Ryan: It was a hectic week of comings and goings between Dublin and London as my new hybrid working week starts to take shape. Firstly, I had the chance to reconnect with one of my favourite Irish actors of this generation when Clare Dunne came into the studio for my Onic show.
I’ve always loved Clare’s work since I first saw Herself, a film she wrote and starred in and one that confronted difficult social issues through the prism of a young woman who refuses to be defeated by a series of horrible circumstances.
Since that film, Clare, above, has become a big star after landing a central role in the TV drama Kin, in which she played Amanda, a formidable figure who was underestimated at her enemies’ peril. That show was an enormous success and will be returning for a third season.
Clare Dunne. Pic: RTE
When I met her last week, Clare was promoting her spoken-word piece Sure Look It, F*** It, which she wrote and performed at Dublin’s Project Arts Centre. So be sure to look out for it if it returns.
In the meantime, you can catch her in her latest film, 500 Miles, in which she stars with the wonderful Bill Nighy.
I also had the privilege of speaking to another Kin alumnus this week. Ciaran Hinds, below, is the gentle giant of the Irish acting big beasts. He always brings something different to the table – he can be the gruff gang boss, he was a perfect Julius Caesar in Rome, and he is a thoughtful if useless older lover in Midwinter Break, his latest film.
Helene Patarot and Ciaran Hinds at the 94th Academy Awards. Pic: Getty Images
In this movie, he stars alongside the always classy Lesley Manville as they play an ageing couple who appear to be in a comfortable if uninspiring relation- ship. A city break to Amsterdam appears to bring a lot of unspoken ‘business’ to the surface, and so begins a slow and brutal undoing.
It’s a sad story – written by Bernard McLaverty and based on his novel – and is brought to life here with pathos and panache by two actors who know the power of an unspoken thought and an unfinished conversation.
Jessie Buckley’s parents Marina and Tim and her sister Lily to Dublin Airport as they boarded Aer Lingus flight EI069 bound for Los Angeles. Pic: Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland
Itwas very joyful to be Irish in London this week after an extraordinary weekend that saw us win the Triple Crown and then, in a mad twist, gather around our TV sets to shout for England. That part wasn’t to be, but it didn’t take away from our Triple Crown joy.
I had the pleasure of bumping into Jessie Buckley’s parents and sister at Dublin Airport as they headed off to the Oscars. They are such an unassuming and humble family, and when you meet them, you realise why Jessie, left with Michael B Jordan, is so grounded.
And then she went and made history (as Brenda Fricker told me she would in a memorable Late Late interview), and the country celebrated again.
Respect also to Richard Baneham on his third Oscar! How we had any fuel left in the tank for St Patrick’s Day, I’ll never know.