Day-Lewis wins Golden Globe for best actor

Irish actor Daniel Day-Lewis has won a Golden Globe as best actor in a drama film for his role as an oil prospector in There Will Be Blood.

Saoirse Ronan: nominated as best supporting actress

Day-Lewis, who lives in Co Wicklow, saw off competition from George Clooney in the legal thriller Michael Clayton, Viggo Mortensen for Eastern Promisesand Denzel Washington in American Gangster.

The usual star-filled glitzy award ceremony for the 65th Golden Globes was replaced by a news conference at a Beverly Hills hotel due to the screenwriters strike in the United States.

Atonement, the adaptation of Ian McEwan's romance about two lovers torn apart by a family betrayal and World War Two, won best drama film.

Carlow schoolgirl Saoirse Ronan (13), shortlisted as best supporting actress for her role in Atonementlost out to Cate Blanchett for the Australian's version of singer Bob Dylan in the film I'm Not There.

In the television categories, Cork actor Jonathan Rhys-Meyers was shortlisted as best actor (drama) for his performance as the young King Henry VIII in The Tudors. The category was won by Jon Hamm for Mad Men.

James Nesbitt, from Coleraine, was shortlisted as best actor (TV mini-series or movie) for his dual role as Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in the BBC series, Jekyll. He lost out to Jim Broadbent for his performance in Longford, Channel 4's exploration of the relationship between Moors Murderer Myra Hindley and prisons campaigner Lord Longford.

Best TV series (drama) was won by Mad Men; best actress in a drama went to Julie Christie, the star of Away From Her; Tim Burton's movie musical about a serial-killing barber, Sweeney Todd, was named best film comedy or musical; and its star Johnny Depp won the award for best actor in a musical for his role as the barber.

Keira Knightley and James McAvoy in a scene from Atonement, which won the Golden Globe for best drama film

French actress Marion Cotillard was named best actress in a movie musical for her role as singer Edith Piaf in the biopic La Vie En Rose.

Javier Bardem won best supporting actor in a drama film for his role in drug-dealing drama No Country For Old Men.

Ricky Gervais's Extraswon best TV comedy, but Gervais missed out on the award for best TV comedy actor, with the award going to David Duchovny for Californication.

French film The Diving Bell and the Butterflywas judged to have been the best foreign language drama. Its director, Julian Schnabel,beat Tim Burton ( Sweeney Todd), the Coen brothers ( No Country for Old Men), Ridley Scott (American Gangster) and Joe Wright ( Atonement) to take the best director award.

British actress Samantha Morton won best supporting TV actress for Longford, Ratatouillewon best animated film and Glenn Close won best actress in a TV drama for Damages.

Steven Spielberg received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for his "outstanding contribution to the entertainment field".

The Writers Guild of America has been embroiled in a dispute with major film and TV studios since last November and had threatened to picket the ceremony. As a result, A-list stars refused to attend.

US television network NBC and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association scrapped the gala and in its place decided to air a one-hour news conference.

The Golden Globe awards are a key stop on the road to Oscars, nominations for which will be announced on January 22nd, with the awards to follow on February 24th.

Additional reporting: Agencies