Two Oscars for An Irish Goodbye and Richard Baneham but Banshees misses out

However, Banshees of Inisherin lost out on all nine of its nominations.

Stars Barry Keoghan and Brendan Gleeson both missed out to Vietnamese-American actor and filmmaker, Ke Huy Quan, who won his first Oscar for best actor in a supporting role in Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Colin Farrell lost out to Brendan Fraser who won best actor for The Whale while Tipperary’s Kerry Condon missed out to Jamie Lee Curtis who won the Oscar for best supporting actress for her role in Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Shot entirely on location in Northern Ireland, black comedy An Irish Goodbye follows the story of two estranged brothers coming to terms with the death of their mother.

Its co-directors led a chorus of Happy Birthday for the film’s star James Martin after it was announced as the winner at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

The film also won the short film category at this year’s Baftas.

Richard Baneham, who is from Tallaght, has worked on some of the world’s biggest movie productions including The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, the Chronicles of Narnia and the Avatar franchise.

The 49-year-old started his speech with a cúpla focal, he said: “Go raibh míle maith agat, to James Cameron whose artistic thumbprint is on every frame of this movie.”

“We accept these awards on behalf of a very large crew. The effects stand on the shoulders of our actors, their performances are everything.”

Mr Baneham studied the trade in Ballyfermot College of Further Education before moving to Los Angeles.

President Michael D Higgins has marked Ireland’s success at the Oscars by hailing a “remarkable” year for the Irish film industry.

President Higgins said: “May I congratulate An Irish Goodbye and Richard Baneham for their fantastic achievements in winning the Best Live-Action Short Film and Best Visual Effects Awards respectively at last night’s Oscars ceremony.

“May I further extend my congratulations to Colin Farrell, Paul Mescal, Kerry Condon, Brendan Gleeson, Barry Keoghan, Jonathan Redmond and all involved with An Cailin Ciuin and The Banshees Of Inisherin for the exceptional recognition of their work which being nominated for an Academy Award constitutes.

“This has been a remarkable year for the Irish film industry and is a testament to the hard work of so many people over recent decades.

“It is particularly welcome to see the recognition which the Irish film industry is receiving on what is the 30th anniversary of the re-establishment of Bord Scannan na hEireann/the Irish Film Board, now Screen Ireland, in 1993.

“The success which we are seeing is built on the acquisition of skills and pursuit of excellence by all in the Irish film community.

“As a gesture to all that has been achieved, and the important contribution of the film and related industries to Irish life, Sabina and myself look forward to hosting a St Patrick’s Day reception celebrating the Irish Film, Audio-Visual and Performing Arts Communities at Aras an Uachtarain this Friday.”

The audience erupted as host Jimmy Kimmel brought ‘Jenny the Donkey’ on stage, one of the stars from Martin McDonagh’s Banshees of Inisherin.

Colin Farrell could be heard shouting “oh my God” from the audience as he watched on.

“Not only is Jenny an actor, she’s a certified emotional support donkey, at least that’s what we told the airline to get her on the plane from Ireland,” Mr Kimmel said.

“Jenny, there’s your friend Colin right there and your friend Brendan, whose finger you ate, you wanna say thank you.”