Tallaght animator Richard Baneham wins at Oscars

TALLAGHT animator Richard Baneham picked up the Oscar for Best Visual Effects at last night’s gala event in Los Angeles.

Richard and his colleagues received the Oscar for their work on Avatar: The Way of Water.

A former student of Ballyfermot College of Further Education, Richard won an Oscar back in 2010 for his visual effects work on the first Avatar movie.

In a tweet last night, Ballyfermot College said: “Absolutely over the moon for our grad Richie Baneham [on] winning his second Oscar”.

President Michael D Higgins also congratulated Richard on his win and the team behind An Irish Goodbye, which won the Best Live-Action Short Film Oscar.

President Higgins also extended his congratulations to Colin Farrell, Paul Mescal, Kerry Condon, Brendan Gleeson, Barry Keoghan, Jonathon Redmond and all involved with An Cailín Ciúin and The Banshees of Inisherin.

“This has been a remarkable year for the Irish film industry and is a testament to the hard work of some many people over recent decades”, the President said.

Earlier this month, Richard’s parents Micheal and Noeleen spoke with The Echo, after their son picked up a BAFTA for his visual effects work on The Way of Water.

Richard with his parents Michael and Noeleen after his BAFTA win last month

In recent weeks, Richard was spotted out and about in local spots with his BAFTA, including The Edge Café, the Old Mill and Dominic’s Community Centre.

Michael and Noeleen are “hugely proud of Richard and his five siblings” as they are “all grounded, great children”.

Originally from Ballyfermot, the Baneham family moved to Avonbeg before settling in Old Bawn in 1987.

Richard’s mother Noleen told The Echo: “Richard was always into film, but he was always a really creative and artistic boy.

“I would read fantasy stories to Richard and his brothers and sisters.

“He’s very passionate and achieves anything he puts his mind to.

“He thinks outside the box, even when Richard was very young, he would take things apart just to see how they worked – that’s the type of child he was.”