On Monday, there was a hint of Hollywood glitz in the air at St. Anthony's, an Irish city of Cork primary school that has Oscar winner Cillian Murphy among its alumni. The faculty, parents, and students of Murphy's previous school were celebrating his achievement the day after he took home his first Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in Oppenheimer, as reported by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Teachers surprised the students at the school by giving them no homework as a result of Cillian Murphy's victory. Phil Howard, a grandma picking up her grandson Colm, told AFP, "The kids are especially happy that the teachers let them off," She further added, as reported by AFP, "Cillian would be happy if he heard that I'm sure."
"There was such a buzz of excitement when we woke up this morning," the all-boys Catholic school's principal, Sean Lyons, told AFP.
Between 1982 until 1988, the 47-year-old Murphy attended St. Anthony's, located in the orderly Ballinlough neighborhood of Cork.
His depiction of J Robert Oppenheimer, the US physicist who designed the atomic bomb, earned him his first Oscar on Sunday, closing a glamorous awards season in which he also took home a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, and other honors.
AFP reported that a "Congratulations" banner wished the actor success at the Oscars and mentioned his recent Golden Globe and BAFTA wins.
On a questionnaire completed in 2015, which was on display within the school, Cilian Murphy gave advice to current students on how to get- into acting and movies. The actor, who returned to Ireland after ten years in London, writes, as reported by AFP, "Join a theater group, start making films on phones with your friends, edit them on your computer and put them on YouTube."
The actor currently resides in Dublin.
