The Arts Council, in conjunction with the Irish Film Board and RTE, now provides a funding scheme for new animators interested in producing their own films, called the 'Frame Works Award'. It gives independent animators the chance to make a name for themselves and has led to animation features with a strong Irish theme being made in the past five years.

• 'An Bonnan Bui' (1995), by independent animators Edith Pieperhoff and Maire Murray, took its inspiration from an Irish language song of the same name. This production was a landmark in the industry as it broke the mould of Americanism in Irish animation.

• The documentary style animation feature '1848' followed two years after 'An Bonnan Bui'. Set in the time of the Famine, it is another example of how the 'Frame Works Awards' has given a boost of 'Irishness' to the animation industry.

• 'Ship of Fools' was another landmark production as it was the first attempt at an Irish political animation feature.