Cillian Murphy praised for sending poignant message you might have missed in Irish language at the Oscars

Cillian Murphy praised for sending poignant message you might have missed in Irish language at the Oscars

Featured Image Credit: ABC

People are flooding to social media in praise of Cillian Murphy’s speech at the 2024 Oscars.

At the 96th Academy Awards ceremony last night (10 March), the Irish-born actor took home the award for Best Actor for his role in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.

And there’s one part of his speech you may’ve missed or not quite understood and that’s because Murphy concluded his speech with a sentence spoken in Irish. Here’s Murphy giving possibly the best acceptance speech ever heard:

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The 47-year-old starred in the 2023 release as the titular character, taking on the role of American theoretical physicist Robert Oppenheimer – the man who created the atomic bomb.

The performance saw him take home the award for Best Actor and subsequently become the first Irish-born person to win the accolade.

In his speech Murphy said: “I’m a little overwhelmed. Thank you to The Academy, Chris Nolan and Emma Thomas, it’s been the wildest, most exhilarating, most creatively satisfying journey you’ve taken me on over the last 20 years, I owe you more than I can say.

“Every single crew member, every single cast member on Oppenheimer you guys carried me through. All my fellow nominees, I remain in awe of you guys, truly.”

The actor went on to thank his ‘incredible team’ alongside his wife and other members of his family, however, it’s his final comment which shouldn’t have slipped your notice.

Cillian Murphy took home the award for his role in Oppenheimer. Credit: Universal PicturesCillian Murphy took home the award for his role in Oppenheimer. Credit: Universal Pictures

Murphy continued his speech by noting he’s a ‘very proud Irish man standing here tonight’.

He resolved: “You know, we made a film about the man who created the atomic bomb and for better or for worse we’re all living in Oppenheimer’s world so I would really like to dedicate this to the peacemakers everywhere. Go raibh mile maith agat.”

‘Go raibh mile maith agat’ is Irish for ‘a thousand thank yous,’ according to Machnamh.com.

And the actor’s conclusion of his speech in Irish Gaelic has seen an outpouring of praise for him online.

The actor has received a lot of praise for his speech. Credit: Getty Images/ Jeff Kravitz/ Film MagixThe actor has received a lot of praise for his speech. Credit: Getty Images/ Jeff Kravitz/ Film Magix

A clip of Murphy’s speech was shared to Reddit thread r/ireland by u/TombstonePete and people flooded to the post to weigh in on the actor’s use of the language

U/MIM86 said: “We hear ‘Go raibh míle maith agat’ so much nationally but to hear it being spoken by Cillian at the Oscars like this hits a bit differently. Absolute legend!”

“I very rarely care for celebrities and awards and I feel weird about national pride. But f**k me I am chuffed for the man. Hearing Irish being spoke on stage at this level of event made me smile,” u/Thebunsenburger added.

And U/Saint_EDGEBOI commented: “Absolute class act. Nice little message towards the end that I’m interpreting as a nod to Ireland’s support of a ceasefire in Gaza. It’s important for us to be the nation that always advocates for peace.”

Oscars 2024 Winners

Best director

Anatomy of a Fall – Justine Triet

Killers of the Flower Moon – Martin Scorsese

Oppenheimer – Christopher Nolan – WINNER

Poor Things – Yorgos Lanthimos

The Zone of Interest – Jonathan Glazer

Best actor

Bradley Cooper – Maestro

Colman Domingo – Rustin

Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers

Cillian Murphy – Oppenheimer – WINNER

Jeffrey Wright – American Fiction

Best actress

Annette Bening – Nyad

Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon

Sandra Huller – Anatomy of a Fall

Carey Mulligan – Maestro

Emma Stone – Poor Things – WINNER

Best picture

American Fiction

Anatomy of a Fall

Barbie

The Holdovers

Killers of the Flower Moon

Maestro

Oppenheimer – WINNER

Past Lives

Poor Things

The Zone of Interest

Best supporting actress

Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer

Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple

America Ferrera – Barbie

Jodie Foster – Nyad

Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers – WINNER

Best animated short

Letter to a Pig

Ninety-Five Senses

Our Uniform

Pachyderme

War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko – WINNER

Best animated feature

The Boy and the Heron – WINNER

Elemental

Nimona

Robot Dreams

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Best original screenplay

Anatomy of a Fall – WINNER

The Holdovers

Maestro

May December

Past Lives

Best adapted screenplay

American Fiction – WINNER

Barbie

Oppenheimer

Poor Things

The Zone of Interest

Best make-up and hairstyling

Golda

Maestro

Oppenheimer

Poor Things – WINNER

Society of the Snow

Best production design

Barbie

Killers of the Flower Moon

Napoleon

Oppenheimer

Poor Things – WINNER

Best costume design

Barbie

Killers of the Flower Moon

Napoleon

Oppenheimer

Poor Things – WINNER

Best international feature

Io Capitano

Perfect Days

Society of the Snow

The Teachers’ Lounge

The Zone of Interest – WINNER

Best supporting actor

Sterling K Brown – American Fiction

Robert De Niro – Killers of the Flower Moon

Robert Downey Jr – Oppenheimer – WINNER

Ryan Gosling – Barbie

Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things

Best visual effects

The Creator

Godzilla Minus One – WINNER

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

Napoleon

Best film editing

Anatomy of a Fall

The Holdovers

Killers of the Flower Moon

Oppenheimer – WINNER

Poor Things

Best documentary short

The ABCs of Book Banning

The Barber of Little Rock

Island In Between

The Last Repair Shop – WINNER

Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó

Best documentary feature

Bobi Wine: The People’s President

The Eternal Memory

Four Daughters

To Kill a Tiger

20 Days in Mariupol – WINNER

Best live action short

The After

Invincible

Knight of Fortune

Red, White and Blue

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar – WINNER

Best cinematography

El Conde

Killers of the Flower Moon

Maestro

Oppenheimer

Poor Things

Best sound

The Creator

Maestro

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

Oppenheimer – WINNER

The Zone of Interest

Best original score

American Fiction

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Killers of the Flower Moon

Oppenheimer – WINNER

Poor Things

Best original song

‘The Fire Inside’ – Flamin’ Hot (Diane Warren)

‘I’m Just Ken’ – Barbie (Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt)

‘It Never Went Away’ – American Symphony (Jon Batiste, Dan Wilson)

‘Wahzhazhe (A Song For My People)’ – Killers of the Flower Moon (Scott George)