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JESSIE BUCKLEY HAS been nominated for an Academy Award.
The Killarney native was named among the nominees for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance as Agnes Shakespeare in Hamnet, as the Academy unveiled the full list of Oscar nominations this afternoon.
Buckley had been widely tipped for the nomination following a dominant awards season, which saw her claim the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama) earlier this month.
Her Oscar nod comes as little surprise to film critics, though it is likely to be celebrated across the country (and particularly in Kerry).
She’ll face competition in the category from Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You), Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue), Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value), and Emma Stone (Bugonia).
If Buckley wins Best Actress, she will become the first Irish woman to receive the honour.
Paul Mescal missed out on an Academy Award nomination, with the Kildare actor not named in the Best Supporting Actor category.
Mescal had been in contention for his role in Hamnet, having already received an Oscar nomination for Aftersun in 2023.
Hamnet, co-written by Derry author Maggie Farrell and Chloé Zhao, also secured Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture nominations.
Outside of Hamnet, Irish animation enjoyed further success, with John Kelly’s Retirement Plan nominated in the Best Animated Short category.
Retirement Plan was produced in collaboration with The New Yorker and is narrated by Domhnall Gleeson.
In the technical categories, Avatar Fire and Ash picked up a nomination for Visual Effects. Two-time Oscar winner Richard Baneham, from Tallaght in Dublin, was the visual effects supervisor for the film.
Irish film production company Element Pictures’ co-CEOs and founders Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe were also nominated, as their film Bugonia made the Best Picture cut.
Guiney and Lowe welcomed the news, saying that they were “proud of everyone involved.”
“We are so proud of Yorgos, Emma, Jesse, Will, Jerskin and all the incredible talent behind Bugonia, and once again so grateful to the amazing Element team in O’Connell Street who have worked so hard to help bring the film to life and out into the world,” they said.
Commenting on the nominations, Désirée Finnegan, Chief Executive of Screen Ireland, described the Irish nominations as “a remarkable recognition of the artistic strength and range of Irish creative talent.”
“It is another powerful moment for the Irish screen industry and underlines the importance of supporting talent and investing in filmmakers and artists,” Finnegan said.
“We are immensely proud to see Irish storytelling and talent so strongly represented on the global stage and wish those nominated all the best at the Academy Awards ceremony in March.”
Elsewhere, vampire period horror film Sinners smashed the all-time Oscars record with 16 nominations.
The tally included a best actor nomination for Michael B. Jordan, who plays twins battling supernatural forces and racists, as well as nods for everything from screenplay to score.
One Battle After Another came second with 13 nods, including best actor for Leonardo DiCaprio.
Frankenstein, Marty Supreme and Sentimental Value each bagged nine nominations, while Hamnet secured eight.
Additional reporting from AFP
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