Streete rolls out red carpet

The Streete Night at the OsKaRs has now come and gone but the after-parties and celebrations continued, according to some of those involved.

The event, held at the Longford Arms Hotel on Saturday week last, was the culmination of months of fundraising efforts aimed at developing the facilities at Streete Parish Park.

A committee was formed to spearhead the fundraising project in early 2024, and they soon hit on the idea of hosting a community OsKaRs night. The theme captured the imagination of locals, and last weekend’s gala night featured seven films for which local cast members recreated scenes from The Full Monty, The Field, Goodfellas, The Snapper, Calendar Girls, Forrest Gump, and Baby Reindeer.

Joan Reid Devine opened the evening with a warm welcome to attendees and praise for the organising team, actors, and sponsors. “Of course, the real stars of tonight are the amazing actors and actresses,” Joan said, before expressing her gratitude to the sponsors whose generosity made the event possible.

Dave Harrington from Kevin Rowe events kept the crowd entertained as the host, adding humour and charm to the proceedings.

The films were shown on a big screen, bringing a cinematic touch to the event, and after the screenings, the excitement continued as awards were handed out.

There were two major awards: for ‘Best Movie of the Night’, decided by a panel of judges – Ciaran Mullooly, Eileen Dunne, and Micheál Carrigy; and the ‘Your Choice’ award, decided by an audience vote.

The winners were: Best Movie, Judges’ Choice, The Field; Best Location, The Field; Best Comedic Scene, Calendar Girls; Best Dramatic Scene, Goodfellas; Female supporting actor, Orla Kelly (The Snapper); Male supporting actor, Mark Butler; Best Female Actor, Sinéad Gogan (Baby Reindeer); Best Male Actor, Conor O’Farrell, (Forrest Gump); the Best Movie, People’s Choice, The Full Monty.

There were many highlights on a night when the atmosphere was amazing. Ciaran Mullooly (judge) posted on Facebook after the event “OsKaRs movie night was a huge success and I was delighted to assist with the judging. Community spirit is alive and well in Streete and €90,000 was raised for the park development. We also had a great laugh so worth every euro!”

The chairperson of the event, Kevin Brady, confirmed that: “The goal number was something of our dreams, and now we’re at almost €100,000,” emphasising the tremendous success of the ongoing fundraising efforts.

“It was a definitely a night to remember and one which will go down in the history books; the sheer delight from our cast, crew, extras, and members of our wider community was clear as we all celebrated in the company of family and friends.

“The Parish Park Development Committee can barely express enough how grateful we are to every one of you who stood by us believed in us and supported us all the way.

“The films were superb, the acting magnificent, and the friendships made over the past few months are now unbreakable.

“For anyone who could not attend, we will bring the OsKaRs home to our community centre on a night yet to be arranged, and who knows, we might even have a little special performance as well.

“Again, thank you if it was not for your help and support this night would not have happened.”