The Oscar-winning short film may have been called An Irish Goodbye, but the team behind the production were greeted with an Irish hello when they arrived at Dublin Airport on Thursday afternoon.
Fresh off a plane from Los Angeles following a “whirlwind” few days, Ross White, Pearce Cullen and James Martin were greeted with a guard of honour comprising Aer Lingus staff at the arrivals area in Terminal 2.
Mr White, who wrote and directed the short film with Tom Berkeley, said it felt a “bit daft” to be holding an Oscar, and he was “blown away” by the events of recent days.
“It’s been a remarkable trip and we just had the very best time. We said, regardless, we were going to have a good night whatever happened, but to walk away with this is really special,” he said, after landing in Dublin.
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“I feel like there’s going to be a lot of parties in the next few days.”
The team made headlines when they sung Happy Birthday to Mr Martin on the Oscars stage after winning their award. Mr Martin, one of the leading stars of the film, who became the first person with Down syndrome to win an Academy Award, was celebrating his 31st birthday.
“We joked about it for a long time, when we found out we were on the shortlist even and we knew it would be James’s birthday on the day of the Oscars,” Mr White said.
“We said if we managed to get up there, we would have to do it. We’re very glad to give this man a moment. His birthday came first, and the Oscars came second. It’s not a bad birthday present.”
Speaking at the airport, dressed in a leopard-print blazer and a T-shirt with a picture of an Oscar on it, Mr Martin said he is “feeling really well” and will “see what happens” in terms of future projects.
“We’ll see what door might open for me. Fingers crossed, we’ll just see what happens,” he said. “To bring the Oscar back here and be able to show it to everyone, that’s just fantastic.”
Meanwhile, Mr Cullen, the producer behind the short film, was greeted by his mother Celine and father Patrick, who said they are “so proud” of their son.
“We just touched down in Dublin, it’s going to take a wee while I think for it to fully sink in. I think I could do with a day on the beach sitting somewhere to just reflect on the madness of the last few weeks, but it’s just amazing to be part of the journey,” Mr Cullen said.
“I definitely didn’t see this coming. My dad had money on it apparently, but it’s something you always have to hope for. You have to go into every project thinking ‘yeah, it could win this’. If you believe in yourself, things can happen and they have really here for us.”
His mother Celine was overjoyed for her son: “It’s just a fantastic experience for Pearce. I’m only just absorbing the collective glory, it’s all down to him. It’s a real testament to the passion he has.”
