Six-year-old Offaly artist shortlisted for coveted AIB Young Portrait Prize

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. Tessa Brennan, a 6-year-old artist from Tullamore, County Offaly, has been shortlisted for the AIB Young Portrait Prize alongisde 19 other young artists from across the country with her piece in pen on paper, titled Gaga Dom. 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. Read more Offaly pensioner forced to pay maternity cover sparks health insurance row 'We are proud to be working with AIB on the annual AIB Portrait Prize and AIB Young Portrait Prize again in 2026.,' said Dr Caroline Campbell, Director of the National Gallery of Ireland. '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,' the Director praised. Colin Hunt, Chief Executive Officer at AIB, also noted the stunning works that have been shortlisted this year. '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,' Mr Hunt said. 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. Read more The 'back to school' business: meet the family dressing Laois and Offaly students for decades 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.