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Saoirse Ronan and Michael Fassbender lead Irish Bafta hopes

Emory Cohen as "Tony" and Saoirse Ronan as "Eilis" in Brooklyn. Picture by Kerry Brown.
Emory Cohen as "Tony" and Saoirse Ronan as "Eilis" in Brooklyn. Picture by Kerry Brown. Emory Cohen as "Tony" and Saoirse Ronan as "Eilis" in Brooklyn. Picture by Kerry Brown.

IRISH actress Saoirse Ronan is among the Irish nominees for the prestigious Bafta awards.

The 21-year-old, who lives in Co Carlow, is up for Best Actress, alongside Cate Blanchett, Brie Larson, Maggie Smith and Alicia Vikander, it was announced yesterday.

Her performance in acclaimed Irish/British-Canadian historical period drama `Brooklyn' - based on the novel by Irish author Colm Toíbín - has led to much speculation that she will receive a gong in the upcoming awards season.

She has also been nominated for a Golden Globe for the role of Eilis Lacey, a young woman from Enniscorthy who leaves for America and the hope of a better future.

Oscar nominations will be announced next week.

Kerry actor Michael Fassbender has also been nominated for a Bafta award for his performance in the title role of `Steve Jobs'.

In the biographical drama film about the Apple co-founder, Fassbender plays Jobs before the launches of three key products: the Macintosh, NeXT Computer, and iMac G3.

The Irishman is facing competition from Leonardo DiCaprio, Eddie Redmayne, Matt Damon and Bryan Cranston.

Dublin author Emma Donoghue, now based in Canada, was also honoured with a nomination, for penning the screenplay of her novel `Room'.

The Canadian-Irish drama tells the story of a woman and her five year-old son held captive for years in an enclosed space who finally gain their freedom, allowing the boy to experience the outside world for the first time.

The lead actress Brie Larson, is up against Ronan for the best actress award.

Derry-born writer and director Stephen Fingleton has been included in the Outstanding Debut category for `The Survivalist'.

The 32-year-old film-maker, who grew up in Warrenpoint and Enniskillen and now splits his time between Enniskillen and London, , was named in November as one of Bafta's `Breakthrough Brits'.

`The Survivalist' received critical acclaim following its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York with industry magazine Screen Daily calling Fingleton "a major discovery".

It was developed with the support of the BFI Film Fund and Northern Ireland Screen's New Talent Focus Scheme.

Shot entirely in Northern Ireland the film received funding from the Northern Ireland Screen Fund supported by Invest NI and part funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

It is the second year in a row that Eddie Redmayne is up for leading actor - this time for `The Danish Girl', depicting the life of one of the first men to undergo gender reassignment surgery.

Tom Hanks/Steven Spielberg collaboration `Bridge Of Spies' and Cate Blanchett star-vehicle `Carol' each receive nine nominations.

Meanwhile, `The Revenant' which sees Leonardo Di Caprio pursued by a bear, is nominated in eight categories.

`Mad Max: Fury Road' has seven nominations, with `Brooklyn' and `The Martian' each nominated six times.

`The Big Short', `The Danish Girl' and `Ex Machina' received five nominations. `Star Wars: The Force Awakens' received four.