Jessie Buckley Oscars 2026: A Kerry Girl Taking Hollywood By The Heart Tonight in Los Angeles, as Conan O’Brien announces the winner of Best Actress at the 2026 Academy Awards, the Irish will hold their breath in anticipation. From Dingle to Dublin, the nation’s hopes are pinned on one name: Jessie Buckley. With prediction markets giving her odds at 97.8%, the moment feels less like a competition and more like a historic coronation. For those who identify as Irish, it carries a deeply personal significance. Buckley, the eldest of five in a family often compared to an Irish Von Trapp, was raised in a home without television. Her father, Tim, writes poetry, while her mother, Marina Cassidy, is a trained classical harpist and soprano whose performances draw crowds in her hometown. Creativity was not nurtured in this family—it was simply part of their existence. Buckley’s great-grandmother, Madge Clifford, a prominent Irish republican, adds another layer to her heritage, linking her to a lineage of women who refused to be forgotten. In Killarney, Buckley’s image is everywhere. Street posts, shop windows, and local landmarks proudly display her likeness. To the Irish, she is not a woman who left Ireland behind but one who carries its spirit with her. Her connection to her roots is evident in her work and personal life. She often returns to Co. Kerry to climb mountains near her childhood home, finding solace and inspiration in the natural world. Buckley’s breakthrough role in Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet as Agnes, the wife of William Shakespeare, has captivated critics and audiences alike. Her portrayal of a woman deeply tied to her body, nature, and emotional truth has elevated the film into a universal story of grief and acceptance.#conan_o_brien #jessie_buckley #chloe_zhao #kerry #padraig_osullivan
Jessie Buckley’s home town abuzz before Oscars Excitement in Killarney is reaching a fever pitch as the actor prepares to face the world’s most prestigious stage. If Buckley wins the Oscar for best actress on Sunday night, County Kerry will have no need for further proof of a long-held belief: being born in this part of Ireland is the greatest gift one could ever receive. The award would recognize her performance in Hamnet, but for Killarney, her hometown in the county known as the Kingdom, the credit will stretch back to her childhood, when she first acted in local plays. “Hollywood here we come!” declared Kerry’s Eye, a local newspaper, capturing the sense that Buckley’s journey to the 98th Academy Awards has been a collective effort fueled by her talent, determination, and deep roots. The writer John B. Keane once humorously described Kerry heritage as a divine gift with “awesome responsibility”—a sentiment that could be validated if Buckley becomes the first Irish woman to win the award. Sinead Van Bladel, a supermarket worker who crafted Buckley masks for her colleagues, said, “Everyone will tune in—she’s one of our own.” Bookmakers have positioned Buckley as the overwhelming favorite, ahead of Rose Byrne, Emma Stone, Kate Hudson, and Renate Reinsve, for her portrayal of William Shakespeare’s wife, Agnes Hathaway, in the film adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel. Only two Irish women have previously won acting Oscars: Brenda Fricker in 1990 for My Left Foot and Maureen O’Hara, who received an honorary Oscar in 2014. For Buckley’s family and friends, the anticipation is tinged with an unspoken question: what if she doesn’t win? “Oh God, the disappointment. We’d of course still be proud, but can you imagine the anticlimax?” said one, who declined to be named. “I don’t want to be blamed for putting a hex on it.#academy_awards #jessie_buckley #killarney #kerry #michel_martin
