Louisa Harland pays tribute to Hamnet co-stars after rising star win

By Bairbre Holmes, Press Association

Rising star recipient Louisa Harland has paid tribute to Irish actors and crews as she picked up the award at the Irish Film and TV Awards.

Speaking to reporters, she said Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal “went out of their way to be so kind and made me feel so included” when she joined the cast of Hamnet.

Harland played the mother of Jessie Buckley’s character in flashback scenes in the Oscar-nominated film.

She said despite spending only a week filming: “They made such a fuss of me when I arrived on set, and they are just a testament to how incredible Irish actors are.”

In her acceptance speech, the Derry Girls star dedicated the award to Brian Murphy, a unit driver on The Walsh Sisters series, who she said died this year.

She said: “Such an incredibly kind man, and such a great example of the quality of crew we have in Ireland, and those crew members have made me a better actor, so thank you.”

Later, she said winning the award “means everything” to her and described the category as “just full of talent”, adding she feels “so lucky to be part of this industry, especially in Ireland”.

“I really meant it when I said the crew here in Ireland, the shorthand they have with each other is unlike anywhere else I have worked, and it makes me so proud.”