Top stars treated to Maltesers at ‘glam’ event
IT promised to be the most glamorous showbusiness night of the year, with Hollywood stars jetting in, extravagant goodie bags, and a top-notch aftershow party.
And, given that attendees had to pay €380 for a ticket, they should have expected that money to pay for a night of luxury.
But the Irish Mail on Sunday can reveal that this year’s Iftas ceremony was, in fact, a thrifty – or perhaps miserly – affair.
The creme de la creme of Ireland’s film and TV industry stepped off the red carpet to be treated to... €7 bottles of wine and Maltesers.
The awards ceremony at Dublin’s Mansion House was billed as the glitziest night of the year for the Irish showbiz world and attracted names like Barry Keoghan, Victoria Smurfit and Caitriona Balfe.
But with major absentees like Liam Neeson, Cillian Murphy and Saoirse Ronan, for some of the Ifta audience it was a damp squib – and an expensive one at that.
The celebrations were marred for a number of nominees who were forced to pay Ifta €380 for the honour of bringing their nearest and dearest to the event.
‘It is a huge thing to have to pay that amount of money’, one guest told the MoS. ‘Getting nominated is a big deal, but if you aren’t in regular work it is a big ask to find that money before you buy a drink.
‘Most awards ceremonies give you a plus-one, but for some reason Ifta charges you for a guest ticket.
Corporate guests were charged €5,000 for a table of ten – and each one was given a ribbon-wrapped box of Maltesers to go with their bottles of bargain-bin-priced Júlia Florista Wine.
The Portuguese wine is currently on sale from O’Brien’s off-licence for €7.99, or two for €15.
The MoS understands that Ifta bought 350 bottles – 240 red, 110 white – at €6.20 plus VAT. This works out around €7.60 a bottle.
Guests were served a wild mushroom and goat’s cheese salad for starters, a roast sirloin of beef dinner with celeriac and maple mash, carrots and seasonal greens, followed by a lemon meringue ‘jar’.
This year only nominees received a goodie bag. Unlike the Oscars, where the cost of swag bags runs to $100,000, the Iftas ‘gift’ was a rather more humble affair.
The bag included samples of Ballymaloe relish, a Peter Mark voucher, hairspray and a copy of Cara, Aer Lingus’s magazine.
‘There wasn’t a huge amount in the bags so I don’t know why everyone didn’t get one,’ said the attendee.
And the disappointment didn’t end there. Ray Shah, the Big Brother star and DJ, was booked to play after the awards but, the guest said, so many people were ‘sardined into the room to sell as many tickets as possible’, it was impossible to mingle.
‘Nobody hung around until the end and the atmosphere vanished after the awards were handed out. Everyone headed into town to continue the party elsewhere.’
It is a huge ‘ask’ to pay that amount of money