The Kildare native won the best actor prize for his performance in 'A Streetcar Named Desire'.
The Normal People actor beat off stiff competition from West End stars, including David Tennant and Tom Hollander.
Paul says he'll ‘cherish' his best actor prize for the 'rest of his life'.
However he's warned of the effect of funding cuts in the arts, on future generations.
'What's going to happen is if you take money away the standard will drop, people will be upset quite rightfully so because when you've got the talent here you've got to invest in it. Plays, theatre and films, it's all the same thing, it doesn't happen by accident.'
