IT’S ALREADY BEEN named the most popular TV series in Ireland in 2011 – and now the success of RTÉ’s ‘Love/Hate’ has been acknowledged with no fewer than 10 nominations for this year’s Irish Film and Television Academy awards.

The crime drama is nominated for Best Drama as well as being shortlisted for awards in categories including directing, writing, acting, production design, sound and score.

Cast members including Aidan Gillen (John Boy Power), Tom Vaughan-Lawlor (Nidge) are Denise McCormack (Linda) are nominated in acting categories.

Gillen is in line to complete an usual double – as well as being nominated for best actor in a lead role, he is also up for the supporting role gong for his role as Petyr Baelish in HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’, which is filmed in Northern Ireland.

That series is nominated for five awards, second only to ‘Love/Hate’, and ahead of TG4′s ‘Corp + Anam’ (4), Starz’ drama ‘Camelot’ (3), Neil Jordan’s Showtime series ‘The Borgias’  (3) and E4′s ‘Misfits’ (2).

RTÉ’s documentary about writer Dermot Healy, ‘The Writing in the Sky’, leads the field in technical categories, nominated for directing, photography, editing and sound.

‘Masterchef Ireland’ is up for three awards, including directing, editing and sound, as well as being nominated for best entertainment programme alongside ‘Hardy Bucks’, ‘Mrs Brown’s Boys’ and ‘The Savage Eye’.

Two episodes of the currently suspended ‘Prime Time Investigates’ series – ‘The Home Care Scandal’ and ‘Carry On Regardless’ – are nominated for the best Current Affairs/News programme, alongside The Frontline’s Presidential debate and RTÉ’s coverage of the Queen’s visit.

In the film categories, nominees for best film include Irish production ‘Albert Nobbs’, ‘Charlie Casanova’, ‘Stella Days’ and ‘The Guard’.

All four of those films are also nominated for best script, while Rebecca Daly is nominated for best director for ‘The Other Side of Sleep, alongside John Michael McDonagh (‘The Guard’), Terry McMahon (‘Charlie Casanova’) and Antoine O’Flaherta (‘Stella Days’).

In acting categories, Michael Fassbender (‘Shame’) is nominated alongside Brendan Gleeson (‘The Guard’), Ciarán Hinds (‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’) and Martin Sheen (‘Stella Days’) for best actor in a lead role.

In the best actress category, Saoirse Ronan (‘Hanna’) will face Aoife Duffin (‘Behold The Lamb’), Antonia Campbell Hughes (‘The Other Side of Sleep’) and Marcella Plunkett (‘Stella Days’).

Nominees for best actor in a supporting role are Liam Cunningham (‘The Guard’), Brendan Gleeson (‘Albert Nobbs’), Ciarán Hinds (‘The Debt’) and Chris O’Dowd (‘Bridesmaids’); nominees in the parallel actress category are Maria Doyle Kennedy (‘Albert Nobbs’), Fionnula Flanagan (‘The Guard’), Brenda Fricker (‘Albert Nobbs’) and Amy Huberman (‘Stella Days’).

The awards take place on Saturday 11 February at the National Convention Centre. A full list of nominees can be found on the IFTA website.

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