Bryan, from the South East, was deeply moved while clearing out his mother’s belongings after her death.

“She’d held onto every single card I’d ever sent to her since before I could actually write her name. I expect she’d bought that one and guided my infant hand to write it.”

“She was a pragmatic, hard-lived woman not given to emotion, but she’d clearly valued those cards. It’s not the expensive presents she wanted, just a quiet, sincere expression of appreciation and knowing she was loved,” Bryan says.

The best gift Jayne, from Yorkshire, received was her first as a grandma. “My daughter couldn’t afford much, so she made a card and inside it was a foot and hand print of my then 6-month-old grandson, I cried!”

“I still have that print alongside larger ones of when he was a little older in a frame, on my stairway,” she says.

Jayne will never forget how her mum reacted when she gifted her a Pendelfin bunny, which she bought when she was 12 years old with her babysitting money.

“It was in the window of the paper shop on the way to school. Each week, I went in and paid a little bit off it until it was mine,” she explains.

“My mum cried when I gave her it on the morning of Mother’s Day and she had it until the day she died.”

Seasonal blooms

Flowers topped the list as one of the most-mentioned gifts from our readers.

He was already serving a life sentence for murdering his sister-in-law

A convicted murderer who attacked a prisoner officer by stabbing him with a plastic knife, has had his sentence extended.

Moustapha Dia, 28, approached the prison officer, who was locking doors on the wing of HMP Whitemoor, near March, at about 2pm on October 19 2024.

Dia whispered something to him, then quickly grabbed him into a headlock and began stabbing him to the head, face and neck with a plastic knife. The attack only stopped when other prison officers managed to intervene and disarm Dia.

The victim was taken to Peterborough City Hospital, where he was treated for concussion and several cuts to his face and neck.

Dia denied the charges and stood trial at Huntingdon Law Courts in January, where he was found guilty of being in possession of an offensive weapon in prison and wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

At Huntingdon Law Courts on Thursday (March 12), Dia had four years added onto his existing life sentence.

DC Emma Purser, who investigated, said: “This was a ferocious and cowardly attack by Dia, who targeted a prison officer much smaller in stature than him. Luckily the officer was only left with superficial injuries, but the intent was there to do much worse.

“There is no doubt that prison officers do a difficult job in challenging circumstances, and this attack will no doubt have a lasting psychological impact on the victim, who was just trying to do his job.

“This level of violence is completely unacceptable and I am pleased that Dia has faced justice for his actions despite denying the charges.”

Mary Trump has accused her uncle Donald Trump of throwing a baseball ‘as hard as he could’ at her when she was just five years old, with journalist April Ryan calling the president the male version ‘of Cruella de Vil’

President Donald Trump was accused by his niece of supposedly hurling a baseball “as hard as he could” at her when she was merely five years old.

Speaking frankly with journalist April Ryan, the president’s niece discussed the family dynamics, explaining that her grandmother would typically spend time with the girls whilst her grandfather would spend time with the boys. “I tried to hang with my brother and my cousin and my uncles, but one, I was the youngest, and two, I was a girl, so they didn’t really want me around, but I would try,” Mary remembered.

Mary recounted on Friday that whenever the future president would visit, which she said was frequent given that they spent most weekends there, she would often try to play sports with him and her Uncle Rob. “We’d play either soccer or throw baseball in the backyard,” she told Ryan.

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“So yes, I would play ball with them,” Mary continued. “But Donald, despite the fact that he was 20 years older than I was and I was five, would still throw the ball as hard as he possibly could.”

Ryan was stunned by the revelation. “What? Oh my God,” she exclaimed whilst labelling the president the male equivalent “of Cruella de Vil.”, reports the Irish Star.

Mary Trump has consistently criticised her uncle since he returned to office. Most recently, Mary condemned the president after he appeared to forget where his father was born. During a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump mistakenly claimed that his father was born in Germany. “I love the U.K., my mother was born there,” Trump remarked whilst discussing the nation’s energy and immigration issues.

The president then gestured towards Merz, stating, “My father was… he knows all about my father. My father was born there.” However, the president is mistaken. His late father was actually born in the Bronx, New York. Mary subsequently posted a biting tweet accusing the president of being incorrect.

“This is not the kind of insider knowledge most people have access to, but my grandfather, Fred Trump, Sr., was not born in Germany,” she declared. “He was born in the Bronx, NY, and grew up in Woodhaven, Queens–something you’d think his favourite son would know.”

Representatives for Donald Trump have been approached for comment.

Santander will close 40 branches across the UK in April and May 2026, with 13 shutting on April 28-29 and 27 more by May 20 – here’s the full list of closures

Banking giant Santander is set to close 40 branches across the UK in weeks. The bank announced in January that it was reducing its presence on the high street by a total of 44 locations, including four which closed that month.

It said at the time that a further 40 branches would go by the end of May, explaining the move was as a result of customers turning to online services. The lender said that more than nine out of 10 (96%) of customer transactions were now conducted through digital platforms.

Santander also confirmed that a total of 291 jobs were at risk as a result of the planned closures. That announcement came less than 12 months after the Spanish banking firm announced the closure of 95 branches last March, a decision that impacted 750 employees.

In July 2025 Santander’s then UK chief executive Mike Regnier, revealed that about 2,000 jobs had been lost during the preceding year under the bank’s restructuring. At that time he said more redundancies “might well be” likely.

Santander said then affected branches will be succeeded by “community bankers” through Santander Local stores or shared banking hubs. He said this would continue to give access to services for customers in those areas hit by the closures.

The next wave of closures is now due to take place in weeks. The affected branches are listed below.

Branches closing in April 2026:

• Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland – April 28
• Boston, Lincolnshire – April 28
• Evesham, Worcestershire – April 28
• Mold, Clwyd – April 28
• Ramsgate, Kent – April 28
• Woking, Surrey – April 28
• Bangor, County Down – April 29
• Bridgwater, Somerset – April 29
• Kirkintilloch, Lanarkshire – April 29
• Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire – April 29
• Newbury, Berkshire – April 29
• Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire – April 29
• Tonbridge, Kent – April 29

Branches closing in May 2026

• Bishop Auckland, County Durham – May 5
• Gosport, Hampshire – May 5
• Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire – May 5
• Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire – May 5
• Pontefract, West Yorkshire – May 5
• Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire – May 5
• Glengormley, County Antrim – May 6
• Leyland, Lancashire – May 6
• Mansfield, Nottinghamshire – May 6
• Merthyr Tydfil, Mid Glamorgan – May 6
• Northallerton, North Yorkshire – May 6
• Ringwood, Hampshire – May 6
• Andover, Hampshire – May 12
• Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan – May 12
• Enniskillen, County Fermanagh – May 12
• Macclesfield, Cheshire – May 12
• Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire – May 12
• Cwmbran, Gwent – May 13
• Golders Green, London – May 13
• Heswall, Merseyside – May 13
• Redditch, Worcestershire – May 13
• Stranraer, Wigtownshire – May 13
• Newton Abbot, Devon – May 19
• Stafford, Staffordshire – May 19
• Banbridge, County Down – May 19
• Liskeard, Cornwall – May 20
• Shirley, West Midlands – May 20

Most free to play video games are online shooters but a reader asks what would happen if every game was free and anyone could play anything they wanted.

Video games are weird when it comes to prices. The average cost of a game has barely increased at all in 40 years and consoles only a relatively little amount. Which sounds good in theory, except they’re still expensive to most people and not the sort of thing you really buy without either a lot of research or a good sale.

People don’t want to pay more but publishers desperately need them to, because the cost of making games definitely has gone up over the years. The solution to this has been free-to-play games where they make their money, not on the game but the microtransactions, with skins and other cosmetics that seem utterly worthless to me but are apparently highly desirable to some people.

A couple of million people paying £70 for a game is nothing compared to tens of millions paying £7 for a skin every other week and so we arrive at a place where Fortnite is virtually a video games industry in itself, and half of all games that people play are the same 10 that have been out for the best part of a decade.

PIC 1

Almost all of these free-to-play games are online multiplayer games, mostly shooters but also things like Rocket League. This is because competitive games are the most universally popular, that anyone can understand in an instant, but also because you’re competing against other people you’ve also got a lot of reasons to buy skin and gear, to show off to other people.

But what if all games were free (just by magic or whatever, I’m not suggesting this is a real thing that could happen) and microtransactions weren’t a thing or were also free. What would people play then, if their personal preference was all that mattered?

When I first started this thought experiment, I imagined all the obscure genres that I love, like real-time strategies and space combat simulators, that would come back, because people would be free to pick and choose and experiment. Money would no longer be an issue, and so people would be free to follow their whims and discover all sorts of weird and wonderful things they had no idea they’d like.

And then I realised I was being naïve and that in reality almost nothing would change. Even if games didn’t cost money they take time and most people aren’t interested in spending it learning something new when they only sat down for a game for a quick blast or to relax (which is perfectly fine, I’m not dissing that).

In fact, we’ve had very clear evidence that nothing would change with Game Pass, which is free at the point of use. Instead of sampling lots of previously unknown games and taking a chance on weird indie titles, people just stick to what they know, either because they’re not interested or are literally paralysed with choice.

I’ve also heard of people flicking through a dozen or more games at a time and playing them only for a few minutes and writing them off instantly. Not just because of time but also because they don’t have any faith that they’ll like anything they didn’t already know about.

That, I’m afraid, is human nature. You see it on Netflix and other streaming services too. It’s not the avant-garde shows that are popular it’s the dumb as rocks ones. And what kind of movies do Netflix make for itself? Other than a few that are specifically meant as Oscar bait, they’re usually incredibly stupid action films that sell themselves as having an actor you’ve already heard of in them.

I just don’t think there’s anyway to make a substantial number of people interested in gaming the way fans are. That should be obvious – most people have their own hobbies that they’re more attached to – but I think the high cost of gaming makes us think that if only they were cheaper people’s tastes and wants would radically change.

I don’t think they would though. Maybe they’d expand slightly but the further you go back in time, when there were more genres in the mainstream, it’s not just because games were cheaper to make back then but because the majority of people were gamers and they were looking for something new and interesting.

Now the majority of people that play games don’t consider it an important hobby to them. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s the price of being successful, but it also shows why Xbox’s goal of having three billion players was always nonsense. There aren’t that many people in the world that will ever like games that much and we just have to accept that.

By reader Heckler

The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot.

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The Ireland boss has been linked with a move to Saracens but has silverware in his sights again at international level

Jason Robinson didn’t pick up his nickname Bily Whizz randomly, he was genuinely fast – and was once clocked at 10.67 seconds over 100 metres.

It made him a formidable Rugby League and Rugby Union opponent, a dual code England star, a RL Rest of the World player, a Lion – and a 2003 Rugby World Cup winner.

He has been watching Ireland with fascination, having played a decade with Andy Farrell at Wigan, a man he calls a close friend.

Farrell, he says, is unlikely to leave Ireland any time soon and must surely be tempted to stay on after the next Rugby World Cup – although the idea the current Ireland coach is on a lot of wish-lists isn’t far-fetched.

Robinson, speaking on behalf of BetSelect, said: “I played at Wigan for 10 years with Andy and now to see what he’s doing for Ireland, I think is fantastic.

“I’m sure there’s a lot of clubs in England and internationally that want Andy Farrell because of what he’s done and the way he does it but I know personally and for a fact he loves it in Ireland, is really enjoying it.

“I think that this year after the first game against France everybody was throwing the questions out there, what’s going on and all of a sudden, now, things are a bit different.”

The timing of the Saracens link was unfortunate.

“It has been denied hasn’t it and it was probably wrong time for it to come out for anyway but listen, it’s only to be expected because he is one of the best coaches in the world and has proven it.

“If he were to go into club rugby he would have more impact on the team that he was coaching and there’s no doubt in my mind he would be able to do it but whether whether he’d want to do that is another thing.

“If you look his pedigree, he’s one of the best at adapting. He’s gone from Rugby League to Rugby Union as a player and as a coach he has gone as high as the Lions. What he is good at is man management and the players love him for that.”

Robinson will be glued to the TV on Saturday for Six Nations D-day.

“The Ireland Scotland game is currently fascinating because we started the campaign and everybody is playing down Ireland and asking what about the coaching and this, that, and the other and all of a sudden they’ve managed to pull it back.

“Can Scotland back it up, that’s going to be a massive ask, ‘are they able to go away from home and put in a performance like last week?’ because last week would have taken a lot out of them”

Nobody expected this from the start: “Yes, France were going to be the favorites but for Scotland to put 50 on France was unbelievable but in typical fashion while France were going down, they still managed to score 40 points!

“It’s going to be so hard now for England, who’s last three games were very, very poor, going to go to Paris after they got 50 put on them by Scotland.

“That’s a huge, huge game but even more so for England just to bloody restore some pride but even then I just can’t see England winning that game.”

This has been a brilliant Six Nations and each of the six teams, well five actually, have contributed in their own way.

“It’s been fantastic,” says Jason Robinson. “Most people were resigned to the 2026 Six Nations being decided in that last game, France against England, and that is now completely out the window and we’ve got potentially three teams that could win.

“I’m so pleased for Italy even though it was a horror show for England last Saturday. They ran Ireland so close, have beaten Scotland, they beat England.

“I mean even Wales, they’ve obviously not been winning games but they’ve started to look more like a team that at some point will come good.

“Whereas England, at the moment, I’m not sure what’s quite going on, whether it’s players or how they’re being told to play, but it’s not working – whatever it is, it needs to be addressed ASAP.”

Jason Robinson is an ambassador for BetSelect.co.uk

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Worried that many long running franchises are running out of new ideas, a reader suggests that pastiche is the best way to keep them interesting.

Is your favourite game series at risk of exhaustion and irrelevance? Are you worried about a dearth of new ideas? Do your favourite developers seem to struggle to figure out what’s next for their valuable properties?
‘’There’s got to be a better way!’’

I’m here to tell you that pastiches are the solution.

Pastiche (n)
1. a work of art that mixes styles, materials, etc.
2. a work of art that imitates the style of another artist or period.
(Collins definition)

I’m not talking about licensed spin-offs into different genres but the application of well-established, genre-defining ideas to properties and genres not historically associated with them.

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Here are some of my favourite examples.

Castlevania but it’s a role-playing game
Symphony Of The Night is closing in on 30 years of age but it’s still a top example of how to breathe new life into a series (and a scrolling action genre) that was potentially beginning to struggle in terms of relevance and ideas.

We’ve since seen the RPG-ification of pretty much all genres in one way or another, and there’s a reason for that. I’d consider Symphony Of The Night to be an early pioneer.

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Prince of Persia but it’s a Metroidvania
Sticking with a theme for a minute, Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown has probably been the best in the series over at least the past two decades. It demonstrates how even something that’s now as oversaturated as the 2D Metroidvania can still be fresh and compelling when applied to a series known for its fluid mechanics and satisfying challenges (or at least The Sands Of Time gave the Prince that reputation).

Shout out to Yoku’s Island Express as another pastiche in this genre. That, of course, representing the Metroidvania and the enduringly popular dung beetle simulator…

Pokémon but it’s Dragon Quest Builders
Builders was already a mix of Minecraft and Dragon Quest so Pokopia is worth bringing up if only to show you can nest your pastiches within pastiches.

But here we also have the most recent successful rejuvenation of an increasingly exhausted series as a result of looking more outwards in terms of both developer and premise. One well-executed mix and match has resulted in the most highly praised Pokémon game ever.

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Zelda but it’s a rhythm action game
I won’t claim Cadence Of Hyrule: Crypt Of The NecroDancer was the pinnacle of Zelda but it was very worthwhile. Once again, this is the exact sort of approach Nintendo should be taking to keep its biggest and oldest properties fresh, and to attract development resources that’ll do them justice while we wait for the next killer app instalment.

Also worth mentioning is ‘Zelda but it’s a twin stick shooter’. I’ve yet to play Minishoot’ Adventures but there’s a reason it’s celebrated as more than just another Zelda or Geometry Wars clone.

Final Fantasy but it’s a Sekiro style parry fest
For those who could never gel with Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice compared to earlier From games, I’ll die (once) on the hill that says getting to grips with its combat is one of the most satisfying experiences available in all of third person action gaming.

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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s application of that to a turn-based role-playing game was a masterstroke, to the point where someone like myself – who would traditionally try and avoid too many random turn-based encounters – was actively looking for a fight whenever possible.

It sounds like such a basic thing: when the enemy slashes horizontally, jump and attack. When they come at you with their rhythmic pattern, don’t block or dodge, but take the risk of a parry and you’ll eventually be consistently rewarded with counters that represent high-damage cinematic loveliness.

Gears Of War but it’s a bullet hell roguelite
Around these parts it’s probably accepted a bit more than elsewhere, that Returnal is one of the best games of the generation so far. I’m hopeful Saros will help players to draw out its merits more easily, so fewer are put off by certain design decisions.

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Clearing a busy room by maximising the benefits of whatever set-up the game serves you felt balletic, psychedelic, empowering and – crucially – always engaging.

XCOM but it’s a deck builder
Speaking of making the most of the hand you’re dealt, when we first learned about Marvel’s Midnight Suns, the deck builder route attracted a lot of complaining, and I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t want to see a more pure attempt at Marvel’s XCOM.

The apparent impact of Midnight Sun’s reception on key Firaxis talent is a modern industry tragedy but this is a great game in its own right, with the deck building encouraging some very satisfying moment-to-moment improvisation.

I hope these examples get the point across but here are a few suggestions for new genre mixes that I think could be quite powerful.

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Mega Man but it’s a 3D Soulslike
I don’t like the idea of everything copying Dark Souls but I feel the genre’s properties could bring a lot to some games. The bosses, the difficulty, the level structure and the non-linearity of Mega Man are already all there in Demon’s Souls.

Start off in some sort of lab-based hub that branches into different zones. But this time Easy mode involves completing those zones in a logical order based on the abilities you earned from earlier bosses (Wood Man after Heat Man, etc). But on top of the abilities you acquire there are Soulslike attributes to level up and customise Mega Man.

To me it sounds like the best way to bring the series into the modern day (and successfully into 3D for the first time).

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Titanfall but it’s a battle royale
This is what I sort of hoped Apex Legends would evolve into. To be honest I’m not sure it would really be better than the amazing Titanfall 2 – I’ve only dabbled in battle royale games so far – but it feels like a logical evolution in terms of scope.

Equal shout out to a Splatoon Battle Royale. I love that series, but it needs to branch out a bit now. Maybe the upcoming Splatoon Raiders will successfully borrow from elsewhere too.

Zelda but it’s a full-on survival game
I feel like some of the best parts of Breath Of The Wild were down to the survival lite resource gathering, but I also think some of the backlash against it came from a refusal to recognise that was a fundamental aspect of the game, at least at the start.

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Eventide Island, where you’re stranded with barely a twig to your name, is a real series highlight. To double down on what was good about that, I’m thinking Subnautica, whether Zelda goes back to the sea or it just takes spirit of that game but stays on land or in the sky.

Tears Of The Kingdom was criticised a bit for the arguably unfocused applications of its building system. Let’s see that game’s emergent interactivity mixed with Subnautica’s branching craft-based objective systems and settlement building.

I want to see Link (or Zelda) start with nothing and progress to running a fully customised resource rich estate with a permanent fleet of crafted vehicles and powerful weapons. But with the well-designed dungeons and compelling overworld that Subnautica lacked.

Super Mario but it’s Breath of the Wild
Many will no doubt roll their eyes at the suggestion of another tightly designed series moving into the less focused realm of open world but I’m standing my ground.

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I’m sure Sonic Frontiers gives a rough idea of what I’m thinking (maybe it’s one of the reasons GC were fans) but I haven’t played that yet. The basic principle for me is nonetheless that Zelda brought as much to the open world format as the series took from it, and I’d have to think the peerless level of invention associated with Mario would make it an equally great contributor to open world design.

I’d like to hear from others regarding existing examples and suggestions for great genre mix-ups. As I’ve tried to show, it’s long proven to be a way to keep things fresh and interesting but I never seem to see it discussed and acknowledged as much as I’d expect, either as a solution to creative stagnation or commercial struggles.

By reader Panda



The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot.

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It was so big it couldn’t use the English Channel, Suez Canal or Panama Canal.

The biggest ship in the world was longer than both the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State Building. It was known as the Seawise Giant and became one of the longest self-propelled ships in history.

The boat, later called Happy Giant, Knock Nevis and Mont, was built in Japan between 1974 and 1979. It had the greatest deadweight tonnage of a ship ever recorded.

Fully laden, it was 657,019 tonnes and was the heaviest in the world. Seawise Giant had a draft of 24.6 meters (81ft) and a length of 458.45 meters (1,504.1 ft).

Due to its size, it was incapable of navigating the English Channel, the Suez Canal or the Panama Canal.

The ship has a long history, and was created by Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd in Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan, as an Ultra Large Crude Carrier.

It remained unnamed for a long time and was identified as its hull number, 1016. The ship suffered severe vibration problems during sea trials, and an unknown Greek owner refused to take delivery of it.

Eventually, the Japanese shipyard sold the ship thanks to a deal with Hong Kong Orient Overseas Container Line. Yet, they wanted to lengthen the ship by several meters and add 146,152 tonnes of cargo capacity.

Two years later, the ship relaunched as the Seawise Giant. In 1988, it was damaged during the Iran-Iraq war after fires erupted aboard the ship, and oil spread into the water.

The ship was still intact but was so damaged it was not deemed economical to repair.

However, a Norwegian investment firm bought the damaged ship. Over the next few years, it was repaired and renamed Happy Giant.

Up until 2004, the ship was owned by various Norwegian investment firms. It was then purchased by First Olsen Tankers and renamed Knock Nevis.

The ship was converted into a primarily moored storage tanker in the Persian Gulf.

However, it was then taken on by new owners Amber Development and named Mont. It had one final voyage to India where the ship was scrapped.

The ship was beached in December 2009 and due to its size, it took until the end of 2010 for it to be scrapped. The Seawise Giant’s anchor was saved and is on public display in Hong Kong.

It goes down in history as the longest ship ever constructed at 458.45 meters and is taller than many of the world’s tallest buildings. The Eiffel Tower stands at 330 meters and the Empire State Building at 443 meters.

In an unusually unpredictable Oscars race, there is only one moment experts agree is a dead cert – Jessie Buckley, on stage once again, to collect the award for best actress.

The big honours started with a Critics Choice award in January. A Golden Globe followed, then a BAFTA, and most recently, a statuette at the Actor Awards.

Buckley is the only acting nominee to take home all four this year, and she has picked up other smaller awards, too. The Oscar, it seems, is hers to lose.

Latest updates – The Oscars

Gold Derby, the LA based authority when it comes to awards predictions, rates her chance of winning at an almost unbeatable 97%. “It’s really been a crazy award season, it’s been pretty unprecedented,” says Debra Birnbaum, the site’s editor-in-chief. But Buckley, she says, “is a sure thing… a pretty safe bet”.

If Buckley does win, she will make history – the first Irish actress ever to take home the award.

The 36-year-old is being recognised for her portrayal of Agnes, the wife of Shakespeare in Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet. The film chronicles the couple’s grief following the death of their young son, and puts the bard, played by Paul Mescal, in the backseat as Agnes’s story takes centre stage. Buckley’s raw, emotive performance has moved audiences to tears.

In a sea of A-list Oscar nominees, including two-time winner Emma Stone, critics have singled her out as “one of the finest actresses of her generation”.

“To be in a room with all those incredible artists, that, for me, is the greatest thing,” Buckley told Sky News last month, speaking about her awards and nominations. “That and being a mom.”

The actress gave birth to her first child, a girl, last year, and she has paid tribute to her in her speeches so far. “I’d like to share this with my daughter,” she said of her BAFTA. “I promise to continue to be disobedient so that you can belong to a world in all your mad, complex wildness as a young woman.”

This is Buckley’s second Oscar nomination; her first was for best supporting actress, for her performance in The Lost Daughter, starring Olivia Colman, in 2022. She has also starred in other Oscar-nominated films, such as Women Talking, alongside Rooney Mara and Claire Foy, and Judy, opposite Renee Zellweger, and won several awards for her leading performance in the West End revival of Cabaret.

But she has been quietly honing her talents since she was young, growing up in Killarney, Co Kerry. Her rise to fame came when she was a teenager, appearing on the BBC reality show I’d Do Anything, which sought to find an unknown lead to play Nancy in the West End revival of the musical Oliver!, in 2008.

Buckley came second, but continued to pursue her love for the stage and screen. She went on to appear in series including Taboo and The Last Post, before breakout roles in British films Beast and Wild Rose, and the critically acclaimed HBO/ Sky series Chernobyl.

Back in 2019, when Wild Rose was released, Buckley said she grew up without a TV at home until she was “about eight or nine”, and that her first experience of wanting to act was watching a “Vincente Minnelli and Judy Garland film… it was like my mind had been exploded into kind of like magic”.

Now, not only has she reached the highest accolades for her achievements on screen, but she is also a Mercury Prize nominee, too – shortlisted in 2022 for her collaborative album For All Our Days That Tear The Heart, with former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler.

‘You couldn’t take your eyes off her’

For those who knew her at the Ursuline Secondary School, in Co Tipperary, her success has come as no surprise. Music teacher Joan Butler, who joined the school in 2006, Buckley’s final year, says it was clear she would go on to big things.

“We’re so proud of all our students here, but Jessie stood out… even as she began along her career path, as being somebody with a very special talent,” she says. “She was in a production of West Side Story in my first year teaching… Spellbinding is the word we use here as we’ve been talking about her and remembering her time here.

“You couldn’t take your eyes off Jessie on the stage or when she was singing or even at the piano. It’s a star quality that is very, very rare. I can still remember I was playing violin in the pit orchestra, looking up the stage… the whole room just stopped, mouths open, watching this rehearsal. And I remember turning to some of the students and going, watch her girls, she’s going to win an Oscar one day.”

Now, Buckley could very well achieve that dream.

After seeing the actress tackling such physically and emotionally demanding scenes during the filming of Hamnet, her cast and crewmates say it has been incredible to see her hard work and talent recognised.

Hamnet set decorator Alice Felton, who is also up for an Oscar herself, nominated in the production design category, says they have “all been in tears” watching Buckley receive her awards.

“Because we watched her throughout filming give her heart and soul to that,” she says. “We’d be crying at the edge of set before the music was laid in, before everything was done.

“She’s a beautiful person. She gave everything to that role and she’s part of the team. She used to sleep in the bed in the attic [in their house in the film]. So I’d go up to redress the set and she’d be tucked up having a little nap. She just lived in the spaces and we’re all so happy for her.”

Irish stars show support in LA

In Los Angeles in the days leading up to the Oscars ceremony each year, the US-Ireland Alliance hosts the Oscar Wilde Awards, celebrating Irish talent.

They have had a lot to toast in recent years, including nine nominations for The Banshees Of Inisherin (starring another former Ursuline pupil, Kerry Condon) in 2023. And in 2024, Cillian Murphy became the first Irish star to win best actor, for his performance in Oppenheimer.

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Our Oscars predictions

This year, Buckley is the person everyone is talking about.

Gleeson, who starred alongside her in the animated Christmas special The Scarecrows’ Wedding, told Sky News: “We’re already celebrating Jessie Buckley.

“She is an absolutely amazing actor. She’s so incredible in the film and I’ll be delighted, delighted if she wins. But we celebrate her all the time.”

Singer-songwriter Dermot Kennedy also highlighted Buckley’s musical talents. “I think people are largely unaware of how great a singer she is,” he said. “She’s just an incredibly talented person, so we’re very excited for her.”

And speaking at the premiere of the Peaky Blinders film earlier this month, Murphy himself showed his support. “She’s incredible,” he told Sky News. “I’m just so happy for her, she’s unbelievable in that film.”

For the young students at Ursuline hoping to follow in Buckley’s footsteps, the actress is an inspiration.

“We are so excited to see everything that will come after this as well,” Ms Butler says. “Thank you so much to her for everything that she has done in inspiring our students and showing them what can be possible.”