IRELAND'S Oscar nominees say they "don't have high hopes" of winning a coveted golden statue at tonight's awards ceremony in LA.

Tomm Moore's The Secret of Kells is nominated in the hotly contested Animated Feature Film category, and Darragh O'Connell's Granny O'Grimm is nominated in the Best Animated Short Film category. Five Irish people in all have been nominated.

"We are more or less resigned to the fact that one of the other nominees will snatch the award. We see it as a foregone conclusion at this stage.

"We don't have very high hopes of winning but are delighted we made it into the nominations, which alone is a big deal," said Moore.

The two filmmakers have spent the last week in LA meeting top film executives and celebrities.

"The Oscar nominee luncheon was surreal because all the biggest stars were there. We met Jeff Bridges and George Clooney, Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep. This week we've been meeting some great people at the studios," said O'Connell, who is nominated alongside producer Nicky Phelan.

"This week has been crazy with non-stop meetings and events. Nicky and I have been touring the studios – we have been to DreamWorks and we've also been to MGM, a huge motion picture company. Nicky was off with Disney at the end of the week. The whole town seems to gear up for the Oscars so there's a great buzz in the air."

Moore said he has had "one of the most amazing weeks" in America. "I had meetings with the likes of DreamWorks and other animation giants as well as top producers for breakfast and dinner. It is all very surreal and something which this time last year was only a dream."

Both will be joined by their family and friends from Ireland ahead of the ceremony.

"The whole event starts really early so it's going to be a long day. After the ceremony we'll join the rest of the Irish crew who are all here to support us. It should be a great party afterwards," said O'Connell.

Moore will attend the ceremony with his wife who he says spent most of the week stressing over her outfit.

"She has finally decided on what she is going to wear. Obviously the Oscars is a big fashion event too, so thank god she seems to have decided on what she is wearing."

Other Irish nominees tonight include Juanita Wilson and James Flynn in the Best Short Film (Live Action) category for The Door and Richard Baneham for Best Special Visual Effects for Avatar.

Meanwhile, the Irish Film Alliance has set up a new strategy in order to gain what they say is much needed support for Irish animators.

"People are only beginning to realise now that what these Irish filmmakers have has been nothing short of amazing. The new strategy is an action plan to ensure they all have the support they need, because we do not want a scenario where our filmmakers move abroad and set up base. They are a credit to Ireland and have really got our name and their names out there," said Birch Hamilton, executive director of the Screen?Directors' Guild of Ireland.

Hollywood in the green: The Irish Nominees

Best Animated Feature Film

Coraline, Henry Selick 20-1
Fantastic Mr Fox, Wes Anderson 8-1
The Princess and the Frog, John Musker and Ron Clements 33-1
The Secret of Kells, Tomm Moore 25-1
Up, Pete Docter 1-20

Best Visual Effects

Avatar, Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R Jones 1-100
District 9 25-1
Star Trek 16-1

Best Sound Mixing

Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek, Peter J Devlin
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Best Short Film (Live Action)

Miracle Fish
The Door, Juanita Wilson and James Flynn
Instead of Abracadabra
Kavi
The New Tenants

Best Short Film (Animated)

French Roast,
Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty, Nicky Phelan and Darragh O'Connell
The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)
Logorama
A Matter of Loaf and Death

(odds: Paddy Power; not all award categories are quoted)