Eight awards in a row for Westlife

Westlife walked away with the Best Irish Pop Act for the eighth year in a row at the Meteor Ireland Music Awards in Dublin.A total of 19 gongs were presented and host Dara O'Briain introduced performances from Westlife, Boyzone, Shayne Ward, Cathy Davey, The Coronas and a duet from Sinead O'Connor and Republic of Loose.The Meteor Industry Award was presented to the family of the late Jim Aiken, one of Ireland's most successful music promoters. Mr Aiken, who died last year, attracted international acts to Ireland including Bruce Springsteen, Garth Brooks, Bob Dylan, Shania Twain, The Eagles, Elton John, Rod Stewart and Justin Timberlake.Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody performed a duet with Lisa Hannigan on the Some Surprise track taken from the Oxfam Ireland charity album The Cake Sale.After a daily campaign for votes Today FM DJ Ray Foley received the award for Best National DJ beating his colleague Ray Darcy, who has won the award for three consecutive years.Cathy Davey was voted Best Irish Female by the Irish public and Duke Special was named Best Irish Male. Damien Dempsey was presented with the award for Best Folk/Traditional.Singer Paddy Casey's Addicted to Company won Best Irish Album, with Aslan crowned Best Irish Band. Ham Sandwich were presented with the Hope for 2008 Meteor Award by 2FM DJ Rick O'Shea. The award was voted for by RTE 2FM listeners.Folk veterans the Saw Doctors were presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award coupled with an outstanding performance at the awards. The group are this year celebrating more than 20 years in the music business, having achieved international acclaim across the globe.The Saw Doctors hold the record for the country's biggest-selling single of all time, I Useta Lover, which topped the Irish charts for nine weeks in 1990.Previous winners of the gong include Christy Moore, Paul Brady, Bob Geldof, The Dubliners, The Pogues and last year's recipients, Clannad.