The 95th Academy Award celebration will go down in the history books as a historical night for Irish film, Irish talent, and the Irish language. Having secured a grand total of 14 nominations across a number of different categories, the winners on the night were Ross White and Tom Berkeley’s An Irish Goodbye for best live-action short, and Richard Baneham, for his visual effects work on Avatar: The Way of Water.
Despite being up for nine nominations — including nominations for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, Colin Farrell’s nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Brendan Gleeson and Barry Keoghan’s nominations for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Kerry Condon’s nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and Martin McDonagh’s nomination for Best Director — The Banshees of Inisherin didn’t manage to secure an award.
Also up for Best Actor in a Leading Role was Kildare’s very own Paul Mescal for his work on Aftersun, and An Cailín Ciúin made Irish cinema history by becoming the first Irish language film to be nominated for an Oscar in the International Feature Film category. Regardless of many’s the candle being lit throughout Ireland in the hopes of a homegrown win, the statuette for Best Actor went to Brendan Fraser for The Whale, and the German war drama All Quiet on the Western Front won in the International category.
The Best Live Action Short success of An Irish Goodbye brought about one of the most wholesome and prideful moments of the night. When he ascended to the pulpit, co-director Ross White gave a shout out to “everybody back home in Northern Ireland who helped [them] make this film.” Co-director Tom Berkeley then continued to tell the audience at the Dolby Theatre that they would be dedicating the rest of their time on stage to a very important task.
“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 was referring to the film’s star, James Martin, and the entire room gave a stunning rendition of Happy Birthday to mark the occasion.
Also putting his time on stage to good use was Tallaght’s very own Richard Baneham, who won alongside Eric Saindon, Daniel Barrett and Joe Letteri for their work on Avatar: The Way of Water. Beginning his speech with a cúpla focail, he said: “Go raibh maith agat to James Cameron, whose artistic thumbprint is on every frame of this movie.”
In a stunt that left Colin Farrell equal parts stunned and delighted was the moment when host Jimmy Kimmel led Jenny the Donkey — the breakthrough star of Banshees — onto the stage, introducing her as an emotional support animal that would be on hand for any comforting needs throughout the night. Naturally, Martin McDonagh and Kerry Condon have already confirmed that this wasn’t the actual Jenny the Donkey, but I guess it’s the thought that counts and the gag certainly garnered quite the reaction.
Kimmel also acknowledged the astonishing number of Irish actors present on the night, though he may have done so in a questionable manner. Referencing last year’s slap that rocked the nation, he said: “It was some year for diversity. We have nominees from every corner of Dublin. Five Irish actors are nominated tonight, which means the odds of another fight on stage just went way up.”
Elsewhere, Paul Mescal’s mother, Dearbhla, cut a dash on the champagne carpet, telling Variety that she trusted in her son’s ambition to become an actor, and had only ever imagined the day that he would be up for the most prestigious award in film. One more moment that no one saw coming? Brendan Gleeson shared a smooch with his Folie à Deux castmate ahead of her performance later in the night.
Claiming a grand total of seven awards on the night was the multiverse sci-fi epic, Everything Everywhere All at Once. Among these awards was the historic achievement of Michelle Yeoh, who became the first woman of Asian descent to win the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Tearfully presented to her by Halle Berry — the only other person of colour to have won the award — Yeoh’s acceptance speech was one of the most impactful on the night:
“For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities,” she said. “This is proof that … dreams do come true. And, ladies, don’t let anybody tell you you’re ever past your prime.”
Winner of Best Actor in a Supporting Role was Everything Everywhere All at Once’s Ke Huy Quan, whose speech stirred up real emotion in the audience. “My journey started on a boat. I spent a year in a refugee camp. And somehow I ended up here on Hollywood’s biggest stage. They say stories like this only happen in the movies. I cannot believe it’s happening to me. This is the American dream.”
Though the Irish may not have taken home all of the many nominations from this year’s Academy Awards, the achievement and excitement of this year’s ceremony will remain. Here is a full list of all winners from the 2023 Oscars.
WINNER
BRENDAN FRASER, The Whale
NOMINEES
AUSTIN BUTLER, Elvis
COLIN FARRELL, The Banshees of Inisherin
PAUL MESCAL, Aftersun
BILL NIGHY, Living
WINNER
KE HUY QUAN, Everything Everywhere All at Once
NOMINEES
BRENDAN GLEESON, The Banshees of Inisherin
BRIAN TYREE HENRY, Causeway
JUDD HIRSCH, The Fabelmans
BARRY KEOGHAN, The Banshees of Inisherin
WINNER
MICHELLE YEOH, Everything Everywhere All at Once
NOMINEES
CATE BLANCHETT, Tár
ANA DE ARMAS, Blonde
ANDREA RISEBOROUGH, To Leslie
MICHELLE WILLIAMS, The Fabelmans
WINNER
JAMIE LEE CURTIS, Everything Everywhere All at Once
NOMINEES
ANGELA BASSETT, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
HONG CHAU, The Whale
KERRY CONDON, The Banshees of Inisherin
STEPHANIE HSU, Everything Everywhere All at Once
WINNER
GUILLERMO DEL TORO’S PINOCCHIO
Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson, Gary Ungar and Alex Bulkley
NOMINEES
MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON
Dean Fleischer Camp, Elisabeth Holm, Andrew Goldman, Caroline Kaplan and Paul Mezey
PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH
Joel Crawford and Mark Swift
THE SEA BEAST
Chris Williams and Jed Schlanger
TURNING RED
Domee Shi and Lindsey Collins
WINNER
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
James Friend
NOMINEES
BARDO, FALSE CHRONICLE OF A HANDFUL OF TRUTHS
Darius Khondji
ELVIS
Mandy Walker
EMPIRE OF LIGHT
Roger Deakins
TÁR
Florian Hoffmeister
WINNER
BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER
Ruth Carter
NOMINEES
BABYLON
Mary Zophres
ELVIS
Catherine Martin
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
Shirley Kurata
MRS. HARRIS GOES TO PARIS
Jenny Beavan
WINNER
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
NOMINEES
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
Martin McDonagh
THE FABELMANS
Steven Spielberg
TÁR
Todd Field
TRIANGLE OF SADNESS
Ruben Östlund
WINNER
NAVALNY
Daniel Roher, Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller and Shane Boris
NOMINEES
ALL THAT BREATHES
Shaunak Sen, Aman Mann and Teddy Leifer
ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED
Laura Poitras, Howard Gertler, John Lyons, Nan Goldin and Yoni Golijov
FIRE OF LOVE
Sara Dosa, Shane Boris and Ina Fichman
A HOUSE MADE OF SPLINTERS
Simon Lereng Wilmont and Monica Hellström
WINNER
THE ELEPHANT WHISPERERS
Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga
NOMINEES
HAULOUT
Evgenia Arbugaeva and Maxim Arbugaev
HOW DO YOU MEASURE A YEAR?
Jay Rosenblatt
THE MARTHA MITCHELL EFFECT
Anne Alvergue and Beth Levison
STRANGER AT THE GATE
Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones
WINNER
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
Paul Rogers
NOMINEES
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
Mikkel E.G. Nielsen
ELVIS
Matt Villa and Jonathan Redmond
TÁR
Monika Willi
TOP GUN: MAVERICK
Eddie Hamilton
WINNER
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
Germany
NOMINEES
ARGENTINA, 1985
Argentina
CLOSE
Belgium
EO
Poland
THE QUIET GIRL
Ireland
WINNER
THE WHALE
Adrien Morot, Judy Chin and Annemarie Bradley
NOMINEES
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
Heike Merker and Linda Eisenhamerová
THE BATMAN
Naomi Donne, Mike Marino and Mike Fontaine
BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER
Camille Friend and Joel Harlow
ELVIS
Mark Coulier, Jason Baird and Aldo Signoretti
WINNER
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
Volker Bertelmann
NOMINEES
BABYLON
Justin Hurwitz
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
Carter Burwell
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
Son Lux
THE FABELMANS
John Williams
WINNER
NAATU NAATU
from RRR; Music by M.M. Keeravaani; Lyric by Chandrabose
NOMINEES
APPLAUSE
from Tell It like a Woman; Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
HOLD MY HAND
from Top Gun: Maverick; Music and Lyric by Lady Gaga and BloodPop
LIFT ME UP
from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever; Music by Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Goransson; Lyric by
Tems and Ryan Coogler
THIS IS A LIFE
from Everything Everywhere All at Once; Music by Ryan Lott, David Byrne and Mitski; Lyric by Ryan Lott and
David Byrne
WINNER
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert and Jonathan Wang, Producers
NOMINEES
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
Malte Grunert, Producer
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER
James Cameron and Jon Landau, Producers
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin and Martin McDonagh, Producers
ELVIS
Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick and Schuyler Weiss, Producers
THE FABELMANS
Kristie Macosko Krieger, Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner, Producers
TÁR
Todd Field, Alexandra Milchan and Scott Lambert, Producers
TOP GUN: MAVERICK
Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, David Ellison and Jerry Bruckheimer, Producers
TRIANGLE OF SADNESS
Erik Hemmendorff and Philippe Bober, Producers
WOMEN TALKING
Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Frances McDormand, Producers
WINNER
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
Production Design: Christian M. Goldbeck; Set Decoration: Ernestine Hipper
NOMINEES
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER
Production Design: Dylan Cole and Ben Procter; Set Decoration: Vanessa Cole
BABYLON
Production Design: Florencia Martin; Set Decoration: Anthony Carlino
ELVIS
Production Design: Catherine Martin and Karen Murphy; Set Decoration: Bev Dunn
THE FABELMANS
Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Karen O’Hara
WINNER
THE BOY, THE MOLE, THE FOX AND THE HORSE
Charlie Mackesy and Matthew Freud
NOMINEES
THE FLYING SAILOR
Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby
ICE MERCHANTS
João Gonzalez and Bruno Caetano
MY YEAR OF DICKS
Sara Gunnarsdóttir and Pamela Ribon
AN OSTRICH TOLD ME THE WORLD IS FAKE AND I THINK I BELIEVE IT
Lachlan Pendragon
WINNER
AN IRISH GOODBYE
Tom Berkeley and Ross White
NOMINEES
IVALU
Anders Walter and Rebecca Pruzan
LE PUPILLE
Alice Rohrwacher and Alfonso Cuarón
NIGHT RIDE
Eirik Tveiten and Gaute Lid Larssen
THE RED SUITCASE
Cyrus Neshvad
WINNER
TOP GUN: MAVERICK
Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor
NOMINEES
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
Viktor Prášil, Frank Kruse, Markus Stemler, Lars Ginzel and Stefan Korte
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER
Julian Howarth, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle, Dick Bernstein, Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers and Michael
Hedges
THE BATMAN
Stuart Wilson, William Files, Douglas Murray and Andy Nelson
ELVIS
David Lee, Wayne Pashley, Andy Nelson and Michael Keller
WINNER
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER
Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett
NOMINEES
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
Frank Petzold, Viktor Müller, Markus Frank and Kamil Jafar
THE BATMAN
Dan Lemmon, Russell Earl, Anders Langlands and Dominic Tuohy
BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER
Geoffrey Baumann, Craig Hammack, R. Christopher White and Dan Sudick
TOP GUN: MAVERICK
Ryan Tudhope, Seth Hill, Bryan Litson and Scott R. Fisher
WINNER
WOMEN TALKING
Screenplay by Sarah Polley
NOMINEES
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
Screenplay – Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson & Ian Stokell
GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY
Written by Rian Johnson
LIVING
Written by Kazuo Ishiguro
TOP GUN: MAVERICK
Screenplay by Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie; Story by Peter Craig and
Justin Marks
WINNER
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
Written by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert
NOMINEES
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
Written by Martin McDonagh
THE FABELMANS
Written by Steven Spielberg & Tony Kushner
TÁR
Written by Todd Field
TRIANGLE OF SADNESS
Written by Ruben Östlund