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

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

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:

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 Pictures
Cillian 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 Magix
The 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

Lily Gladstone – Killers of the Flower Moon

Sandra Huller – Anatomy of a Fall

Carey Mulligan – Maestro

Emma Stone – Poor Things – WINNER

Best picture

Killers of the Flower Moon

Best supporting actress

Emily Blunt – Oppenheimer

Danielle Brooks – The Color Purple

America Ferrera – Barbie

Da’Vine Joy Randolph – The Holdovers – WINNER

Best animated short

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

Best animated feature

The Boy and the Heron – WINNER

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Best original screenplay

Anatomy of a Fall – WINNER

Best adapted screenplay

American Fiction – WINNER

Best make-up and hairstyling

Best production design

Killers of the Flower Moon

Best costume design

Killers of the Flower Moon

Best international feature

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

Mark Ruffalo – Poor Things

Best visual effects

Godzilla Minus One – WINNER

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

Best film editing

Killers of the Flower Moon

Best documentary short

The Barber of Little Rock

The Last Repair Shop – WINNER

Best documentary feature

Bobi Wine: The People’s President

20 Days in Mariupol – WINNER

Best live action short

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar – WINNER

Best cinematography

Killers of the Flower Moon

Best sound

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

Best original score

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Killers of the Flower Moon

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)

‘What Was I Made For?’ – Barbie (Billie Eilish, Finneas O’Connell) – WINNER