Irish acting and film talent have picked up a record five nominations for the Golden Globe Awards with nominations for Saoirse Ronan, Michael Fassbender and three nominations for Room, including Best Drama.
Room, which stars Brie Larson and was adapted by Emma Donoghue from her Man Booker-nominated novel about a mother and son held in captivity, also picked up nods for Best Screenplay and Best Actress in a Drama.
Room has been nominated for three Golden Globes
The director of Room, Lenny Abrahamson, expressed his delight at the nominations which he modestly said came as a "pleasant surprise".
"It's brilliant news. People had talked about it and so there's always this stuff going around about who's going to get it and who isn't - but I am a naturally pessimistic person so I was pleasantly surprised by that."
Saoirse Ronan joined Brie Larson with a nomination in the Best Actress - Drama category for her role in Brooklyn and has been celebrating - despite having her name mangled by actor Dennis Quaid who referred to her as 'Sheesha' as he read out the nominees.
It's the second Golden Globe nomination for the 21-year-old Carlow actress. She picked up her first nomination at just 13 years of age for Atonement, and has already been honoured with the Best Actress trophy at the British Independent Film Awards and the New Hollywood Award at the Hollywood Film Awards for her starring role in Brooklyn.
Ronan is now hotly tipped to pick up an Oscar nomination when they are announced in January.
A very happy 'Sheesha' Ronan nominated for Best Actress
Kerry star Michael Fassbender is also celebrating after he picked up a Best Actor nomination for his role as Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in the biopic of the same name. He'll face strong competition from Leonardo DiCaprio for The Revenant and Eddie Redmayne for his role in The Danish Girl.
It's Fassbender's third Golden Globe nomination having previously picked up nods for Shame (2011) and 12 Years A Slave (2013) and he is another hot favourite to secure an Oscar nomination next year. He said it was "lovely to be honoured" again.
Could it be third time lucky for Michael Fassbender?
Rounding-off the Irish nominations is Monaghan actress Caitríona Balfe who was shortlisted for Best Actress in a TV Drama for her role as Claire Randall in Outlander. Tweeting after her nomination, Balfe said she had only just managed to scrape her jaw off the floor.
Caitríona Balfe is nominated for Best Actress in a TV Drama for Outlander
Just managed to scrape my jaw off the floor. Thank you @goldenglobes for the nomination !!! #GoldenGlobes #Outlander
— Caitriona Balfe (@caitrionambalfe) December 10, 2015
Although there may be some disappointment that Brooklyn failed to pick up a nomination for Best Drama or a Best Director nod for John Crowley, the nominations cap a remarkable year for the Irish film industry.
James Hickey, CEO of the Irish Film Board said:
"Irish film is enjoying a real 'coming of age' this year, with our writers, directors and actors all receiving unprecedented global acclaim - both with awards and from audiences. Today the industry is celebrating the Golden Globe nominations and coming next month are the Academy Award nominations, with Irish talent tipped to take centre stage."
Elsewhere, Todd Haynes' critically acclaimed drama Carol leads the pack with five Golden Globe nominations, including acting nominations for Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, and nods for Best Drama, Best Director and Best Score, making it a front-runner for next year's awards season.
Carol is the most nominated film for the Golden Globes 2016
Ridley Scott's superb space saga The Martian picked up three nominations: for Best Actor - Musical or Comedy (Matt Damon), Best Director and Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, while the big surprise was the success of George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road which picked up nods for Best Motion Picture - Drama and Best Director.
Matt Damon has been nominated for The Martian
Other notable nominees in the acting categories include Jennifer Lawrence, who scored her fourth Golden Globe nomination for her performance in Joy in which she plays the inventor of the Miracle Mop; Amy Schumer for her role in the comedy Trainwreck and Lady Gaga, who was nominated for her role in American Horror Story: Hotel.
Golden Globe nominee Amy Schumer at the Irish Premiere of Trainwreck
The awards ceremony will take place on January 10, 2016 and will be hosted by Ricky Gervais.
For a full list of nominees click here.
