Last Thursday night in Hollywood saw the launch of the first ever Oscar Wildes, hosted by the US-Ireland Alliance, an event honoring Irish writing in film. It has has already been nicknamed the 'Irish Oscars'. Jim Sheridan, Neil Jordan and David Holmes were honoured at the event for their contributions to the big screen.

"It's a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the depth of talent in the Irish film industry and highlight the recent improvements to our tax incentive Section 481, " said Naoise Barry, film commissioner at the Irish Film Board, one of the evening's sponsors.

But while the leading Irish acting talent will be familiar to everyone, the depth of ex-pat involvement in Hollywood doesn't just extend to those who appear in front of the camera. Here some of the lesser-known Irish stars of the movies. . .

MICHELE BURKE MAKE-UP ARTIST "I learned my craft on the job and from the few books that were available at the time" Double-Oscar-winning Kildare native Michele Burke says she stumbled on her career as a make-up artist. "I have always loved art and wanted to find a 'hobby' that would encompass the passion. I had a fascination with the cover girls that appear in magazines. I wondered how they could look the way they do." Burke enrolled in a course, with a view to pursuing make-up as a hobby. "After the course I became a demonstrator for Revlon in department stores. I also did a lot of makeovers, magazine shoots and fashion shows. Then I had the opportunity to work for a film make-up artist on a few projects. No pay, but I loved it. From there I started to slowly assemble my portfolio."

After winning the second Oscar ever awarded for make-up, (for Quest for Fire), Burke started to receive a lot of calls from Hollywood producers and directors. She felt the time was right to move from her Canadian base. "I was a big fish in a small pond in Canada, but I thought I should face the beast. I had to see if I could make it as a make-up artist in Los Angeles."

Now 15 years in LA, and with two Oscars and six nominations under her belt, Burke's film credentials are incredibly diverse; they include such movies as Bram Stoker's Dracula (which netted her her second statuette), Minority Report, As Good As It Gets, Vanilla Sky, Austin Powers 2 and 3, The Cell and Jerry Maguire. Having just completed work on Mission Impossible 3, things are moving faster than ever.

In addition to her film work, Michele also does make-up for print. "Most exciting for me now is a new make-up and skincare line that I am developing, which will use many indigenous Irish ingredients."

DAVID FLYNN FILM PRODUCER "My goal for 2006 is to bring some childhood Irish legends to the big screen, something I have been working on for many years" As well as producing movies, Dubliner David Flynn runs a management company, Chaos Management, representing writers, directors and actors. Prior to starting his own business, Flynn worked as an agent at International Creative Management in Los Angeles.

"Apart from working non-stop for my clients, I am in postproduction on Seraphim Falls, an American civil war drama which stars Pierce Brosnan, Liam Neeson and Anjelica Houston, " he says. "It was a great personal feat, as Bruce Davey, who produced Braveheart, financed the movie and John Toll, who won an Oscar for Braveheart, shot the movie. David Von Ancken wrote and directed an incredible script." Flynn is about to go in to production on two other movies, 96 Minuteswhich is being compared to Crash, and a British gangster movie called Bank Robber Diaries.

Flynn's break came when he got a job as a production assistant on Braveheart, when the film was shooting in Ireland.

People he worked for on Braveheart offered him a job in Los Angeles. That was 10 years ago.

What does he think of life in the city of angels? "It's all good.

LA is one the few places in the world where film is a business.

People can make a life living off their creativity. I love film so I love LA, though Ireland is with me every day.

DEIRDRE O'NEILL EVENT MANAGER "I liked it so much I haven't left yet" Deirdre O'Neill will most definitely deserve to live it up in the party town that Hollywood becomes this weekend. Her event management company, the O'Neill Group, was responsible for the production of the hugely successful US-Ireland Alliance's Oscar Wilde event last Thursday night.

Originally from Dublin, Deirdre began her career in the marketing department of B&I Line. After stopping off in California . . . on her way home to Ireland after a year out in Australia . . . she decided to make it her home.

Now married to Londoner Dean Machin and living in Orange County, Deirdre thankfully hasn't turned into a Hollywood stereotype. "Orange County is about 50 miles south of Los Angeles, famously known now as the OC, and no offence to the producers of that show, but life isn't quite like that here!"

O'Neill worked as an event manager for various companies.

Then she realised she could do it herself and started her own business. The O'Neill Group specialises in conferences and product and press launches and has been asked to work on quite a few Irish-backed events, including the Huston Gala for University College Galway in Beverly Hills and with the Irish Film Board on the US press launch of the film Lassie.

"I hate the traffic, but love the weather, the beaches, the outdoor lifestyle and the golf, " O'Neill says of southern California.

"I miss my family, however. My job ensures that I am back in Dublin a few times a year. There are great opportunities afforded to you in California, and being Irish helps."

STEVE BRENNAN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER "I heard one day that they were looking for a 'syndication reporter.'

I had no idea what that was" Steve Brennan had been a reporter for the Irish Independent, covering a variety of subjects. But his interest was in reporting on the entertainment scene, particularly the Irish film industry. "Or what there was of it back then!" he jokes.

"Then I made my first trip to Hollywood to interview some Irish actors and directors. I just loved the ambience of Hollywood and started coming back time and time again with my [Dublin actress] wife Bernadette O'Neill for visits.

"When I first arrived in Hollywood I filed stories back to the Indo, including my first coverage of the Oscars. Jim Sheridan's movie My Left Foot was the big Irish presence that year.

Meanwhile, I was pursuing a job at the Hollywood Reporter offices on Sunset Boulevard in the heart of Hollywood."

Not surprisingly, the Hollywood Reporter, considered the entertainment business's bible, wasn't too interested in this Irish lad with no Hollywood contacts. "The Reporter is as much an icon in this town as the Hollywood sign, " says Brennan.

But when he heard that the paper was looking for a new syndication reporter, he threw his hat in the ring. Brennan landed a three month try-out, 16 years ago.

Today, as international editor, Brennan oversees worldwide coverage from dozens of correspondents and bureaus in Canada, Britain, China, France, Italy and Germany, and writes an international entertainment column called 'The Sharper Picture'. The Reporter stories reach more than a million readers a day through various media outlets.

Brennan is currently developing a documentary series with his wife Bernadette and Irish producer Paul Howard about the history of the Irish in Hollywood. He is also writing a book to accompany the series.

JEFFREY CAINE SCREENWRITER "Brokeback Mountain is going to win" Jeffrey Caine says he's feeling resigned about the Oscars tonight. His critically acclaimed screen adaptation of John le Carre's novel The Constant Gardener has been nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, alongside Brokeback Mountain, Capote, A History of Violence and Munich.

The former English teacher began his career in the early '80s working on the UK soap Crossroads, which he describes as a "not very prestigious beginning but an excellent way to learn the screencraft". Caine adapted his novel The Horning for a small independent production company run by Barbara Broccoli (wife of Chubby Broccoli, producer of the Bond movies).

This connection proved fortunate for Caine as Broccoli later signed him to pen the screenplay for Pierce Brosnan's first outing as James Bond in Goldeneye. His other credits included Inside I'm Dancing for which he won the Best Script award at the 2004 Irish Film and Television Awards.

Based in Cork for the last 11 years, Jeffrey is one of the country's most successful screenwriters. About his line of work, he says that "they won't hire you until you've worked out your story in detail, which is the hardest part of the task. It's like having an interior decorator come by to give you an estimate and making him paint and paper half your house before you even consider him for the job."

He has his hands full at the moment, working on adaptations of Elmore Leonard's Swag and James Buchan's The Persian Bride.

And what about tonight? What does Caine think his chances are of walking away with the little golden statuette?

"If for some reason Brokeback Mountain doesn't get the Oscar, then Capotewill. I would be absolutely floored if I did.

Really I don't think I will win, which is liberating, as I don't have to be sitting there fretting about it. Not this year, but maybe in a couple of years time."

DONNACHADA DALY ANIMATOR "The only difference is that I have to use a pencil, or now, a computer to bring a character to life" Donnachada Daly sees his job as an animator being very much like that of an actor. "I have to make an inanimate object perform a character piece and breathe life in to it." Daly, a DreamWorks employee for the last 10 years, is as busy as ever.

"I have just finished animating on Over The Hedge for DreamWorks, " he says. Previous to that he was directing animator on Shrek and Shrek 2, as well as supervising animator on Madagascar.

Born in Dublin, Daly started off as a cell painter for Sullivan Bluth when he was 16. "Once I heard the studio opened, I couldn't wait to get in. Before that, there was very little opportunity to do animation in Ireland."

Daly worked at Bluth for eight years before departing for the States. The experience he gained at the studio was vital, he says. "It was the best training I could have hoped for. Working my way through the various departments gave me a great knowledge of the production process."

His next job is on Flushed Away, a co-production between Aardman (Wallace and Gromit) and DreamWorks Animation.

"I always wanted to work in California. I think that came from watching those weekly Disney shows that were on the TV.

There was always something about it that seemed special.

Also I knew that I wanted to work with the talented artists that came here to be a part of the animation industry. It is a very international community."

Check out http: //almostdailyblog. blogspot. com for Daly's daily blog. "It's a new form for artists to communicate through and put their stuff out there, " he says.