Irish actress Saoirse Ronan was keen to point out the power within the room during the 75th Golden Globes - a ceremony which was very much about women making a stand for change.

Saoirse, aged 23, won her first Golden Globe award for Best Performance by an actress in a motion picture, musical or comedy for her role in Lady Bird. She picked up the prize for her portrayal of a complicated American teen in the 2017 film written and directed by Greta Gerwig.

With her mum watching via Facetime from home, Saoirse honoured all the women in her life in her short acceptance speech. “I just want to say how inspirational it is to be in this room,” she said.

There was plenty of Irish success to celebrate last night, as Irish writer-director Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing won four awards. The film won Best Motion Picture Drama, Best Screenplay, and two awards for actors Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell.

The biggest talking points were the #MeToo movement and Oprah’s powerful and rousing speech.

Almost all female guests wore black gowns in a show of support for victims of sexual assault and harrassment. Gender equality was the talking point of the night as women switched interview topics to sexism and the Time’s Up and #MeToo movements.

After a year of sexual harassment revelations in the entertainment industry, the Golden Globes was the first major awards night for the community to make a statement and say ‘no more’.

Oprah Winfrey was the stand-out speech that strengthed the statement: “Time is up.” She is the first black woman to win the Cecil B De Mille award, and she used her speech to address sexual abuse and racism in history and today.

It was a passionate, controlled and uplifting speech that signified hope for the beginning of a new era of equality.

Oprah highlighted civil rights icons Rosa Parks and Recy Taylor, focusing on the life and times of Ms Taylor in light of her recent death:

“She lived as we all have lived, too many years in a culture broken by brutally powerful men. For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dare speak the truth to the power of those men. But their time is up. Their time is up,” Oprah said.

There was positivity in Oprah’s words – a hope for a brighter morning during the darkest nights:

She concluded: “So I want all the girls watching here, now, to know that a new day is on the horizon! And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men, fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say ‘Me too’ again.”