'I had nuclear bad fake tan on,' says former Ursuline student Jessie Buckley after BAFTA win

Former Ursuline Secondary School student in Thurles, Jessie Buckley, has won the best actress BAFTA award for Hamnet - becoming the first Irish woman to land the award.

In her acceptance speech, the Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominee, said: “As a little girl, I never in a million years thought I would get to make a film.”

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Recalling her early days as an actress, she said: “I had nuclear bad fake tan on, white hoop earrings, a polka-dot red skirt and had the audacity to say one day I wanted to be like Judi Dench.

“This is nuts, this really does belong to the women past, present and future who taught me and continue to teach me how to do it differently.”

Addressing her fellow nominees, the Irish actress said: “You are all just radical and you are doing it for the naughty girls, and I’m in awe of all your incredible performances.”

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The Kerry native added: “I love films and I believe in storytelling. I believe in women’s voices to tell those stories.”

She continued: “I share this with my daughter, who has been with me since she was six weeks old on the road with this.

“It’s the best role of my life being your mum and I promise to continue to be disobedient so you can belong to a world in all your complete wildness as a young woman. I am very grateful for this.”

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Buckley had been hotly-tipped for the gong as she has proved unbeatable through the awards season so far for her performance as Shakespeare's wife Agnes Hathaway - historically known as Anne - in Hamnet.

The big-screen adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's award-winning novel about the family life of William Shakespeare and the death of their young son, helmed by Chloe Zhao, broke the record for the most nominations for a female-directed film in BAFTA history, with 11.