President hails Irish success as An Irish Goodbye, Dublin's Richard Baneham win Oscars
By Catherine Wylie, PA
Michael D Higgins has marked Ireland’s success at the Oscars by hailing a “remarkable” year for the Irish film industry.
He congratulated those behind An Irish Goodbye which took the award for best short film, as well as Tallaght's Richard Baneham who was among those who won the Oscar for visual effects for Avatar: The Way Of Water.
The 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.
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 reestablishment 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 Oscar win for An Irish Goodbye also delivered a lovely Oscar moment.
“Thank you to everybody back home in Northern Ireland who helped us make this film,” Ross White, who is from Belfast, told the audience at the Dolby Theatre. “There’s something very important I’d like to speak about as well. This award is actually the second-most-important thing about today, because it’s this man’s birthday.” He then gestured towards the film’s star James Martin, who has Down syndrome, and the whole auditorium joined in a rendition of Happy Birthday to You.
Meanwhile, Dublin-born Richard Baneham, picking up the second Oscar of his careen, began his acceptance speech with a snippet of Irish. “Go raibh maith agat,” he said. “To James Cameron, whose thumbprint is on every frame of this movie.”