On Sunday, March 15, Killarney-born actress Jessie Buckley became the first Irish woman to win an Academy Award for Best Actress In A Leading Role for her portrayal of William Shakespeare’s wife Agnes in Hamnet.
Buckley had already picked up a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for her role in the adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel, directed by Chloé Zhao, in which she stars alongside fellow Irish actor Paul Mescal.
Asked on Sunday night by Ireland's national broadcaster RTÉ if she had any message for family and friends back in County Kerry who had stayed up late to watch her triumph at the Oscars, Buckley said simply, "Don’t go to bed - keep partying! That's what I'm going to do."
But while she's now globally recognised for her acting, Buckley is also a hugely talented singer, as she has demonstrated on many occasions, not least on 2022's For All Our Days That Tear the Heart, her folk collaboration with former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler, and in her performance as aspiring country singer Rose-Lynn Harlan in the 2018 film Wild Rose.
One of the most memorable moments in the film, for which Buckley was nominated for numerous best actress awards, and won an Irish Film and Television Award, sees her character perform Primal Scream's 2006 single Country Girl, the opening song on the Glasgow band's eighth studio album, Riot City Blues.
Primal Scream offered their congratulations to Buckley on her success in an Instagram post.
"Huge congratulations to Jessie Buckley on winning an Oscar for Hamnet," they wrote. "Some of you might remember her unforgettable performance of Country Girl in Wild Rose. What a voice. What a moment."
Later this year, Buckley will be heard duetting with Irish singer/songwriter Hozier on a tribute album celebrating the life and music of late Pogues frontman Shane MacGown.
Set for release on November 13, 20th Century Paddy: The Songs of Shane MacGowan will also feature covers recorded by Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Steve Earle, Primal Scream, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Kate Moss, Johnny Depp with Imelda May, Hozier with Jessie Buckley, The Libertines, The Murder Capital, Dropkick Murphys, Glen Hansard, the surviving members of The Pogues and many more.
The album's first single, Bruce Springsteen's cover of A Rainy Night In Soho is out now.
