The Green Post Ireland
The Academy Awards on 15 March will once again place Irish talent in the global spotlight. This year, actress Jessie Buckley is nominated for Best Actress for her performance in Hamnet. If she wins, she will make history as the first Irish woman ever to receive the Oscar for Best Actress.
Ireland also features in several other nominations this year. Visual effects artist Richard Baneham is nominated for Avatar: Fire and Ash, producers Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe are part of the producing team behind Best Picture nominee Bugonia, and author Maggie O’Farrell is nominated for Adapted Screenplay for Hamnet. Irish animation is also represented with John Kelly, nominated in the Animated Short Film category for Retirement Plan.
While the film world waits for the ceremony, here is a look at every Irish Oscar winner to date.
Cedric Gibbons – The Most Decorated Irish Figure at the Oscars
Irish-American Cedric Gibbons remains one of the most decorated individuals in Academy Awards history. The legendary MGM art director won 11 Oscars for Art Direction between 1930 and 1957.
Gibbons oversaw the design and visual identity of MGM films for decades, shaping the look of classic Hollywood productions during the studio’s golden era. He was nominated 39 times and worked on nearly 1,500 films. He is also closely associated with the original design of the Oscar statuette itself.
George Bernard Shaw – The Nobel Prize-Winning Oscar Winner
In 1939, Dublin-born playwright George Bernard Shaw won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Pygmalion, the film adaptation of his famous play.
Shaw had already received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1925, making him one of the very few people in history to win both a Nobel Prize and an Oscar.
Barry Fitzgerald – Ireland’s First Acting Oscar Winner
Actor Barry Fitzgerald won Best Supporting Actor in 1945 for his role in Going My Way. His performance made history in another unusual way.
He became the only actor ever nominated in both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor for the same role, an occurrence that later led the Academy to change its nomination rules.
Michèle Burke – A Pioneer in Film Make-Up
Make-up artist Michèle Burke, from County Kildare, won two Academy Awards:
- Quest for Fire (1983)
- Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1993)
She was one of the first women to win an Oscar in the Make-Up category and built a long and successful career in the industry.
Josie MacAvin – Art Direction Recognition
Irish set decorator Josie MacAvin won an Academy Award in 1986 for her work on Out of Africa. Her career included major productions in both theatre and film.
Daniel Day-Lewis – Three-Time Best Actor Winner
Daniel Day-Lewis, who holds Irish citizenship, is the first actor in history to win three Oscars for Best Actor. His victories came for:
- My Left Foot (1990)
- There Will Be Blood (2008)
- Lincoln (2013)
His performance in My Left Foot, playing Irish writer Christy Brown, remains one of the most celebrated roles in modern cinema.
Brenda Fricker – Ireland’s Only Female Acting Oscar Winner
In 1990, Brenda Fricker won Best Supporting Actress for My Left Foot. She remains the only Irish woman to win an acting Oscar.
Following her win, she appeared in several well-known films including The Field, Home Alone 2, and A Time to Kill.
Neil Jordan – Original Screenplay Success
Writer and director Neil Jordan won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay in 1993 for The Crying Game, a film that received six Academy Award nominations overall.
Tyron Montgomery – Animated Short Film
Limerick-born filmmaker Tyron Montgomery won Best Animated Short Film in 1997 for Quest, which became a major success on the international festival circuit.
Peter O’Toole – Honorary Oscar
Legendary actor Peter O’Toole received an Honorary Academy Award in 2003, recognising his extraordinary career in cinema after several Best Actor nominations.
Corinne Marrinan – Documentary Short
Producer Corinne Marrinan, an Irish-American filmmaker, won the Oscar for Documentary Short Subject in 2006 for A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin.
Martin McDonagh – Live Action Short Film
In 2006, writer and director Martin McDonagh won the Live Action Short Film Oscar for Six Shooter, starring Brendan Gleeson.
Glen Hansard – Best Original Song
Musician Glen Hansard won the Oscar in 2008 for Best Original Song with Falling Slowly from the film Once, which he shared with Markéta Irglová.
Richard Baneham – Visual Effects Master
Visual effects artist Richard Baneham, from Dublin, has won two Academy Awards:
- Avatar (2010)
- Avatar: The Way of Water (2023)
He is considered one of the most influential Irish figures in modern film technology.
Terry George and Oorlagh George – Family Collaboration
Father and daughter Terry George and Oorlagh George won Best Live Action Short Film in 2012 for The Shore.
Maureen O’Hara – Honorary Oscar
Dublin-born actress Maureen O’Hara received an Honorary Academy Award in 2014, recognising her legendary Hollywood career.
Benjamin Cleary – Live Action Short Film
Writer-director Benjamin Cleary won the Oscar in 2016 for the short film Stutterer, a powerful story about communication and human connection.
Kenneth Branagh – Original Screenplay
Belfast-born filmmaker Kenneth Branagh won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay in 2022 for his semi-autobiographical film Belfast.
Tom Berkeley and Ross White – Recent Irish Success
In 2023, Tom Berkeley and Ross White won the Live Action Short Film Oscar for An Irish Goodbye, set in rural Northern Ireland.
Cillian Murphy – Best Actor in 2024
In 2024, Cillian Murphy won the Oscar for Best Actor for his role as J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.
The Cork-born actor dedicated his award to “peacemakers everywhere” during his acceptance speech.
Could Jessie Buckley Make History?
Ireland has produced many Oscar winners across acting, writing, directing and technical fields. However, the Best Actress category remains unwon by an Irish woman.
If Jessie Buckley takes home the award for Hamnet, she would add a historic new chapter to Ireland’s Oscar story and become the first Irish woman ever to win Best Actress at the Academy Awards.
