Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Dublin Live
Dublin Live
National
Kim O'Leary

An Post paints two postboxes gold in Ballyfermot and Tallaght in honour of Oscar winner Richie Baneham

Oscar winner Richie Baneham has been honoured in his home areas of Ballyfermot and Tallaght with two gold post boxes.

Last week, An Post painted the two postboxes gold to celebrate Richie's win at the Oscars for best visual effects for his work on Avatar: The Way of Water. Richie is a veteran animator who has worked on several big-name projects like The Lord of The Rings trilogy, the Chronicles of Narnia films, and more.

He studied Animation in Ballyfermot College of Further Education from 1990 until 1994, and is one of the country’s most successful animators and visual effects supervisors. And now there is a pillar box painted gold outside his former college in Ballyfermot to celebrate Richie's achievements in the film world, and there's also a second gold post box near his family home in Old Bawn in Tallaght.

Read more: Ryan Tubridy quit Late Late show due to spotlight, pals say

In a statement, a spokesman for An Post told Dublin Live: "We are proud to say we’ve marked Richie Baneham’s Avatar Oscar by painting the postbox at Ballyfermot College of Further Education on Ballyfermot Rd (Convent). Richie studied Animation in Ballyfermot College of Further Education from 1990 until 1994.

“An Post last turned postboxes gold for our Gold medal winners at the 2021 Paralympics and Olympics. Our postboxes have seen everything down through the years but not many get the chance to celebrate a genuine world beater like Richie," they added.

US visual effects artist Richard Baneham (C) accepts the Oscar for Best Visual Effects for "Avatar: The Way of Water" (Patrick T. Fallon/ Getty)

Ballyfermot College of Further Education's principal Cecilia Munro, recently told Dublin Live that Richie is a keen supporter of the college and has visited the college on a number of occasions during his return visits. He has met with current animation students offering advice, support and insights.

She said: “Richie came with an abundance of creativity to the college and the college just, I suppose, showed him the rudiments and allowed him to be creative.” Meanwhile, Richie’s proud father Michael also came to the college recently with his son’s new BAFTA award and spoke about his son’s achievements.

The college now has an impressive ten Oscar nominations among its former students, as Tomm Moore and Paul Young’s Wolfwalkers was nominated for an Oscar in 2021 and Nora Twomey was nominated for her directorial debut The Breadwinner in 2018.

READ NEXT:

Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.