BAI to Sponsor Best Drama Category at IFTA's

'The Fall', 'Game of Thrones', 'Love/Hate', 'Quirke' and 'Vikings' will all battle it out at the upcoming 2014 IFTA Awards in the Best Drama category, which is being sponsored by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI).

Northern Irish based police investigations drama 'The Fall', which is currently filming its new series in Belfast, is written and directed by Allan Cubitt and produced by Julian Stevens and Gub Neal. The critically acclaimed series is a Fables Limited production in association with Artists Studio with funding from Northern Ireland Screen supported by Invest NI and part funded by the European Regional Development Fund. Stephen Wright is the executive producer with BBC Northern Ireland. Dornan who plays serial murderer Paul Spector in 'The Fall' is up for Best Actor in a Lead Role in Television against Gabriel Byrne (Quirke), Chris O'Dowd (Moone Boy) and Tom Vaughan Lawlor (Love/Hate).

'The Fall' is nominated alongside the epic fantasy 'Game of Thrones', which has been exciting fans all over the world recently with its release of four teaser trailers. Fans of the Northern Ireland production gathered at Dublin's Lighthouse Cinema last night for the premiere of the highly anticipated fourth season. The HBO series is set to return to screens on Monday April 7 at 2am on Sky Atlantic, before being repeated for prime time slots at 9pm. 'Game of Thrones' actor Liam Cunningham will be attending the awards ceremony at the DoubleTree Hilton.

The historical action drama 'Vikings', shot in Co Wicklow, has recently been renewed for a third season. The popular MGM Television production is executive produced by Morgan O'Sullivan of World 2000 Productions, John Weber of Take 5, Sherry Marsh, Alan Gasmer, James Flynn and Sheila Hockin. Director Ciarán Donnelly is joined by highly experienced actors such as Gabriel Byrne, John Kavanagh, Clive Standen, Diarmuid Murtagh, Tadhg Murphy, Ruby O' Leary, David Pearse, Nathan O'Toole and George Bladen, who will be attending the IFTA's ceremony.

Dublin based dramas also feature strongly in the Best Drama category with the period-set crime investigation series 'Quirke' being nominated as well as the gritty urban drama 'Love/Hate'. 'Quirke' recently aired its three 90-minute episodes; the first two were adapted by Welsh screenwriter Andrew Davies and the third by Irish playwright/director Conor McPherson, on RTE1 and received positive reviews from Irish audiences. The series' partners in the UK are BBC and BBC Worldwide, as well as the BAI, IFB and RTE and section 481 in Ireland. Jessica Pope is the executive producer for the BBC, Ed Guiney for Element Pictures and Joan Egan for Tyrone Productions.

Octagon Films hit drama Love/Hate, which has currently started filming for series five in Dublin, is written by Stuart Carolan and directed by David Caffrey, both of whom will be in attendance at the 2014 IFTA's. The new series of Love/Hate will focus on life behind bars, the court system and is set to have 6 episodes. The RTE drama will be back on our screens for a long autumn/winter run.

Speaking about this year's upcoming IFTA Awards, Michael O'Keeffe, Chief Executive of the BAI said: "The BAI is pleased to support the 2014 Irish Film and Television Awards. The IFTAs are a great opportunity to promote and recognise the wealth of creativity, talent and commitment that exists in the Irish audio-visual production sector. We congratulate all the nominees."

The ceremony will welcome a host of film stars, TV personalities, directors, producers and distinguished guests to celebrate the undisputed talent that exists within the film and television industries in Ireland.

The ceremony will take place on Saturday April 5 at the DoubleTree at Hilton Burlington Road and will be broadcast at the primetime of 9.35pm on RTÉ ONE.

For a full list of this year's nominees see IFTA.ie