U2 are up for six of the fourteen awards in next month's 25th Hot Press Irish Music Awards.

Ash, Westlife, Samantha Mumba, and David Kitt have also been heavily nominated for the Awards, which will take place in Belfast at the end of April. They will be voted on by a panel which includes leading critics and broadcasters from newspapers, TV and radio stations all over Ireland.

'There's no better reflection of the sense of shared community that exists on this island than contemporary music,' said Hot Press editor Niall Stokes, 'And we've had some wonderful gatherings of the rock 'n' roll clan in both Dublin and Belfast as a result. 'There's wonderfully exciting music being made at the moment all over Ireland ­ north, south, east, west ­ so the competition is likely to be particularly intense.'

And so to the nominations:

* Male Singer
David Kitt
Bono
Ronan Keating
Mark Greaney (JJ72)

* Female Singer
Andrea Corr
Juliet Turner
Gemma Hayes
Samantha Mumba

* Band
Ash
U2
The Frames
The Corrs

* Philip Lynott Newcomer Award
The Revs
Relish
Damien Rice
Melaton

* Album
Ash ­ Free All Angels
David Kitt ­ The Big Romance
The Frames ­ For The Birds
Snow Patrol ­ When It's All Over We Still Have To Clean Up

* Single
Ash ­ 'Shining Light'
U2 ­ 'Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of'
David Kitt ­ 'You Know What I Want To Know'
The Frames ­ 'Lay Me Down'

* Pop Artist
Samantha Mumba
Westlife
The Corrs
Ronan Keating

* Roots
Dervish
Cathy Dillon
Kila
Enya

* Songwriter
Bono
Neil Hamilton
David Kitt
Christy Moore

* Rory Gallagher Musician Award
Caroline Corr
The Edge
Glen Hansard
Declan Sinnott

* Live Gig By An Irish Act
Ash at Witnness festival
Paul Brady at Vicar St., Dublin
U2 at Slane
Divine Comedy at the Mandela Hall, Belfast

* Live Gig By An International Act
David Gray at Marlay Park
Radiohead at the Odyssey, Belfast
Bob Dylan at Nowlan Park
Red Hot Chilli Peppers at Slane

* Dance Award
Phil Kieran
First Born
Decal
Mr. Spring

* Industry Award
John Hughes
David Holmes
Pat McCarthy (Producer, REM)
Dave Fanning

The Hot Press Awards take place in Belfast on April 25th and will be broadcast on BBC One Northern Ireland on Friday April 26th and on BBC Choice on Saturday April 27th.