Catherine Clinch's father, Tom Clinch, has revealed she applied for the role of Cáit in the Oscar-nominated movie to get six weeks off school and as a bit of a lark.
An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl) is the first Irish language feature film to be nominated for an Oscar.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio One's Morning Ireland, Tom Clinch said Catherine applied for the starring role "in the middle of covid" and explained that his daughter thought it would "be fun to get six weeks off school" if she was cast.
He said: "School wasn’t much fun at that time and little did we know there were hundreds and hundreds of young girls auditioning and she was lucky enough to get the part.
"We were just heading off on our holidays to West Cork when she heard and we spent the whole journey down ringing grandpa and various other family members to tell them... she was so excited.
"We just thought it was a bit of a lark."
Based on Booker-prize nominated author Claire Keegan's novella Foster, the Irish adaption explores how Cáit is sent from her family to live with relations in an Irish-speaking area in Ring, Co Waterford.
Much of the film's success rests on the shoulders of young star Catherine, who described the film's Oscar nomination as "amazing".
When asked who was Catherine's lucky plus one to the big Hollywood event on Sunday Tom said: "We have two tickets, so, mummy and daddy are taking a back seat and Catherine has decided to bring her big sister Anna to the ceremony with her.
"I think the two of them will have an absolute ball and if they are allowed to take photos they will send them out to us. The two of them are very close and they will enjoy it."
The 95th Academy Awards is taking place at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood Sunday, 12 March.
An Cailín Ciúin is in cinemas across Ireland and on Google Play, Itunes and Youtube.
