Fans praise Cillian Murphy's pointed comment in Oscars speech after Best Actor win

Cillian Murphy was the standout Irish winner at the Oscars on Sunday night as he scooped the Best Actor gong for his role as J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer.

While Murphy is noted as a man of few words, the Cork native was praised for his muted and yet powerful comments on the Oscars stage.

After thanking the crew, the director and his fellow nominees, Cillian said: "I want to thank my incredible team.... Yvonne McGuinness, my partner in life and art, my two boys, Malachy and Aran who are sitting up there. I love you so much. I'm a very proud Irishman standing here tonight.

"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'd really like to dedicate this to the peacemakers everywhere. Go raibh mile maith agat."

While not directly referring to it, the war in Gaza was on the minds of many when Cillian made the comments and it was a powerful moment given Ireland's own history of conflict.

“I would really like to dedicate this to all the peacemakers everywhere. Go raibh mile maith agat”

Cillian Murphy makes history as the first Irish-born person to win the Amacademy Award for Best Actor#Oscars pic.twitter.com/IK3s8PwyOp

— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) March 11, 2024

Murphy had already won a Golden Globe, a Bafta and a Screen Actors Guild award for his starring turn as theoretical physicist J Robert Oppenheimer in the biopic about the father of the atomic bomb.

Speaking backstage after his Oscars win, Cillian added: "You’ve got to move forward but this has been a huge, huge moment for me.

“The movie is so special to me, and myself and Chris (Nolan) have such a special relationship, I just feel very privileged to continue to work with him and I’m very proud that this is a film that is provocative and asks questions, and is challenging and yet so many people went to see it.”

He later praised Ireland as a country that is “really great at supporting artists and I think we need to continue to support artists and the next generation of actors and directors."