Gabriel Byrne was honored with the Irish Film and Television Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to him by the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, on February 15.

This was such a special occasion for him! Everyone was happy and supportive and the response on Twitter and in the press was overwhelmingly positive, as we would expect.

Below you will find Gabriel on the red carpet and at the podium, accepting his award. Tweeted responses to this gala evening for Gabriel have been compiled and there are screenshots of his acceptance speech. The speech itself, transcribed for easy translating, is at the end.

Enjoy Gabriel’s evening the spotlight! He is always in the spotlight for us, but on this night, he belonged to his countrymen and women and the rest of the world who tuned in! heart

On the Red Carpet

We know that the red carpet is not Mr. Byrne’s favorite place to be. But this night was special and Gabriel used the opportunity, as is his way, to speak out about the things that matter to him.

Watch

The IFTA Awards Highlights Show is a condensed version of the evening. Gabriel’s acceptance speech is a shortened version of the original, but it is all we have now, so enjoy!

Waiting to receive awards is nerve-wracking…

Click this image to see Gabriel’s acceptance speech via the RTÉ Player

The introduction by President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins and tributes from friends and colleagues, including Richard E. Grant, Emily Watson, and Brendan Gleeson, as well as film clips, start at the 40:00 minute marker.

Gabriel’s acceptance speech begins at @ 44:20. The video will be available until March 19, so be sure to watch before then! The transcription of Gabriel’s speech is at the end of this posting.

Standing ovation and much phone action!

Acting is easier than speechifying…

 

General Gushing

Transcription of Gabriel’s acceptance speech

[Much applause and whistling as Gabriel approaches the stage to accept the award from President Higgins]

Thank you for that.

You know, this award is meaningful to me.

And when you look back on one’s –your–life and the decisions that you’ve taken, sometimes with great premeditation, sometimes on instinct, and you get to a place where you look back and you see the reverberations of those decisions: the decision to leave Dublin was a huge one for me. It was just that I had to prove something to myself, I suppose.

But there was a time when work and life were inextricably bound up together for me, and I had to admit that, to a certain extent, my work was my identity. And I came to learn that life and work are two very different things. And imperceptibly, they started to diverge. When we consider the kind of lives that we’ve led, you look back at the successes, the failures, the doubts, the insecurities, the fears, the regrets, and the great gratitude that you have to have been given all those things, including the failures–I’ve always maintained that you learn more from failure than you do from any kind of success.

Thank you to all those brilliant actors in the room, those young actors that are coming up now. God, it’s so moving to see it because I remember talking to Liam Neeson about this. We were the only two in America, they didn’t know where we came from!

I’d also like to thank, on a personal level, my darling, beautiful wife, Hannah Beth.

Thank you.

What a night! Gabriel was in a reflective mood, as one might be when faced with a lifetime achievement award. But there was joy, too. Not a man to rest on his laurels, reports of a new film project began circulating even as he was standing on the stage holding his IFTA Award. And we can’t wait! Congratulations once again to our favorite Irishman! heart

4 Comments

  1. Congratulations from Germany, too!!!

    Elf

  2. Violetta

    Wonderful night! So many warm words from Gabriel’s colleagues and his audience. I’m so glad and very proud for him on receiving The Award. Wishing Gabriel Byrne all good things in life and many new projects ❤

  3. What a beautiful gift to herald the young up and comers and remind them (and us) to separate identity and work and to embrace Insecurities, regrets and failures as something to learn from….Always the teacher Gabriel but never preachy. Beautiful and humble acceptance speech.

    Angelle

  4. DORA BARALIA

    EACH DAY MY ADMIRATION FOR THAT GREAT MAN GROWS, THROUGH ALL HIS DIFFERENT WORKS, CINEMA, THEATRE, CULTURE, AND ALL THAT HE DOES FOR HIS COUNTRY AROUND THE WORLD, REALLY HE IS AN EXAMPLE FOR PEOPLE, ACTOR AND PHILANTHROPIC, AND A PRIDE FOR IRELAND. THANKS STELLA FOR THIS SPECIAL MOMENT, AND IN THE WOMAN’S WEEK, ALL MY FEELING FOR YOU AND MY FELLOWS IN THIS PAGE, GOOD LIFE FOR ALL YOU …

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