Oscar Wilde Awards roll out the green carpet for Hollywood's Irish stars

The Oscar Wilde Awards were hosted last night, Thursday, March 7, to again honor the Irish in entertainment, with special honors going to Pierce Brosnan, Molly Shannon, and Richie Baneham.

The event kicked off when Cillian Murphy, Oscar-nominated for “Oppenheimer,” popped by on his way to the Academy’s dinner for Best Actor nominees. 

March 7, 2024: Cillian Murphy at the Oscar Wilde Awards. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for the US-Ireland Alliance)

Other Oscar nominees in attendance included Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe, nominated for Best Picture with “Poor Things;” Robbie Ryan, nominated for Best Cinematography of the film; and Kemp Powers, nominated for Best Animated Feature Film for “Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse.”

March 7, 2024: Kemp Power and Donal Logue at the Oscar Wilde Awards. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for the US-Ireland Alliance)

Among the actors hitting Thursday night's green carpet were former Oscar Wilde Award honoree Maura Tierney, soon to be seen in “Twisters,” Jane Seymour, whose TV series “Harry Wild” is filmed in Ireland, Matt Walsh of “VEEP” fame, Donal Logue, and Jason O’Mara.

March 7, 2024: Maura Tierney at the Oscar Wilde Awards. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for the US-Ireland Alliance)

Also in attendance were Reinaldo Marcus Green, who just directed “Bob Marley: One Love,” Issa Lopez, director and writer of HBO’s wildly successful “True Detective Night Country,” and producer and director Rick Famuyiwa.

Thursday night’s “fun, casual party” was again hosted at J.J. Abrams and Katie McGrath’s Bad Robot production company in Santa Monica, California. Abrams, however, was unable to emcee the event due to Covid, but his long-time friend Greg Grunberg stepped in to do the honors.

James Cameron presented Richie Baneham with his award – the two worked together for many years on the “Avatar” films, with Baneham winning two Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects in 2010 and last year. Cameron joked that presenting Baneham with his award is the closest he’s getting to another Oscar “after the whole the 'King of the World' thing." 

Baneham movingly spoke of his years training in animation in Ireland, working with Cameron, and his life in LA, which includes many of his friends and colleagues from Dublin. 

March 7, 2024: Richard Baneham and James Cameron at the Oscar Wilde Awards. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for the US-Ireland Alliance)

Roma Downey, taking a page from Oscar Wilde, noted that Pierce Brosnan is someone who is “a true joy and a shining light wherever he goes.” Brosnan spoke eloquently about the importance of Ireland in his life and career. 

March 7, 2024: Pierce Brosnan and Roma Downy at the Oscar Wilde Awards. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for the US-Ireland Alliance)

In presenting to Molly Shannon, Grunberg noted that when she visited Ireland, she learned that her great grandfather was a seanchaí, the Irish word for storyteller, and “How fitting is it that Molly became an incredible seanchaí herself.” 

March 7, 2024: Greg Grunberg and Molly Shannon at the Oscar Wilde Awards. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for the US-Ireland Alliance)

Shannon spoke of her excitement about receiving this award as she’s been learning a lot about her Irish ancestry. She spoke of the influences of her Irish Catholic upbringing, her childhood crush on her Irish priest, and how her first grade, Irish American dance teachers inspired her "SNL" character Sally O’Malley.

Shannon said that when she was new to Hollywood in her twenties, trying get a break, “just like Oscar Wilde, I realized I might have to break the rules a little” and thus was born “the Mamet scam” wherein she and a friend pretended to be on the famous playwright’s team, calling casting directors and A-listers, recommending each other “on behalf of Mamet.” She thought Oscar Wilde would approve of her “Irish shenanigans.”