Colm Meaney is being honoured for both his Irish spirit and his theatrical talent, in both the US and the UK.

StarTrek.com reports that the Miles O'Brien actor will receive a Spirit of Ireland award in San Jose, the sister city of his hometown of Dublin, and has received a nomination for a Laurence Olivier Award for his performance in the recent London revival of A Moon for the Misbegotten.

"Colm Meaney exemplifies the bold character we celebrate each year with the Spirit of Ireland Award," said James Marlowe, a spokesman for the event, who stressed that Meaney was chosen not only because of his highly visible role on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, but for many years of work in movies and on stage, including the highly acclaimed films Layer Cake and The Commitments.

Meaney will receive his award, which pays tribute to people who have strengthened the relationship between Ireland and the United States, at a dinner on Saturday, March 10th in San Jose. Previous recipients include former U.S. president Bill Clinton. More information is available here.

Two Deep Space Nine veterans have been nominated for Olivier Awards this year: Meaney and Frank Langella, who played Bajoran Minister Jaro Essa. Meaney will compete for the trophy for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for A Moon for the Misbegotten while Langella has been nominated for Best Actor for his portrayal of U.S. president Richard Nixon in Frost/Nixon. Both plays are scheduled to come to Broadway in March.

One of Meaney's fellow nominees in the supporting category is Jim Norton, who played Albert Einstein in The Next Generation episodes "The Nth Degree" and "Descent, Part I." Meaney, Langella and Patrick Stewart (Picard) were all nominees for 2007 Theatregoers' Choice Awards at WhatsOnStage.com.

The original article is here.

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