JOE Men of the Year Awards: Rising Star of 2016

You might not have known a lot about some of these guys at the start of 2016, but you certainly did by the end of it.

Cast your vote for JOE’s Rising Star of 2016 at the bottom of the page.

Ferdia Walsh-Peelo

Star of one of the feel-good hits of 2016, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo’s performance as Conor ‘Cosmo’ Lawlor in Sing Street illustrated that he has star quality dripping from every pore.

Only just turned 17, Ferdia will soon be appearing on TV screens in season five of Vikings and he’s already been tipped as the next big thing in the Irish film industry.

As he showed in Sing Street, he’s also a brilliant musician, but anyone who saw him on the Late Late Toy Show four years ago would have known that already.

Clip via jasonsun01

Al Foran

A regular visitor to the JOE office, it’s been the source of much delight in these parts to see Al’s star rise so sharply in the last 12 months.

Al’s impersonations of a wide range of well-known personalities, including pitch perfect versions of regulars like Conor McGregor, Donald Trump, Robert De Niro and Mark Wahlberg, have earned endorsements from the likes of Olly Murs and Rachel Riley, a spot on MUTV and a following of over 200,000 people on Facebook.

Donald Trump's first task as President is to make peace with Robert DeNiro #election2016 #DonaldTrump #RobertDeNiro pic.twitter.com/PtPLJjceyV — Al Foran (@ImpressionistAL) November 9, 2016

The only way is up.

Brilliant Shane

Pic via Facebook/Shanes Brilliant Page

The Tralee man’s sketches provided plenty of laughs for plenty of people throughout 2016, with one particular effort about the plight of a man with a thick Kerry accent proving particularly popular on these pages.

Rory’s Stories

Pic via Facebook/Rory's Stories

Rory’s Stories was far from an unknown before the start of this year, but it’s been a big 12 months from the man from Meath.

Rory originally made his name with funny sketches based on the GAA and while he continues to do so, with great success, he has also branched out into other topics, including Irish people in a heatwave, the Leaving Cert and the reaction to men coming home from a stag to name a few.

Now a regular performer on the GAA circuit around the country, he also has a combined following of nearly 300,000 people on Facebook and Twitter.

Finn Bálor

Ridiculous as it might sound to namecheck a man who’s 35 years old and has been on the wrestling circuit for the best part of two decades as a ‘rising star,’ it’s been a hell of a 2016 for the Bray native.

After making his Raw debut on his 35th birthday in July, Bálor became the inaugural WWE Universal Champion after defeating Seth Rollins at Summerslam, a title he had to relinquish due to a shoulder injury he suffered during the event that required surgery and a lengthy absence.

Now a bona fide star in the wrestling world, he’s not going anywhere for some time yet.