Two young Dublin brothers recall how a meeting with Oscar nominee Barry Keoghan inspired them and why The Banshees of Inisherin star is their favourite for an award at the Oscars on Sunday night.
With Oscar fever hitting the country no one is more excited than brothers Alex and Cal Moore from Cabra. Both met Keoghan at the launch of Barretstown's Aladina studios last summer when the star was also unveiled as a Barretstown Ambassador, lending his support to the charity which helps children affected by serious illness.
Alex, the older of the two siblings was diagnosed with cancer in 2019 and underwent a year of gruelling treatment and operations at Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin supported all the way by his loving parents Louise and Stephen and sibling Cal.
During Alex’s treatment, he spent time at Barretstown, the largest provider of therapeutic programmes in Ireland for children affected by serious illnesses. To date, it has helped over 85,000 children and family members to rebuild the confidence that a serious illness can take away.
A year on from that fateful trip to Barretstown, energetic Alex who has Hollywood aspirations of his own is in flying spirits and enjoying getting back to normality. For this weekend, all eyes are on LA, with Alex and younger brother Cal getting the preparations underway for Sunday night’s show - with a bucket of popcorn a must on the list!
Dee Ahearn, Chief Executive at Barretstown said: "We are incredibly proud of Barry’s achievements and thrilled to have him as an ambassador for Barretstown.
"We remember with great joy and fondness his visit to Barretstown last March. The excitement and fun he brought to the children was incredible."
The 95th Academy Awards take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday night and will be broadcast on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player on Monday from 9:30pm.
