LEFT: Dillon Cullinan, of the family which owns Portlick Castle in Athlone, worked on visual effects for the blockbuster sequel to Avatar. Dillon, holding the Oscar statuette, is pictured alongside the film’s executive producer Richie Baneham after it won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. RIGHT: Portlick Castle.

An Athlone connection to Avatar's Oscar win

Adrian Cusack

Published: Thu 23 Mar 2023, 5:46 PM

Last updated: Thu 23 Mar 2023, 6:32 PM

The prospect of some Hollywood stars visiting the shores of Lough Ree has emerged after a member of the family that owns the historic Portlick Castle in Athlone contributed to last week's Oscar win for 'Avatar: The Way of Water'.

Dillon Cullinan, son of the California-based owner of the castle, Vincent Cullinan, was part of the visual effects team for the Avatar sequel which was released last December and is now among the highest-grossing films of all time.

Dillon spent several years working on the movie, and his team's efforts were rewarded when it won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects. He has been to Athlone on a number of occasions since his family purchased the twelfth-century Portlick property, which is also known as Dillon Castle, in December 2020.

Speaking to the Westmeath Independent on Monday, his father, Vincent, described the family's connection to the Academy Award success as a proud and exciting moment.

"From a young age, Dillon has always played with cameras, so you could tell this was his passion in life. He's always had an interest in the arts and music, but primarily in film-editing and directing."

Dillon previously directed short films and music videos, and he is currently working on the next release in the Avatar series, which is due in December 2024.

He said he would love to use Portlick Castle as the setting for a film project someday.

"You could set up a camera anywhere in the grounds of that place and it would look amazing," he remarked. "I like walking around there and thinking about the history of it, and all the lives that were there before.

"I have been lucky enough to travel a lot but there's no place in the world where I end up talking to strangers more, and having a great time, than in Ireland and especially in Athlone."

Portlick Castle has been undergoing extensive renovation works since it was acquired by the Cullinan family. When asked how the purchase came about, Vincent explained that he grew up in rural county Clare.

He and his wife Bonnie had been looking for a home in the Irish countryside for some time when Athlone estate agent Stan Bradbury introduced them to Portlick Castle.

"I fell in love with it," said Vincent. "It was such a beautiful, historic property on Lough Ree and it just ticked all the boxes for us, even though it was a lot bigger and certainly required more work than we ever figured we would be getting involved in.

"We thought the potential there was really great. We love the area. The people around there are amazing. We are just passing through, and we want to try to bring it back to its original glory."

Another view of Portlick Castle, pictured before the recent renovation works got underway.

Vincent's business in Los Angeles is Rock Mill Tile & Stone, of which he is the owner and CEO. "We supply a lot of stone for projects that want to look like castles, but I am fortunate enough to actually own an iconic piece of history, the original home of the Dillons, in Portlick," he said.

The family have visited the castle many times in recent years and celebrated Christmas there twice. Vincent has also been travelling to meet with the restoration team every few months.

While the current focus is on the restoration itself, he is hopeful Portlick can ultimately become a venue for weddings, short stays, and other events.

"What we're trying to do right now is just restore the property. It had a lot of water damage, so our main objective has been getting the water out and protecting the structure, rebuilding the roofs, and re-pointing all the stonework.

"We haven't figured out everything that we're going to be doing with it yet, but we do plan on making it available to the public for weddings, short stays, and for local charitable events."

And the expectation is that some of Dillon's friends from the movie industry will get to experience Portlick also. Dublin native Richie Baneham, who received the Oscar for visual effects and is also the executive producer of the Avatar movie, is among those intending to visit.

"Richie is planning to visit us there, and he has a lot of Hollywood connections, so I think it's very possible that we'll have some celebrities showing up once we complete the project," said Vincent.