Men of the moment Snow Patrol walked away the big winners at the Meteor Ireland Music Awards last night, winning the gong for Best Band and Best Album.

Other notable triumphs include Westlife’s fourth consecutive award for Best Pop Act, and Paddy Casey’s second for Best Male.

But the awards, now in their fifth year, weren’t just about established acts – The Chalets picked up the prize for Best New Band and Angel of Mons were heralded Hope for 2005. The Mons’ new friend Juliette Lewis also attended the event, with her band The Licks joining the eclectic bill of BellX1, Snoop Dogg and Declan O’Rouke in entertaining the capacity crowd at The Point.

On the international front, PJ Harvey scooped up Best Female, and the UK’s favourite sulker Morrissey won Best Male. Franz Ferdinand picked up two awards – for Best International Band, and Best International Album for their acclaimed eponymous debut.

The lifetime achievement accolade was given to Aslan, in recognition of their contribution to Irish music for the past 22 years. They closed 2005’s show with a special medley which included ‘This Is’, ‘Shine’ and ‘Crazy’.

The full list of winners are as follows:

Best Irish Male - Paddy Casey
Best Irish Female - Juliette Turner
Best Folk/Trad - Planxty
Best DJ - Ray D'Arcy
Best Irish Album - Snow Patrol, Final Straw
Hope for 2005 - Angel of Mons
Best Pop - Westlife
Humanitarian Award - Adi Roche
Best Newcomer - The Chalets
Industry Award - John Hughes
Lifetime Achievement - Aslan

Best International Group - Franz Ferdinand
Best International Male - Morrissey
Best International Female - PJ Harvey
Best International Album - Franz Ferdinand
Best Visiting Live Performance - The Killers