Two Irish structures have been shortlisted for the RIBA's highly sought-after Stirling Prize.

O'Donnell & Tuomey Architects' The Sleeping Giant, located in Dublin, is the first Irish design in the running for the coveted industry award.

The structure is a previous winner of the Building Category and Overall Award at this year's Irish Concrete Society Awards.

The other Irish contender at the RIBA awards is the new bridge traversing the Shannon at the University of Limerick.

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London-based architects Wilkinson Eyre Architects designed the bridge, which was completed last November at a cost of €12 million.

The bridge's uniqueness is its deck width that fluctuates along the length of the bridge to allow for public art space.

The final shortlist for the £20,000 Stirling Prize will be announced next week, with the winner announced in October.

RIBA President, Sunand Prasad, said: "All the shortlisted schemes show how innovative and inventive RIBA members' work can be on an international stage."

The RIBA Client of the Year 2008 winner went to Coin Street Community Builders for projects including this year's award winning Coin Street Neighbourhood Centre by Haworth Tompkins Architects and the Oxo Tower.

(PR/JM)