RTÉ Choice Music Prize nominees announced: Fontaines and Denise Chaila among contenders for Irish album of the year 

The shortlist of 10 acts for the RTÉ Choice Music Prize features a strong list of contenders across a range of genres

Denise Chaila, Fontaines DC, Pillow Queens and Róisín Murphy are among the nominees for the RTÉ Choice Music Prize Irish album of the year. 

Gigs may have been in short supply in 2020, but the shortlist for the RTÉ Choice Music Prize Irish Album of the Year still reveals an impressive depth of homegrown music output in the Covid era. The 10 nominated albums were announced on Wednesday, and feature a multi-genre combination of well-established names and emerging acts.

The prize is notoriously unpredictable but a couple of names already stand out as contenders. Fontaines DC lead the charge from the guitar-driven corner with A Hero’s Death, hoping to take the top prize after their debut Dogrel lost out last year to Lankum's The Livelong Day. The Dublin rockers have also been nominated for a Grammy award in the US.