As Jessie Buckley competes for Oscar glory in Los Angeles, family and friends have gathered at the Arbutus Hotel in Killarney to celebrate her remarkable journey.
There are Oscar parties taking place through the night all over Killarney and Kerry tonight, but the main one has to be the private gathering being hosted by Jessie Buckley’s uncle and godfather, Sean Buckley, and his wife Carol Dempsey, at the Arbutus Hotel in Killarney.
Established by Jessie’s great-grandparents, the Arbutus is owned and managed by the Buckley family and is currently run by Sean and Carol.
Tonight, they have invited around 60 family members and close friends to a home Oscars party at the hotel.
Watch: Jessie Buckley's uncle and godfather Seán: "We are so, so proud of her"
Many have dressed in black tie and ballgowns for the occasion.
Carol said they are not concerned about whether Jessie wins the Oscar tonight, as she has already achieved huge success.
"We feel she’s fabulous. We’re not worried about tonight," Carol told RTÉ News. "We’re thinking tonight is going to happen as a lovely Oscar night. We feel she has achieved this success and has been chosen by her peers to be this person regardless of the outcome. The opening of an envelope isn’t going to change the essence of Jessie, or change her level of success, or her feeling about herself, or our feeling about her."
Sean said he thinks of Jessie as essentially a Kerry person and that her work and fame have not changed her.
"Jessie, the authenticity and the boldness and the bravery that Jessie has brought about, only you and many, many others would understand the Kerry roots and the pride that she has given us, but also that she’s willing to use them and flourish, and take a risk. We are so, so proud of her," Sean said. "Words cannot explain where we are tonight."
Sean said the family have been completely overwhelmed by the positivity and support they have received.
"We’re just lost for words as to how we are tonight."
He was also full of praise for Jessie and for the way she has embraced the past few months.
"Bless her, a new mother, if she had any other job she’d still be on maternity leave. Jessie is in her element, is what I would say. And she’s flanked by her family, you know, her mum and dad are with her, her three sisters, her husband, her little girl. And they’re the core pieces for her, and she’s just thrilled to have them with her. And they keep her grounded and keep her balanced and, yeah, fantastic."
Carol also insisted success has not changed Jessie.
"Well, what you see is what you get with her," Carol said. "You know, when she throws her head back and laughs, that’s Jessie. When she’s talking seriously about opening her heart up and standing in the shoes of the women she has chosen to act, that’s Jessie. The mother in Hamnet, that’s Jessie.
"The film is a stronger version of who she is. If a film brings you to the nth of what you do, that’s probably what she is. But she’s grounded and fun, and serious, and lovely and family-orientated, and she’s a great girl."
"Obviously, her accent has changed a little bit. She’s living in England now, but she’s still very much the Jessie Buckley that we know and love," Carol said.
Karen Dempsey is attending the Oscar party to cheer on Jessie Buckley in Killarney. She admitted to feeling excited about Jessie's prospects of winning the Best Actress Oscar.
"I mean, we're just so thrilled at all of this - win or lose, it doesn't matter. Jessie is an amazing person, and we're just so proud of her. And, just so thrilled to have this opportunity in a world of turmoil, to have a positive thing, to be celebrating among friends and family. Really, really thrilled. Fantastic," Karen said.
Terry Nolan is from Michigan, in the United States. She has a tour company and travels to Ireland often. Terry has clocked up almost 60 tours to Ireland to date and booked a week at the Arbutus Hotel in Killarney once she heard that Jessie Buckley had been nominated for an Oscar.
"Well, I've been many times for St. Patrick's Day to Ireland in different cities. And I was humming about it, and then when it came up, and I was watching, if she got the Oscar nomination, and I went, book, I need my room! So I'm here for a week," Terry told RTÉ.
"I think she's gonna get it. I mean, you know, look at all the awards she's got already. I think she's in, she's a shoe-in. We're pulling for her."
