Jessie Buckley and Co. Derry-born Maggie O’Farrell hailed after historic Oscar triumph for Killarney actress
Jessie Buckley’s triumph at the Academy Awards has been hailed at Stormont with one local MLA referencing the influence of Co. Derry-born writer Maggie O’Farrell on the Hamnet star’s success.
SDLP MLA Cara Hunter said she had joined other Irish people in watching with ‘immense and enormous pride’ as the Killarney-native picked up the Best Actress Oscar at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday.
"What makes this moment especially meaningful for those of us in the North Coast is that the film Hamnet is based on the novel by Coleraine's very own Maggie O'Farrell.
"Her powerful story-telling helped bring this remarkable story to life and thankfully on to the global stage.
"That connection reminds us that extraordinary creative talent exists, not only in the major cities, but they also exist right here in our communities at home,” she said.
Ms. O’Farrell, the acclaimed novelist whose 2020 novel Hamnet was adapted for the screen and directed by Chloé Zhao, was born in Coleraine in 1972.
Her father was an economics lecturer at the New University of Ulster.
The writer moved to Britain in the 1970s.
Writing in the Irish Times in 2024 she stated: “My dad, who is from Dublin, was teaching economics in Derry when I born in 1972. It was only a few months after Bloody Sunday, so when he was offered a job with the University of Wales, I think he took it to get us out of the situation.”
Childhood summers, she wrote, were spent in Donegal, Galway and Dublin.
President Catherine Connolly congratulated Ms. Buckley and Ms. O’Farrell on their success as well as the other Irish award winners and nominees.
"Jessie Buckley’s award is an historic moment, with Jessie becoming the first Irish woman to receive an Oscar in the Best Actress category. This achievement is a thoroughly deserved testament not only to Jessie’s outstanding performance in Hamnet, but to her performances both in film and on stage across her career to date. I know that her proud community in Kerry and beyond will be sharing with her in this wonderful achievement,” she said.
The President also praised Richard Baneham who won an Oscar for Visual Effects for his work on Avatar: Fire and Ash.
"The award of a third Oscar to Richard Baneham for Visual Effects is a truly remarkable achievement following his previous Oscars in 2009 and 2023 and reflects his standing as one of the outstanding technicians in his field,” she stated.
She continued: “May I also add my congratulations to all those Irish people, including Maggie O’Farrell, John Kelly, Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe and all at Element Pictures and Wild Atlantic Pictures, who received a nomination for this year’s awards. A nomination for an Oscar is, in itself, a reward for truly outstanding work and recognition of those at the very top of their craft.
"We are very lucky to have so many talented people contributing at every level to the Irish film industry at this time. May I congratulate Screen Ireland and all those working in the Irish film and acting communities, and all those supporting them, for their continued success, and for the wonderful pieces of art which they continue to bring to audiences across the world.”