JAMES Nesbitt and Stephen Rea could both pick up a TV Bafta for their roles in BBC dramas.
Nesbitt is nominated for best leading actor for his performance as a grieving father desperate to find his missing son in The Missing.
Rea is nominated for best supporting actor for his role as a senior MI6 man in The Honourable Woman.
Other Irish stars who are in the running for an award include chatshow host Graham Norton, who is nominated for best entertainment performance and Dubliner Brendan O'Carroll, who has been shortlisted in the male performance in a comedy programme for his role in Mrs Brown's Boys.
Line of Duty, starring Enniskillen actor Adrian Dunbar, and Moone Boy, which features Co Roscommon actor Chris O'Dowd, are also nominated for best drama and best scripted comedy respectively.
Other big names who have been nominated include Benedict Cumberbatch, who is nominated for best leading actor for his performance in Sherlock.
The star, who lost out on a best actor Oscar earlier this year, is nominated alongside Nesbitt, Toby Jones for Marvellous and Jason Watkins for The Lost Honour Of Christopher Jefferies.
It is Cumberbatch's third nomination for his performance in the hit show.
Sheridan Smith is in the running for the leading actress award for her portrayal of Cilla Black - a year after Cilla herself was honoured at the awards.
She is up against Line Of Duty star Keeley Hawes, Sarah Lancashire for Happy Valley, and Georgina Campbell from Murdered By My Boyfriend.
Smith's portrayal of the singer, who was given a special award for her 50 years in television at last year's bash, was so popular it propelled the Scouse singer's 1964 number one, Anyone Who Had A Heart, back into the charts.
BBC dramas dominate with Happy Valley, Marvellous, The Missing and Line Of Duty all leading the way with three nods.
But BBC bosses could be left red-faced if Campbell wins her category or her show, BBC3's Murdered By My Boyfriend, is named best single drama just as the corporation moves to replace the channel with an online-only service.
Lancashire's co-star in Happy Valley, James Norton, is nominated for the supporting actor award and the show is in the running for best drama.
Toby Jones's co-star in Marvellous, Gemma Jones, was nominated for best supporting actress - her first nod since 1977.
Ken Stott's role in The Missing sees him nominated for best supporting actor, alongside Adeel Akhtar from Channel 4's Utopia and Rea for The Honourable Woman.
Line Of Duty's Vicky Mc-Clure is nominated for best supporting actress alongside Amanda Redman for ITV's Tommy Cooper biopic and Charlotte Spencer for E4's Glue.
Strictly Come Dancing's Claudia Winkleman is nominated for best entertainment performance alongside Norton, Ant and Dec and Celebrity Juice's Leigh Francis.
This year's ceremony is on Sunday May 10.