The team behind An Irish Goodbye bring Oscar home for St. Patrick’s Day weekend

Set on a working farm in rural Northern Ireland, An Irish Goodbye is a black comedy about the reunion of estranged brothers Turlough and Lorcan after the death of their mother.

One of the film’s stars said he “can’t believe” he’s coming home with an Oscar after the film previously won a Bafta.

Belfast native James Martin, who plays Lorcan in the film, which won the Oscar for best live-action short, said the project’s success was beginning to wane.

Martin celebrated his birthday on the same night as the Oscars, and the crowd at the Dolby Theater sang Happy Birthday to him.

“It was a really nice birthday present,” he said.

When asked what’s next for the new Hollywood star, he said: “We’ll see what doors might open for me. Lets see what happens.”

His “very proud mother” Suzanne Martin said she could “feel the love and support from the island of Ireland”.

“He presented himself really well. He has a really good work ethic and takes a very professional approach to his work,” she said.

Ms Martin said they have a busy weekend ahead of them full of celebrations, including meeting the President and appearing on the Late Late Show.

“What a dream weekend,” she said.

When asked how she would cap next year’s birthday celebrations, Ms Martin said: “I don’t know what we’re going to do next year and he’s going to be looking for something. But nothing will be better than these guys singing Happy Birthday, Colin Farrell giving it the thumbs up, Brendan Gleeson everywhere.”

Ross White, who directed alongside Tom Berkeley, said it was “a bit silly” to hold an Oscar at Dublin Airport.

Reflecting on the film’s making process, Ross said the experience was “amazing.”

“When you make a short film about a small farm in Northern Ireland, you don’t think of those lofty heights. And to be with the boys on this man’s birthday was just amazing,” he said.

He added that they were blown away when the film’s title was announced as the winner.

“The last thing I remember was Paul Mescal giving me a thumbs up in the aisle, which was bizarre,” he said.

“Then we went up, happy birthday, and the rest was history,” he added.

“We are overwhelmed. It was a remarkable trip, we had the best time and said we’d celebrate anyway,” he said.

“It’s great to be home again and we look forward to driving up the road to Belfast for another little homecoming.

“I have a feeling there’s going to be a lot of parties – and St. Patrick’s is doing pretty well too!”

White said he always kept his statuette close at hand.

“I’ll keep it somewhere in the house. It’s a bit crazy to think that this Oscar will live in East Belfast. I’m sure everyone in Belfast will get their hands on this Oscar at some point,” he added.

The duo spent their time in Los Angeles well, partying with Sir Elton John and attending the Vanity Fair event.

Martin said Sir Elton was a “fantastic person who knows how to party” and James Corden was “a good mover”.

“He went up to James Corden and asked him, ‘Is Jennifer Anniston here too?’ That’s what we were looking for, unfortunately we haven’t met her yet,” White said.

He added that he is working with Berkeley on his third short film, due out later this year.

“Then we have to lock ourselves in a room somewhere and work on our debut film,” he said.

“That’s the blessing of something like this, hopefully it speeds up that process.”

Producer Pearce Cullen from Dungannon in Co Tyrone also came home.

“It was fantastic. Now that we’ve landed on Earth, it’s slowly starting to sink in,” he said.

Cullen’s mother, Celine, said there was still a sense of “disbelief” in the family.

“Seeing him standing there in LA has just been an amazing journey and it’s wonderful to see him coming home,” she said.

“I hope it’s something he will cherish for the rest of his life because I know I will,” she added.