Martin Sheen Nominated for Irish Academy Film Award

LONDON –  Martin Sheen, who played the President of the United States in the TV series The West Wing and is an Irish citizen, finds himself among the nominees for this year’s Irish Film and Television Academy awards.

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Sheen is nominated for his turn as Irish priest father Daniel Barry in the Irish movie production Stella Days in the leading actor in a film category.

He faces heavyweight competition from Michael Fassbender (Shame), Brendan Gleeson (The Guard) and Ciaran Hinds (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) in the category.

John Michael McDonagh’s The Guard, Terry McMahon’s Charlie Casanova, Thaddeus O’Sullivan’s Stella Days all secured best film director and best film nomination slots.

Rebecca Day rounds out the best film director nominations but her film The Other Side of Sleep misses out on a best film nomination slot with Albert Nobbs taking up the final berth in that category.

Saoirse Ronan’s outing in Hanna is nominated in the best film actress category, competing for the nod with Aoife Duffin (Behold The Lamb), Antonia Campbell Hughes (The Other Side of Sleep) and Marcella Plunkett (Stella Days).

The Irish Academy’s awards are dished out annually, aiming to celebrate Irish talent in both film and television.

Irish Academy CEO 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.”

This year’s awards will be presented in Dublin on Feb. 11 at a ceremony hosted by Simon Delaney.

For a list of nominees, visit www.ifta.ie.