Colin Farrell and Martin McDonagh at the 80th annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles
(Picture: AP/PA)The Banshees of Inisherin won Best Motion Picture for a Musical or Comedy at the 2023 Golden Globes on Tuesday night.
Colin Farrell also won Best Actor for the film, in which he portrayed Pádraic Súilleabháin. He thanked director Martin McDonagh in his acceptance speech, saying: “Martin McDonagh, I owe you so much, man.
“Fourteen years ago, you put me in work with Brendan Gleeson, my dance partner, and you changed the trajectory of my life for ever in ways that I, begrudgingly, will be grateful to you for the rest of my days.”
McDonagh had previously worked with Farrell and fellow Irishman Gleeson in In Bruges.
Who is Martin McDonagh?
Martin Faranan McDonagh was born in London and is a British-Irish playwright.
He is also a producer, director, and screenwriter and has won several awards for his gift of storytelling.
McDonagh was born on March 26, 1970, in Camberwell, London to Irish parents. He has a brother, named John Michael McDonagh, who is also a director and screenwriter.
His father was from Leitir Mealláin, Connemara, County Galway, and his mother was from Killeenduff, Easky, County Sligo.
He spent many of his early years on holiday in Ireland with his family, which is why many of his films take place in the Green Isles or feature Irish characters.
McDonagh is famed for his use of black humour, thought-provoking dialogue, and drawing on inspiration from Ireland.
His award-winning exploits include winning an Academy Award, four Bafta Awards, three Laurence Olivier awards and now a Golden Globe for his latest film The Banshees of Inisherin.
Enjoy every second of it, Martin McDonagh. Congratulations on your 👏 WIN 👏 for Best Screenplay - Motion Picture for the film @banshees_movie! #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/PMrNx62RxE
— Golden Globe Awards (@goldenglobes) January 11, 2023
However, he began his writing career by scripting radio plays.
Although none of them were ever produced, they taught the young writer about dialogue and storytelling. This is all a person needs for theatre, he says.
For his first play, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, McDonagh won the 1996 Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Playwright. This made its debut at the Town Hall Theatre in Galway, in the west of Ireland, in 1996.
At the age of 27, McDonagh was the first playwright since Shakespeare to have four plays running simultaneously in London’s West End.
Other notable plays from McDonagh include The Cripple of Inishmaan (1996), The Lieutenant of Inishmore (2001), The Pillowman (2003) and A Very Very Very Dark Matter (2018).
McDonagh’s successful films include In Bruges (2008), Seven Psychopaths (2012) and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) — which won four awards at the 2017 Golden Globes, including Best Screenplay.
McDonagh has been in a relationship with actress and writer, Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge, since 2018.
He lives in east London, is a strict vegetarian and holds dual citizenship in both the UK and Ireland.
