By Stephen Hintz
Irish American Post West Coast Bureau

We all know that the Irish are great actors. 

Ask (or just lend your ear for that matter) any Irishman to tell you a story and he will regale you with great flourish, some embellished tale of his most fascinating walk to the pub last week. Completely transfixed, you will no doubt have difficulty separating the fact from the fiction. 

This, my friends, is the very definition of fine acting. 

Some of the greatest Irish talent of our generation were recognized this February at the Fourth Annual "Oscar Wilde: Honoring the Irish in Film" pre-Academy event hosted by the US-Ireland Alliance, a non-profit organization created to foster ties between the US and Ireland. The Celtic cinema blowout was held at the Ebell Hotel in Los Angeles. 

I took my place on the GREEN carpet and watched as the best and brightest actors, agents and musical talent strolled in to the party. 

The dignified Ebell was officially Irish for the night. Green spotlights illuminated the sky surrounding the fountain in the open air piazza just outside of the main greeting room. Waiters circulated, offered plates of shrimp and sweetmeats. 

Security lined the walls to keep all the hangers-on at bay. Anytime you assemble a room full of Irish entertainers, it's probably best to keep the muscle on the ready.

The bar briefly stopped serving Guinness and wine as the program geared up in a large, ornate meeting room. Charlie Koones, former publisher of Variety magazine and head of Rockmore Media, mc'd the event in grand fashion. After thanking the crowd, he moved right into presentation of the awards.

Brendan Gleeson is an acting workhorse. From the bellowing Hamish Campbell in Braveheart to the professorial "Mad-Eye" Moody in the popular Harry Potter series, Gleeson has acted in more than 60 films. In one of his most recent films, In Bruges, Gleeson stars alongside Irish hunk Colin Farrell. The Oscar nominated original screenplay was written by Martin McDonagh.

Actress Rose Byrne, who worked with Gleeson in the film Troy, presented the award to the absent actor who accepted from Dublin by video. Apparently, there was an illness in his family which precluded his on-site presence. 

Jonathan Rhys Meyers was recognized by Emmy Award winner Dana Delaney of Desperate Housewives. As a montage of Meyers work flashed on the screen, I reflected on how much this young man has accomplished. Perhaps best known for his work in the Woody Allen film, Match Point opposite Scarlett Johanssen, Meyers continues to wow audiences as King Henry VIII in the HBO show, The Tudors. At 31, the Dublin-born actor has performed in close to 40 films. 

Later on in the evening, I had a chance to ask Delaney about the evening and she naturally indicated that she was thrilled to be there. A fan of Irish music, she has yet to try the Irish dance, no matter how hard my pleading.

And lastly, raven-haired Hylda Queally, one of the hottest talent agents in the business, was recognized for her outstanding contribution to cinema by her Oscar-winning client Kate Winslet. Ah, Winslet. All smiles and tears, the two celebrated their professional filmdom journey together as Queally took the stand to accept the award.

Queally talked about her meandering career path. It was one that included a stint as a bank cashier and an airline hostess, and of receiving packages of hand-me-down clothes from her relatives in the United States, thinking as she opened them that she smelled the sweet odor of America. She has come to find out that the smell was actually Downy fabric softener. The desire to come to America, however, was cemented.

Speaking to her earlier on the Green Carpet, she told me, "The honoring of an agent is a little unusual." 

"We're usually behind the scenes, which is why we're behind the scenes, because we're more comfortable there," she said with a smile and a wink. "My mother convinced me to come." Queally hails from Barefield, a little town outside of Ennis in Co. Clare. 

"I had my own agency in Ireland when I was 22 and I moved to Los Angeles 20 years ago," she stated.

Shortly after our chat, I had the opportunity to ask Kate Winslet about the evening. She was the embodiment of charm and grace, clad in her simple black dress and brimming with effusive smiles.

"It's great to be on the GREEN carpet," she started, laughing as she took in the Irish-themed décor. 

When asked about how she felt being a presenter as opposed to a presented, she said that she was "really satisfying to see (Quelly) nervous and slightly out of control!" 

Winslet went on, "I got to meet her because I was going to New York for the first time and my English agent told me that I should really need to think about getting an American agent. I met her associate and I liked him very, very much. And we all eventually had lunch in London." 

She continued. "I was 17 and the idea of getting an American agent was REALLY terrifying, I was like what does that really mean, I didn't really know what that meant, whether it was important or not, but I knew that I really needed someone I could talk to…and I thought I think I can work with this American…and then I found out she was Irish!!!"

She smiled at Queally in the distance, "Little did I know how lucky I was." 
Other Queally clients in attendance to celebrate their agent that evening included Freida Pinto, star of Danny Boyle's award-busting film Slumdog Millionaire; Paris-born Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard; Australia’s Golden Globe nominee Rose Byrne; Abbie Cornish, another Aussie acting powerhouse; and Belfast’s own Jamie Dornan, whose wide-ranging skills including fashion modeling, folk music and acting. 

Grammy Award nominated singer Maura O'Connell sang a Clare song to honor Quelly, who hails from the same county in Ireland’s raw and rocky wild West. 

For more name dropping, in addition to Winslet, Penelope Cruz and Pinto, 2009 Oscar nominees floating through the crowd were screenwriter Robin Swicord, Redmond Morris, Nathan Crowley, Stephanie Green and Tamara Anghie. The award ceremony was followed by an evening of more cocktails, more food,more music and more Gaelic glad-handing. 

Spotted during the de rigueur circulating were peripatetic producer Harvey Weinstein; Tracey Ullman and Allan McKeown; Lions Gate vice chairman Michael Burns; CAA uber-agents Kevin Huvane and Bryan Lourd, producers Ron Yerxa, Alan Moloney and Morgan O'Sullivan and numerous A&R and film company execs, writers, directors, casting directors, agents and publicists.

The event was capped by outstanding performances by some of Ireland's most intriguing up-and-comers. 

Gemma Hayes (www.gemmahayes.com), one of eight children in a musical family from Ballyporeen in Co. Limerick, was the first musical act of the evening. A self-described "country bumpkin," she "started singing at 18, 19…quite late in the game. (Her) father was in a band for 15 years. It seemed like a natural thing to do," she explained.

I asked her where visitors could get the best pint in Ballyporeen and she suggested with a knowing grin, "Nelly's, the local pub, and they'll treat you WELL there."

Hayes played an acoustic set that warmed up the crowd for the soulful Dublin-born Laura Izibor (www.lauraizibor.com). Izibor's dazzling vocal range and smooth soul music have pegged her as an artist to watch. Her first single, "From My Heart to Yours," broke onto the Hot Adult R&B Airplay chart at No. 29. Izibor, 21, will also be sharing the stage with R&B star John Legend on their European Tour in the coming months. 

Izibor was ecstatic, barely containing her enthusiasm, telling me that she was happy "just to be here…I'm from Dublin, born and raised...celebrating Irish talent!"

Chris Rob (www.chrisrobmusic.com), Legend's former band leader, is now in charge Izibor's musicians and sees endless potential for the young crooner. 

Rob's brother, Craig Robinson, actor of Pineapple Express fame, was also partying-hearty, seen doing a phenomenal Chicago Two-Step on the dance floor.

The Republic of Loose took the stage as the last act of the night. Frontman Dubliner Mick Pyro looks every bit the lounge singer. His melodic hooks and soulful Irish rockabilly-hipster-R&B modus operandi had the entire party on their collective feet, dancing like it was just before a Garda raid on the local shebeen. The Republic’s new album Aaargh is out now and taking Ireland by the proverbial storm. Definitely this a band to keep an eye on and an ear tuned toward (www.republicofloose.com).

Looking on at the revelers, Trina Vargo, US/Ireland Alliance president and resident maven, summed it up the best. She understated, "A fantastic event." 

Previous honorees at what has become an A-list pre-Oscar bash includes James L. Brooks, Colm Meaney, Fiona Shaw, Van Morrison, Terry George, Bill Monahan, Neil Jordan, Jim Sheridan and David Holmes. Major sponsors of the event included American Airlines, Quinlan Private, Culture Ireland and Walt Disney Studios. 

When the last pint was drained, the last step-dance danced, the last back slapped, the last deal handshaked, the last "my man will talk to your man" and the last Waterford crystal slipper lost, the Ebell’s on-staff leprechauns busied themselves rolling up the Green Carpet. 

Pots of real Oscar gold were delivered several days later for Winslet as best actress and Danny Boyle and his Slumdogs for a host of awards. Ain’t green grand.

Visit www.us-irelandalliance.org for more information.