What this page covers: How Irish businesses across Dublin, Cork, Galway, and beyond can commission professional 2D animation from Educational Voice, a Belfast-based studio with a strong track record of cross-border work.
Who this is for: Marketing managers, SME owners, training managers, and brand decision-makers based in the Republic of Ireland who are evaluating professional animation services.
Key takeaway: Location is no barrier. Educational Voice works with clients across Ireland daily, managing projects remotely with the same process, quality, and turnaround times as any UK engagement.
Expert insight:
“Working with clients across the border is part of our everyday practice. Irish businesses get the same quality, the same process, and the same direct communication as any client we work with in Belfast or London. Geography has never been the issue it sounds like.” — Michelle Connolly, Founder and Director, Educational Voice
Quick facts:
- Educational Voice has produced over 3,300 educational animations for LearningMole
- The studio serves clients across Northern Ireland, Ireland, and the UK from its Belfast base
- Founded by Michelle Connolly, a former primary school teacher with deep expertise in educational communication
Irish businesses looking for professional 2D animation Ireland have more options than they often realise. Belfast is less than two hours from Dublin. Educational Voice, based at the McSweeney Centre in Belfast, works with clients across Ireland regularly, including technology firms in Dublin’s Silicon Docks to healthcare organisations in Cork and public sector bodies in Galway. Distance has never been an obstacle, and the cross-border working relationship is well-established.
This page covers everything Irish businesses need to know about commissioning professional 2D animation: what services are available, how cross-border projects actually work in practice, what different animation types suit which business goals, and how to get a project started. If you’ve been searching for an animation company in Ireland with a genuine track record, you’ll find the answers here.
The sectors we work with across Ireland span healthcare, financial services, education, corporate training, and marketing. Each has its own communication challenges, and our portfolio reflects that breadth. Whatever your brief, professional 2D animation from a studio that understands Irish business contexts is the place to start.
Table of Contents
Why Irish Businesses Choose A Belfast Animation Studio
The practical benefits of working with a Belfast studio are straightforward for Irish clients. Belfast sits within easy reach of Dublin, Cork, and every major Irish city. Video calls, file sharing, and remote review processes mean geography rarely comes up as a concern once a project is underway.
The studio was founded by Michelle Connolly, a former primary school teacher who built the studio on the principle that complex ideas deserve clear, well-crafted visual explanation. That founding philosophy translates directly into business animation. Whether you need an explainer video for a Dublin financial services firm, a training animation for a Cork-based manufacturer, or educational content for an Irish public sector body, the brief-to-delivery process is the same.
For Irish clients, there are additional practical advantages worth noting. The studio operates in the same time zone. Communication happens in real time without scheduling complexity. For organisations in sectors with specific regulatory or cultural requirements: HSE Ireland guidelines, Irish language considerations, or Department of Education frameworks. The Belfast team understands the island’s context in ways that a London or overseas studio simply may not.
With over 3,300 educational animations produced for LearningMole, the studio’s record demonstrates both the scale and the consistency of the studio’s output. For Irish businesses evaluating a long-term animation partner, that track record matters.
2D Animation Services Available To Irish Businesses
The studio offers a full range of 2D animation services, each suited to specific business communication goals. The right format depends on your audience, your message, and where the content will be used.
| Animation Type | Best For | Typical Use Cases In Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Explainer Videos | Product or service introductions, website landing pages | SaaS companies in Dublin, financial product launches, insurance explainers |
| Educational Animation | Complex concept communication, learning and training | Irish universities, Department of Education materials, e-learning providers |
| Corporate Training Animation | Onboarding, compliance, safety, and process training | Manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, financial services, retail |
| Healthcare Animation | Patient information, HSE communications, clinical training | HSE Ireland campaigns, private healthcare groups, medical device companies |
| Sales Animation | Pitches, proposals, investor presentations, product demos | Start-ups and scale-ups, Galway tech sector, Cork pharma |
| Financial Services Animation | Product explanation, regulatory communication, investor content | Dublin IFSC firms, credit unions, insurance and pension providers |
Every project begins with a clear brief. The team works with you to define the message, the audience, and the desired outcome before any animation work starts. That planning stage (script, storyboard, approval) is where most of the creative decisions happen, and it’s where Irish clients typically find the most value in direct studio access.
Explainer Videos For Dublin And Irish Businesses
Dublin’s business environment has a particular need for concise, high-quality explanation. Whether you’re a technology company in the Docklands, a financial services firm in the IFSC, or a start-up pitching to investors, the ability to explain what you do in 60 to 90 seconds is a competitive advantage.
Explainer videos built on professional 2D animation give Dublin businesses a format that works across every channel: website homepage, LinkedIn, investor decks, conference presentations, and sales emails. The animation doesn’t date the way live video can. A well-produced 2D explainer made today will still work in three years without looking outdated.
The production process for a Dublin client works exactly as it does for any other. Initial briefing happens remotely or, for clients who prefer it, with a visit to the Belfast studio. Script development, storyboarding, and final animation all follow a clear approval process. Turnaround from brief to delivery typically runs between four and eight weeks depending on complexity.
“Working with clients across the border is part of our everyday practice. Irish businesses get the same quality, the same process, and the same direct communication as any client we work with in Belfast or London. Geography has never been the issue it sounds like.” — Michelle Connolly, Founder and Director, Educational Voice
The Dublin market also produces a high volume of financial and professional services animation briefs. Pension providers, credit unions, and insurance companies regularly need to explain products that carry regulatory obligations around clarity and accuracy. Educational Voice’s track record in financial services animation means those compliance considerations are understood from the first briefing conversation.
Educational And Training Animation For Irish Organisations
Ireland’s education and training sector represents one of the strongest use cases for professional animation. From primary school resources aligned with the Department of Education and Skills curriculum to corporate compliance training in the pharmaceutical sector, the need for high-quality animated content is consistent and growing.
The founding background sets the studio apart here. Michelle Connolly trained as a primary school teacher before founding the studio, and that educational perspective shapes how the team approaches learning content. Animations designed for genuine comprehension, not just visual interest, require a different approach to scripting and pacing than a standard marketing explainer.
For Irish organisations working in the Irish language space, the studio has produced animated content for Foras na Gaeilge-related projects and understands the specific communication requirements of Irish-language resources. The studio can work with Irish-language scripts and source voiceover talent appropriate for content targeting Irish-speaking audiences.
Corporate training animation for Irish businesses follows the same production discipline. Onboarding animations, health and safety content, compliance training for financial services firms, and process documentation all benefit from the clarity that professional 2D animation delivers. Where a 20-page policy document fails to engage employees, a well-structured three-minute animation does the job in a fraction of the time.
Healthcare Animation For HSE Ireland And Private Healthcare
Healthcare animation in Ireland operates within a specific regulatory and cultural context. HSE Ireland’s communication standards, patient information guidelines, and the particular communication challenges of a bilingual health service all shape what effective healthcare animation looks like for an Irish audience.
The studio produces healthcare animation for organisations that need content to be medically accurate, visually accessible, and compliant with relevant standards. Patient information videos, clinical procedure explanations, public health campaign content, and staff training animations are all within scope. The studio works closely with clients to confirm the script and visuals pass clinical review before final production.
Private healthcare groups operating across Ireland, medical device companies headquartered in Cork’s pharma corridor, and health tech firms in Dublin’s growing digital health sector all have legitimate needs for professional animation. The medium is particularly effective for explaining procedures patients might find anxiety-inducing, for communicating test results in accessible language, and for public health messaging that needs to reach diverse audiences.
Where clients require Irish-language versions of healthcare content, the studio can accommodate that within the production process. Dual-language outputs in English and Irish are feasible within standard project timelines when planned from the outset of the brief.
Cross-Border Working: How Projects Work In Practice
For Republic of Ireland businesses working with a Northern Ireland supplier, the practical and administrative questions usually come down to a few key areas: VAT treatment, currency, communication, and file delivery. None of these present significant obstacles, but it’s worth addressing them directly.
VAT And Currency Considerations
Cross-border services between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are subject to specific VAT rules that differ depending on the nature of the service and the VAT registration status of the purchasing organisation. Most B2B services supplied to VAT-registered businesses in the Republic of Ireland are subject to the reverse charge mechanism, meaning the Irish client accounts for VAT under their own registration. We recommend that clients in the Republic of Ireland confirm the VAT treatment with their accountant before contract, as the rules can vary by service type. Invoices can be issued in GBP or EUR depending on the client’s preference.
Communication And Project Management
The standard project process uses video calls for briefing, review, and approval stages. All scripts, storyboards, and animation files are shared digitally. There is no aspect of the production process that requires physical presence, though clients who want to visit the Belfast studio are welcome to do so. The same-time-zone advantage means email and call communication is efficient throughout the project lifecycle.
Delivery And Formats
Final animation files are delivered in the format the client needs: MP4, MOV, WebM, or broadcast-ready formats for television or digital signage. Files are delivered via secure digital transfer. Subtitled or captioned versions, Irish-language voiceover tracks, and dual-language outputs can all be prepared within a single project scope.
Animation Costs And Timelines For Irish Clients
Professional 2D animation in Ireland or the UK follows similar pricing structures regardless of the studio’s location. The cost depends primarily on animation style, running time, complexity of the visual treatment, and whether character animation is involved.
As a directional guide, a straightforward 60-second explainer video with motion graphics and a voiceover typically starts from around £1,500 to £2,500. A 90-second character animation with a custom illustrated world and full sound design sits in a higher range. Complex productions, including multi-chapter training series, broadcast-quality healthcare campaigns, and animated financial product explanations, are scoped individually based on brief.
Irish businesses sometimes assume that working with an overseas or cross-border studio means additional costs. In practice, the absence of travel costs and the efficiency of remote project management often makes Belfast studios competitive with Dublin alternatives on a total project cost basis.
Timelines for most projects run as follows:
- Brief to script approval: one to two weeks
- Script to storyboard approval: one to two weeks
- Storyboard to completed animation: two to four weeks depending on length and complexity
- Voiceover, sound design, and final delivery: three to five working days
Rush timelines are possible for straightforward projects. For large-scale or multi-part productions, an extended timeline is planned from the outset. Contact Educational Voice to discuss your specific brief and get a realistic timeline based on your requirements.
2D Animation Ireland: Why Educational Voice
The Irish animation market includes domestic studios and international agencies. What sets the Belfast studio apart for Irish clients is a combination of factors that isn’t easy to replicate.
The studio’s founding background in education means the team approaches complex subjects differently to a standard commercial animation house. Scripts are written for genuine comprehension. Visuals are built to aid understanding, not just to look attractive. For Irish businesses in regulated sectors (healthcare, financial services, pharmaceuticals), that discipline matters.
The LearningMole relationship, which has produced over 3,300 educational animations, demonstrates the studio’s capacity for high-volume, consistently high-quality production. Irish clients commissioning a single explainer video benefit from the same production standards applied to a project of that scale.
The studio also occupies a specific position in the Northern Ireland and all-island creative industries. Being Belfast-based places the studio within an accessible geography for Irish clients, with an understanding of cross-border business relationships that a London or overseas studio simply doesn’t share. That cultural and geographic proximity is a practical asset in client communication.
View the Educational Voice portfolio to see the range of animation styles and sectors the studio has worked across. For Irish businesses evaluating options, the portfolio is the most direct measure of quality and fit.
FAQs
Can An Irish Business Commission Animation From A Belfast Studio?
Yes, and it’s more common than many Irish businesses expect. The studio works with clients across the Republic of Ireland regularly. The entire project process, from briefing and script development through storyboarding, animation, and delivery, runs remotely without any loss of quality or communication. Clients based in Dublin, Cork, Galway, or anywhere else in Ireland receive the same service as clients based in Belfast or London.
How Does VAT Work For Republic Of Ireland Clients?
For most B2B services supplied by a Northern Ireland business to a VAT-registered client in the Republic of Ireland, the reverse charge mechanism applies. This means the Irish client accounts for VAT under their own registration, and the invoice from Educational Voice is typically issued net of VAT. Every client’s situation can differ depending on the nature of the service and their VAT status, so we recommend confirming the treatment with your accountant before project commencement. The studio can invoice in GBP or EUR.
What Types Of Animation Does Educational Voice Produce For Irish Clients?
The full range of 2D animation services is available to Irish clients: explainer videos, educational animation, corporate training animation, healthcare animation, financial services animation, and sales animation. The format and style are determined by the brief, the audience, and the intended platform. Whether you need a 60-second product explainer for a Dublin technology firm or a multi-chapter compliance training series for an Irish financial institution, we can scope and produce it.
How Long Does An Animation Project Take From Brief To Delivery?
Most projects run between four and eight weeks from initial briefing to final delivery. A straightforward 60-second explainer with motion graphics and voiceover can be completed in four weeks when the brief and approval process moves efficiently. More complex productions, including character animation, multi-part series, and content requiring regulatory review, typically run to eight to twelve weeks. Rush timelines are available for certain project types. We’ll give you a realistic timeline at the briefing stage based on your specific requirements.
Does Educational Voice Produce Irish-Language Animation Content?
Yes. Animated content with Irish-language scripts can be produced with Irish-language scripts and source appropriate voiceover talent for Irish-language outputs. For organisations working with Foras na Gaeilge, producing Department of Education materials, or developing content for Irish-speaking communities, this is a feasible part of the project scope. Dual-language outputs, English and Irish versions of the same animation, can be produced within a single project where planned from the outset of the brief.
How Does Educational Voice Handle Healthcare Animation For HSE Ireland?
Healthcare animation for Irish organisations follows the same disciplined production process throughout. Scripts go through client review and clinical sign-off before animation begins. The studio understands HSE Ireland’s communication standards and the specific requirements of patient information content for Irish audiences. Medical accuracy, accessibility, and compliance with relevant guidelines are built into the process rather than treated as afterthoughts. Irish-language versions of healthcare content can also be produced where required.
What Does A Professional 2D Explainer Video Cost For An Irish Business?
A professional 60-second explainer video with motion graphics and voiceover typically starts from around £1,500 to £2,500. Costs increase with running time, animation complexity, and the involvement of custom character animation or illustrated worlds. Detailed project quotes are provided following an initial briefing conversation, so you’ll have a clear cost and scope before committing to anything. Irish clients who factor out potential travel costs often find Belfast studio rates competitive with Dublin alternatives on a total project basis.
How Do I Start An Animation Project With Educational Voice?
The simplest starting point is a brief conversation about your project goals. You don’t need a fully formed brief before getting in touch. A rough idea of the message you want to communicate, the audience you’re targeting, and where the animation will be used is enough for an initial discussion. From there, our team will advise on the right animation format, give a directional timeline and cost, and outline the production process.
Commission 2D Animation For Your Irish Business
We produce professional 2D animation for businesses across Ireland. Whether you’re based in Dublin, Cork, Galway, or anywhere in between, our Belfast studio works with Irish clients every day. Explainer videos, educational animation, corporate training content, healthcare communication, and financial services animation are all within our scope.
Discuss your project with Educational Voice | View our animation portfolio
