IRELAND’S OWN U2 have never been the type to lack confidence – and it’s no wonder when they receive accolades like they did last night.

Q Magazine handed them the Greatest Act of the Last 25 Years award at their annual music awards in London yesterday.

Britain’s best-selling music monthly used the ceremony to acknowledge the many bands that grace its pages – like singer/songwriter Adele, won two awards, for Best Female and Best Track for her song “Rolling in the Deep.”

However she didn’t attend, and the event comes just two weeks after she was forced to cancel her US tour due to throat problems.

U2 celebrated the 20th anniversary of the release of their album Achtung Baby this year – it was their seventh studio album and helped to cement them in the world’s rock canon.

Coldplay was voted Best Act in the World Today, but lead singer Chris Martin thought that a certain Irish band deserved the award more.

“U2 are the best band in the world at the moment. We are about seventh,” he said.

Noel Gallagher, one-half of the warring brothers who led the rock band Oasis to chart glory, was named a Q icon.

But he said that award did not come close to rivaling his joy when his favorite soccer team, Manchester City, smashed crosstown rival Manchester United 6-1 on Sunday.

“No award can compare to that. That was the best day of my life, bar my children being born,” Gallagher said.

Eighteen awards were handed out, including to rapper Tinie Tempah for Best Male Artist and to US internet sensation Lana Del Ray, who was crowned the Next Big Thing.

Brian May and Roger Taylor accepted entry into the Q Hall of Fame on behalf of glam rockers Queen, and Take That’s Gary Barlow was honoured as Classic Songwriter.

Multimillion selling DJ Norman Cook, aka Fat Boy Slim, was presented with a Q Inspiration award.

- Additional reporting by AP

Here’s our top three U2 videos:

And three great videos:

Live at Slane

Live in Milan

Live in Winnipeg