The Guard, John Michael McDonagh's hit comedy, came out on top when nominations for the Irish Film and Television Awards (Ifta) were announced earlier today.
The film received nine nominations including nods for Brendan Gleeson as best actor and McDonagh for both director and screenwriter.
However, two other films also received nine mentions. Stella Days, Thaddeus O'Sullivan's story of a priest's efforts to maintain a cinema in rural Ireland, and Alfred Nobbs, featuring Glenn Close as a woman forced to cross-dress in 19th century Ireland, jostle with The Guard at the top of the nomination hit parade.
Now the most successful ever independently released Irish picture at the domestic box-office, The Guard must, nonetheless, be regarded as a strong favourite for the big prize. Gleeson has already received a Golden Globe nomination for his amusingly profane performance and the picture was very well reviewed on its US release.
Joining those three films on the shortlist for best film is Terry McMahon's controversial Charlie Casanova. The story of a violent misanthrope adrift in contemporary Ireland, the picture shared the prize for best first feature at last year's Galway Film Fleadh.
As is often the case with the Iftas, most of the nominees for best film still have a relatively low profile with general viewers. The Guard is the only one of the four to have received a commercial release in Ireland at this point.
The most puzzling of the nominations must, however, be the one granted to Ciarán Hinds as actor in a "lead role" for his performance in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Though reliably impressive, Hinds has only a handful of lines in the John le Carré adaptation. His role in The Debt – for which he received a best supporting nod – is, if anything, slightly larger. Michael Fassbender, hugely acclaimed as a sex addict in Steve McQueen's Shame, and Martin Sheen, star of Stella Days, compete with Hinds and Gleeson in the race for best actor.
Saoirse Ronan, nominated for the thriller Hanna, is up against Antonia Campbell Hughes, Marcella Plunkett and Aoife Duffin in the best lead actress competition.
The Iftas also acknowledge achievement in television. Love/Hate, RTÉ's gangland drama, was way ahead of the pack with an impressive 10 nominations. Game of Thrones, the fantasy epic filmed in Northern Ireland, wheezes into a distant second place with five mentions. Created by distinguished playwright Stuart Carolan, Love/Hate has been picking up good reviews and strong viewing figures since its debut in 2010. Aidan Gillen, the show's star, received a nomination in the best actor category.
Other shows receiving multiple nominations included Corp & Anam, the Irish language crime series, and the flouncy Arthurian epic Camelot.
Ifta chief executive Aine Moriarty said: "Ireland's economic struggles have been well documented, but against this pressure it's heartening to see how Ireland's hard-working creative community continues to punch above its weight and really deliver."
The awards will be handed out on February 11th in the Convention Centre Dublin at a ceremony hosted by actor Simon Delaney.
List of Nominations
BEST FILM
Albert Nobbs- Alan Moloney, Bonnie Curtis, Julie Lynn and Glen Close
Charlie Casanova- Terry McMahon
Stella Days- Jackie Larkin& Leslie McKimm
The Guard- Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Chris Larke, Flore Fernandez Marengo
DIRECTOR FILM
Rebecca Daly - The Other Side of Sleep
John Michael McDonagh - The Guard
Terry McMahon - Charlie Casanova
Thaddeus O'Sullivan - Stella Days
SCRIPT FILM
John Banville & Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs
John Michael McDonagh - The Guard
Terry McMahon - Charlie Casanova
Antoine O'Flaherta - Stella Days
ACTOR IN A LEAD ROLE IN A FEATURE FILM
Michael Fassbender – Shame
Brendan Gleeson - The Guard
Ciarán Hinds – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Martin Sheen – Stella Days
ACTRESS IN A LEAD ROLE IN A FEATURE FILM
Aoife Duffin - Behold The Lamb
Antonia Campbell Hughes - The Other Side of Sleep
Marcella Plunkett - Stella Days
Saoirse Ronan – Hanna
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A FEATURE FILM
Liam Cunningham - The Guard
Brendan Gleeson - Albert Nobbs
Ciarán Hinds - The Debt
Chris O'Dowd - Bridesmaids
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A FEATURE FILM
Maria Doyle Kennedy - Albert Nobbs
Fionnula Flanagan - The Guard
Brenda Fricker - Albert Nobbs
Amy Huberman - Stella Days
INTERNATIONAL FILM
Bridesmaids
Drive
Senna
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
BEST TV DRAMA
Corp + Anam - Paddy Hayes
Game of Thrones - Mark Huffam
Love/Hate - Suzanne McAuley/Steve Mattews
The Borgias - James Flynn
ACTOR IN A LEAD ROLE TELEVISION
Diarmuid de Faoite - Corp + Anam
Aidan Gillen - Love/Hate
Chris O'Dowd - The Crimson and the White Petal
David Pearse – Trivia
ACTRESS IN A LEAD ROLE TELEVISION
Maria Doyle Kennedy - Corp + Anam
Michele Fairley - Game of Thrones
Ruth Negga - Shirley
Aisling O'Sullivan - Raw
ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMME
Hardy Bucks
MasterChef Ireland
Mrs Brown's Boys
The Savage Eye
