Hip-hop act Speech Debelle upset the odds to win the Mercury Prize last night, one of Britain's most prestigious annual music awards.
Irish singer-songwriter Lisa Hannigan was among the nominations for the prize for her debut album Sea Sew.
The bookmakers' favourite in a field dominated by the debut albums of emerging acts was Florence and the Machine, but it was Debelle's debut album Speech Therapythat took the £20,000 (€23,000) prize.
"This feels so much better than I had imagined ... I'm from South London, I don't really get emotional, but I'm emotional," said Debelle following the live broadcast of the award.
In nomination notes, the Mercury judges described Debelle's music as "a remarkable new voice in British hip-hop, tough, warm and reflective."
Speech Therapywas released in June 2009 on the Big Dada label and features the popular single The Keyalongside a number of other collaborations.
The other nominees were: Friendly Fires, Glasvegas, Kasabian, La Roux, Led Bib, Bat for Lashes, Sweet Belly Pilgrim, The Horrors and The Invisible.
The winner of the 2009 Barclaycard Mercury Prize was chosen by a panel of industry figures, musicians and journalists to celebrate the best of UK and Irish music.
In the Mercury’s 17-year existence, only a handful of Irish acts have made it to the nomination stage; Hannigan joins a group which includes U2, Van Morrison, Snow Patrol, Therapy? and Gemma Hayes.
Previous winners include Primal Scream, Franz Ferdinand, Suede, Pulp, Klaxons and Elbow.