Entertainment

Actress Saoirse Ronan honours Irish roots at the Oscars

Irish actress Saoirse Ronan arriving at the Oscars on Sunday. Picture by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
Irish actress Saoirse Ronan arriving at the Oscars on Sunday. Picture by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP Irish actress Saoirse Ronan arriving at the Oscars on Sunday. Picture by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

ACTRESS Saoirse Ronan honoured her Irish roots at this year's Oscars with her choice of gown.

The 21-year-old's portrayal of an Irish immigrant in Brooklyn had earned her a Best Actress nomination at the Academy Awards.

And while the star may have missed out to Brie Larson, Ronan honoured her Irish heritage and stunned in an emerald green Calvin Klein dress.

"I wore green at my first Oscars as well," she said.

"I wanted to wear green because I'm very proud to be Irish and Calvin Klein made this for me," she said.

Speaking on the red carpet, Ronan said attending the Academy Awards was "surreal".

Irish contenders did not go home empty-handed with director Benjamin Cleary's movie Stutterer winning the Oscar for best live action short film.

Cleary, who is from Dublin, had financed the movie himself.

In his acceptance speech, he said: "You know, when you make your first ever film, you've got to convince a lot of people to jump on board and take a risk with a first-time director, and, you know, to every single member of the cast and crew of Stutterer for jumping on board and taking that risk with me, I'm forever grateful.

"And to the Academy for this award. It's such a huge honour. Thank you so much. To my amazing parents for all the support, thank you."

Following years of disappointment, actor Leonardo DiCaprio finally won his first Oscar.

The Hollywood heartthrob beat Eddie Redmayne, Bryan Cranston, Matt Damon and Michael Fassbender to take home the best actor gong for his role in The Revenant at the 88th Academy Awards.