‘Everyone will tune in – she’s one of our own’: Killarney abuzz

If Jessie Buckley wins the Oscar for best actress on Sunday night, County Kerry will need no further proof of a cherished truism: to be born in this corner of Ireland really is the greatest gift that God can bestow. The award would be for Buckley’s performance in Hamnet, but in Killarney, her home town, credit stretches back to her childhood in local plays.

The local paper Kerry’s Eye proclaimed "Hollywood here we come!", capturing a sense that Buckley’s path to the 98th Academy Awards has felt like a collective journey. John B Keane’s joking claim that Kerry heritage is a divine gift with "awesome responsibility" seems apt as bookies rate Buckley the runaway favourite.

"Everyone will tune in – she’s one of our own," said Sinead Van Bladel, who had made Buckley masks for her colleagues. Among family and friends, the excitement is tinged with worry about the opposite outcome. "Oh God, the disappointment. We’d of course still be proud but can you imagine the anticlimax?" said one, declining to be named.

Ireland, Killarney

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