive (Rough Magic), The Mouth of the Birch (Druid Debut), Swallow Your Pride, Art Mac Cumhaigh (Patrick Kavanagh Festival), Melt (Rough Magic, DTF) and Traitor (DFF). The Delirium Archive was published by Metheun Drama.
Tom Creed
Tom is one of Ireland's leading theatre and opera directors and his work has been seen in over 30 cities on three continents. Recent productions include The Plough and the Stars (Abbey), MARS (INO) and the upcoming 4.48 Psychosis (DTF).
Strand Two: Acceleration:
Alison Teahan
Alison Teahan is a Cork-based writer, director, producer and actor. Her recent theatre work includes The Woman At The Table, recipient of the Pavilion Pulse Award and CTC Artist Residency, and The Girls Room, which premiered at Cork Fringe. She is also a 2026 Six In The Attic artist.
Cahoots NI & Score Draw Music
Cahoots NI is Northern Ireland’s leading theatre company producing theatrical magic for young audiences. Since 2001, our signature style has blended traditional theatre with magic and illusion. Our work features original music, digital technology, captivating storytelling and bold immersive experiences. The headshot is of Artistic Director Paul Bosco Mc Eneaney. Score Draw Music is a team of award-winning creatives dedicated to producing exceptional music and sound for media. Founded in 2004 by Mark Gordon, we have studios in both NI and the Republic of Ireland.
FELISPEAKS
FELISPEAKS is a Nigerian-Irish visionary artist celebrated for their profound exploration of identity, social justice, and personal growth through poetry, performance and theatre. WAKE and OCTOPUS CHILDREN has earned them both Best Performer and Best Ensemble awards at Dublin Fringe Festival.
Fishamble: The New Play Company for development of a new Pat Kinevane play
Fishamble is an Olivier Award-winning Irish theatre company that discovers, develops and produces new plays of national importance with a global reach. It has toured its productions to audiences throughout Ireland, and to 22 other countries to date.
Last Apollo
Last Apollo (Lucy Rice) is an Irish artist and composer. Unconcerned by the boundaries of genre and form, she borrows from the worlds of rock, folk and pop music to sew together sonic tapestries in which dreamlike images shift and alternate around a molten emotional core.
Liam McCarthy
Liam's plays include Jilly Morgan’s Birthday Party (Belltable and National Tour), Mam and Love and Woo (Dublin Fringe) and He Dies in the End (First Fortnight). Liam is curator of the Bualadh Bos Children’s Festival, Limerick.
Luke Murphy
Luke Murphy is Cork-based Irish writer, director, choreographer, and performer working at the intersection of theater and dance. Through his company Attic Projects, he has created and produced over twelve dance theater works for stage, film, installation, and site-specific/immersive contexts.
Michelle Read
Michelle is an award-winning playwright. Her work spans comedy, drama, and community collaboration. Recent productions include The Somewhat Imagined… Teresa Deevy (Mill Theatre, 2025), On A House Like A Fire (national touring, 2021–24) and Bang! (Dublin Theatre Festival, 2021).