Celebrations for Cillian in Ceann Trá

VENTRY held a late-night vigil in the early hours of Monday as well wishers watched to see Cillian Murphy win the Oscar that has catapulted him to Hollywood stardom.

The 47-year-old Cork actor was the first born-and-bred Irish person to win the coveted Best Actor award, and the historic achievement was celebrated in Ventry where Cillian has long-standing family connections.

Cillian, who has established a reputation for his ability to portray intense characters, won the gold statuette for his role as J Robert Oppenheimer in the Christopher Nolan film of the same name, which tells the story of the making of the atom bomb.

In a local show of support for the actor, Dingle Classic Film Society arranged a screening of the multi-award-winning film last Friday night in Paidí Ó Sé’s pub.

“Given the weekend that was in it, we thought it would be appropriate,” said Eamon Ó Neachtain from the society, whose aim is to bring storytelling into the community. A crowd gathered in Paidí Ó Se’s to watch the three-hour film and the night was described as “a lovely evening with great atmosphere”.

The Cork actor, who can be seen in Ventry at times, was adopted as a member of the West Kerry family long before he accepted the Oscar in the Dolby theatre in the early hours of Monday morning, having spent a lot of time in the West Kerry Gaeltacht with his family.

On receipt of the Oscar, Cillian and his wife, Yvonne McGuinness, mingled with the stars of stage and screen at the awards and afterwards at the exclusive Governor’s Ball.

Meanwhile, the Berlin Film Festival opened with Cillian’s latest film, ‘Small Things Like These’, which is set against the background of the Magdalene Laundries and sees the actor team up with writer Edna Walsh, who gave him his first break in a role in the stage version of ‘Disco Pigs’ way back in 1996.