In pictures: Irish stars hit the green carpet for Oscar Wilde Awards in Santa Monica
Left: Charlie Hunnam, J.J. Abrams, Sarah Polley, Eve Hewson, Kerry Condon, Rhea Seehorn and Jessie Buckley. Right: Colm Bairéad and Cleona Ní Chrualaoí. Pictures: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for US-Ireland Alliance
Ahead of the much-anticipated Academy Awards, Irish stars gathered in Santa Monica on Thursday night to celebrate the annual Oscar Wilde Awards.
The green carpet saw a number of Irish and international stars including Eve Hewson and her parents Bono and Ali; Jamie and Damian Harris; Samantha Mumba; Fionnghuala "Fig" O'Reilly; Rea Seehorn; Charlie Hunnam; Sarah Polley, Frankie Shaw; Sarah Bolger; Colm Bairéad and the cast of An Cailín Ciúin; the cast of An Irish Goodbye; Katie McGrath and JJ. Abrams, as well as Minister Catherine Martin.
The pre-Oscars event celebrates the Irish contribution to the entertainment industry. This year, Thurles native and actress Kerry Condon and Killarney actress Jessie Buckley were honoured at the awards while Eve Hewson received the Wilde Card Award.
Eoghan MacSweeny, Graham Knox, Danny O'Reilly, Conor Egan and Róisín O attend the US-Ireland Alliance's 17th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards in Santa Monica, California. Picture: David Livingston/Getty Images
According to Trina Vargo, president of the US-Ireland Alliance: "The Wilde Card has been used to bring attention to rising talent who may not yet be a household name, but who we expect will be."
The first such award was presented in 2010 to a young Saoirse Ronan.
The Coronas performed on the night, with frontman Danny O'Reilly saying they felt "so lucky" to play the event, especially with the buzz around the Irish at this year's Oscars.
The US-Ireland Alliance's 17th Annual Oscar Wilde Awards took place before what will hopefully be a very memorable Oscars night for Irish talent.
Taking place on Sunday, the 95th Academy Awards has 14 Oscar nominations including a first-ever nomination for a movie in the Irish Language for An Cailín Ciúin. The Banshees of Inisherin is up for nine awards, while Aftersun has earned Paul Mescal his first Best Actor nomination.
Meanwhile, the Mescals have been keeping busy while in Los Angeles. Paul Mescal, who is up for an Oscar, and his siblings Donnacha and Nell, attended Vanity Fair and TikTok's Vanities Party which was a night for celebrating young Hollywood.
The Mescal family flew to LA from Dublin earlier this week as they prepared to support the Maynooth man at the ceremony on Sunday.
Paul Mescal's role in Aftersun earned him a nomination for this year's Oscars. Following the news of the nomination, the actor said he was planning on making the weekend a family affair.
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