'It's a dream come true': Killarney's Jessie Buckley on her first Oscar nomination

'Belfast' also made history after receiving seven Oscar nominations

Jessie Buckley attending the European premiere of the film 'The Lost Daughter' during the 2021 BFI London Film Festival last October. She has been shortlisted for best supporting actress for her performance in the Netflix psycho-drama. Picture: Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images

Killarney's Jessie Buckley has described her first-ever Oscar nomination as a dream come true.

On a historic day for Irish films, Ms Buckley was shortlisted for best supporting actress for her performance in the Netflix psycho-drama, The Lost Daughter. 

The film is director Maggie Gyllenhaal’s adaptation of the Elena Ferrante novel, focusing on a college professor confronting her unsettling past after meeting a woman and her young daughter while on vacation in Italy.

"I am in complete shock," said Ms Buckley. "The Lost Daughter is so special to me. To be recognised for anything connected to it is just a wild dream come true. And to gorgeous Olivia Colman and our leader and legend Maggie Gyllenhaal, I’m so lucky to share this ride with you, incredible women."

In Jessie's hometown of Killarney, dad Tim and mother Marina, a renowned harpist and soprano, beamed with pride at their daughter's achievement. 

'Female role model'

“Kerry has always been renowned for football heroics and the male narrative. It’s so important to have a female role model,” said Tim.

He believes his daughter is an example to others to dream big.

“To have a dream is so important. It's about a little bit of talent, and putting in a lot of hard work and learning your craft," added Tim, a bar manager and lifelong poet and writer.

“It’s a great honour. A lot of people would like to dream of this and it gives you goose pimples just thinking about it."

However, he said Jessie will keep her feet firmly on the ground by taking every opportunity between jobs to stay close to nature, walking the Mangerton Mountain where she grew up.

“She is very rooted to where she is from and looks to nature,” said Tim.

Meanwhile, the film  Belfast has received seven Oscar nominations, more than My Left Foot’s five, making it the most nominated Irish film in the history of the Academy Awards.

The film, directed by Kenneth Brannagh, is nominated for best picture, best director, original song, best sound, and original screenplay, while Judi Dench and Ciarán Hinds are nominated for their supporting roles in the film. It is Hinds’s first Oscar nomination.