Colm Meaney to be honored with Irish Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award

Colm Meaney became known to the Star Trek community as Chief Miles O'Brien, first serving aboard the Enterprise on Star Trek: The Next Generation before his character moved to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Meaney played the character from 1987-1999, appearing in 225 episodes. Since then, the Irish-born actor has gone on to appear in popular series like Hell on Wheels alongside another Star Trek actor, Anson Mount, who is now playing Captain Christopher Pike on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

The prolific actor has maintained a busy schedule since his time on Star Trek came to an end, and now, he's being honored for his fifty-year career by being awarded the Irish Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award. Dame Judi Dench and Gabriel Byrne have been two of the other recipients of the award, and Meaney was quite surprised when he was announced as 2025's recipient.

In a report by Irish Star, Meaney said in a statement that "to say I was surprised when I got the news that IFTA wanted to give me this award, would be an understatement. I was truly shocked.” The award is given to those for their "outstanding contribution to the Irish and international screen industry.”

While Meaney was surprised, it doesn't come as a surprise to Star Trek fans who've known the caliber of his work for almost three decades. Meaney stood out in episodes such as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Hard Time and Star Trek: The Next Generation's The Wounded. Meaney could play equal parts devastation and humor with seeming ease, and while coming across as affable onscreen in Star Trek, he proved in Hell on Wheels that he could play a villainous role just as well.

Meaney went on to express his honor about joining the long list of recipients of this award and called it "a source of great pride and joy."

IFTA CEO, Áine Moriarty, said the Academy was "honored to to pay tribute to [Meaney's] achievements and his remarkable career." The Award will be presented on February 14, 2025.