Limerick rapper Denise Chaila announced as Irish album of the year winner

The Limerick rapper took the RTÉ Choice Music Prize of €10,000 for her debut, Go Bravely. Pillow Queens, Fontaines DC and Róisín Murphy among those who missed out

Denise Chaila with her music collaborators God Knows and Murli. 

Denise Chaila has been announced as the winner of the RTÉ Choice Music Prize Irish Album of the Year 2020. The Limerick-based rapper took the award for Go Bravely, a compilation of tracks she originally described as a mix-tape rather than album, but it clearly made the grade for the Choice judges.

In the absence of the usual live show at Vicar Street in Dublin, the announcement was made on Thursday afternoon on RTÉ 2fm. Pre-recorded performances by the acts were shown on the RTÉ Player.

A notoriously difficult prize to predict, other favourites had included Pillow Queens, Róisín Murphy and Fontaines DC. For Fontaines, it's their second year in a row missing out, after their debut album, Dogrel, was pipped by Lankum's  The Livelong Day for last year's gong. However, the Dublin-based five-piece are still in with another chance of a big award later this month, as they've been nominated for Best Rock Album in the Grammys in the US on March 14.

For her Choice Prize win, Chaila receives €10,000, provided by  the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) and  the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA). A 12-person judging panel of broadcasters and other media figures chose the winner.

The prize is also a welcome note of positivity for the Zambian-born vocalist who moved to Ireland at the age of three when her father, a doctor, took up a job at a Dublin hospital. Chaila had recently spoken out about some of the racist abuse she is subjected to via social media.

Earlier in the day, former One Direction member Niall Horan took the Irish Song of the Year award - a prize decided by public vote - for No Judgement.

The album shortlist:

• Bitch Falcon - Staring at Clocks (Small Pond Recordings) 
• Denise Chaila - Go Bravely (narolane)
• Fontaines D.C. - A Hero’s Death (Partisan Records)
• JyellowL - 2020 DIvision (JyellowL Records)
• Róisín Murphy - Róisín Machine (Loaded Records)
• Nealo - All The Leaves Are Falling (2020 Nealo) 
• Pillow Queens - In Waiting (Pillow Queens Records)
• Ailbhe Reddy - Personal History (Friends of the Family) 
• Niamh Regan – Hemet (The Black Gate Label)
•  Silverbacks – Fad (Central Tones)