He now has an Oscar to add to the Golden Globe and BAFTA awards already on the mantelpiece as man-of-the-moment Cillian Murphy is deservedly honoured for his brilliant performance in Oppenheimer.
But just as he stood proudly at the podium in the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles in the early hours of this Monday morning – Irish time – there are some in Killarney who will remember the day he posed before the cameras on the platform of Killarney Railway Station 19 years ago.
Murphy was still in his 20s when he starred in the smash hit civil war drama, The Wind That Shakes The Barley and scenes from that blockbuster were actually filmed in Killarney.
The footage shot locally features British soldiers attacking the crew of a short train of three coaches and the brutal scene was filmed in Killarney and on the Tralee to Mallow line.
The box office hit, directed by Ken Loach, was set in 1919 and it told the story of two brothers who fought together during the War of Independence.
Murphy, in fact, is a regular visitor to Kerry and he recently listed Dingle as one of his favourite places.
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