FILM CRITICS, IRELAND, and particularly Kerry people would be shocked and appalled if Jessie Buckley isn’t amongst the nominees announced at the unveiling of the Oscar nominations this afternoon.

A 1.30pm livestream hosted by American actors Danielle Brooks and Lewis Pullman will see the full list of nominees for the prestigious Academy Awards unveiled.

It’s been a high-stakes awards season so far with a number of heavy-hitting films in the running: Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet, Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme, Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, and Ryan Coogler’s Sinners are all currently leading the way in terms of nominations and awards.

The Academy Awards are viewed as the pinnacle of film honours and the nominations and winners can often be predetermined by other awards during the season.

What Irish nominations are we expecting?

If Jessie Buckley is not nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her turn as Agnes Shakespeare in Hamnet, it will be the upset of the film year.

Freshly awarded with a Golden Globe in the same category, Buckley is widely regarded as the frontrunner for the award. 

In the same category, it is expected that Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You), Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value), Chase Infiniti (One Battle After Another), and Emma Stone (Bugonia) will nab nominations. 

Also for Hamnet, Paul Mescal is expected to receive a nomination for Best Supporting Actor. If he does receive a nomination, he’ll likely be up against some big names: Sean Penn is expected to be nominated for One Battle After Another, and Stellan Skarsgård’s performance in Sentimental Value has gathered much acclaim.

Mescal lost out on the Golden Globe in the category to Skarsgård, and he won’t have any expectations for an Academy Award. His role this awards season has been as Buckley’s companion rather than a frontrunner.

If he gets a nomination, it will be his second, having got the nod for Best Actor in 2023 for Aftersun.

Joe Alwyn, from left, Noah Jupe, Chloe Zhao, Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, and Jacobi Jupe pose in the press room with the Golden Globe award for best motion picture - drama . AP Photo / Chris Pizzello AP Photo / Chris Pizzello / Chris Pizzello

Hamnet’s screenplay, co-written by Derry author Maggie Farrell and Chloe Zhao, may also receive an Oscar nod, and the film itself is on track to be nominated, having garnered a Golden Globe for best motion picture (drama).

Outside of Hamnet, John Kelly’s short film Retirement Plan and Cartoon Saloon’s film Éiru have both been shortlisted in the Best Animated Short category, so could get nominations there too.

Retirement Plan was made with the New Yorker, giving it great pedigree – and it’s narrated by Domhnall Gleeson, a familiar name to those in the Academy. 

Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos’s latest film Bugonia was produced by Ireland’s own Element Pictures, though it will be destined for fewer nominations than Hamnet.

In the technical categories, two Irishmen have been shortlisted in the Cinematography category: Robbie Ryan (Bugonia) and Seamus McGarvey (Die My Love). Both are no stranger to the Oscars, having been nominated several times before.

The Academy Awards will take place overnight on Sunday 15 March, emceed by talk show host Conan O’Brien (who also claims Irish heritage) at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood.