We’ve done well.
It has been a remarkable year for the our film industry after nine Irish films secured Oscar nominations, including an unprecedented two films that are in contention to win Best Picture – Room and Brooklyn.
While this is a truly remarkable year, Irish people do have a long history of success at the Academy Awards and have a claim on every Oscar that has ever been given out by the Academy. Did you know that the actual Oscar statuette was designed by a Dublin-born art designer named Cedric Gibbons?
Our list of winners also starts with him;
Cedric Gibbons
From: Born in Dublin, raised in NYC.
Did you know: He was nominated for thirty-eight Oscars and when he retired in 1956, nearly 1,500 films were credited to him.
And the Oscar goes to…
Best Art/Set Direction for all of the following:
The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1930)
The Merry Widow (1934)
Pride and Prejudice (1940)
Blossoms in the Dust (1941)
Gaslight (1944)
The Yearling (1946)
Little Women (1949)
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
Julius Caesar (1953)
Somebody Up There Likes me (1956)
George Bernard Shaw
From: Upper Synge Street, Dublin.
Did you know: He is the only person to have been awarded both a Nobel Prize (Literature, 1925) and an Academy Award.
And the Oscar goes to…
Best Adapted Screenplay for Pygmalion (1938)
Barry Fitzgerald
From: Walworth Road, Portobello, Dublin
Did you know: He was briefly a roommate of famed playwright Sean O’Casey and he achieved a feat that’s unmatched in the history of the Academy Awards: he was nominated for both the Best Actor Oscar and the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for the same performance.
And the Oscar goes to…
Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Going My Way (1944)
Michèle Burke
From: Kildare Town but she moved to Canada in 1973
Did you know: It seems that Tom Cruise is a fan of her work, she’s worked on 10 of his films so far.
The Oscar goes to…
(Shared) Best makeup for…
Quest for Fire (1981)
Dracula (1992)
Josie MacAvin
From: Monsktown, Dublin.
Did you know: Her Oscar and Emmy statuettes are both on permanent display at the Irish Film Institute, Dublin.
The Oscar goes to…
(Shared) Best Art Direction Out of Africa (1986)
Daniel Day-Lewis
From: London but his father was born in Ballintubbert, County Laois and he has dual-citizenship after becoming an Irish citizen in 1993. The three-time Oscar winner currently lives in Wicklow.
Did you know: He’s a self-proclaimed Milwall fan.
The Oscar goes to…
Best Actor My Left Foot (1989)
Best Actor There Will Be Blood (2007)
Best Actor Lincoln (2013)
Brenda Fricker
From: Dublin.
Did you know: She appeared in Tolka Row, Ireland’s first ever soap opera.
The Oscar goes to…
Best Actress in a Supporting Role Actress My Left Foot (1989)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPZkXpG7NS0
Neil Jordan
From: Sligo.
Did you know: He has directed 4 actors in Oscar nominated performances: Bob Hoskins, Stephen Rea, Jaye Davidson, and Julianne Moore.
The Oscar goes to…
Best Original Screenplay The Crying Game (1993)
Peter O’Toole
From: He has gone on record as saying that he has two different birth certs, one says he was born in Connemara and the other says Leeds.
Did you know: He played rugby as a child and frequently attended Five Nations matches with his friends and fellow fans Richard Harris and Richard Burton.
The Oscar goes to…
Lifetime achievement in ’03.
Corinne Marrinan
From: Dual citizen of the USA and Ireland.
Did you know: She was an associate producer on a variety of the CSI series.
The Oscar goes to…
Produced the documentary On A Note of Triumph (2006)
Martin McDonagh
From: Holds dual citizenship, both his parents are from the West of Ireland and he lived in Galway for a while before moving to London.
Did you know: He’s trying to get the In Bruges dream team of Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson back together for a new film.
The Oscar goes to…
Best Short Film (Live Action) Six Shooter (2006)
Glen Hansard
From: Ballymun, Dublin
Did you know: Despite dropping out of school aged 13 to become a busker, he also studied at the New York Film Academy School of Acting before getting his break in The Commitments and The Frames.
The Oscar goes to…
(Shared) Best Song Once (2008)
Richard Baneham
From: Tallaght, Dublin
Did you know: Studied at Ballyfermot Art College before moving to California to pursue his career.
The Oscar goes to…
(As part of a team) – Best Visual Effects – Avatar (2010)
Terry George & Oorlagh George
From: Belfast
Did you know: George had previously been nominated for his writing work on In The Name of the Father and Hotel Rwanda.
The Oscar goes to…
Best Short Film (Live Action) The Shore (2012)
Maureen O’Hara
From: Ranelagh, Dublin
Did you know: She became only the second actress to receive an Honorary Oscar without having previously been nominated for an Oscar in a competitive category.
The Oscar goes to…
Lifetime achievement in 2015
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