“That’s so wholesome”: Internet reacts as Cillian Murphy’s primary school in Ireland’s Ballinlough celebrates the Oppenheimer actor’s Oscar win

On Sunday, March 10, 2024, Cillian Murphy took home the 2024 Oscar for Best Actor, courtesy of his masterful portrayal of J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan's 2023 blockbuster biopic Oppenheimer. This win led to celebrations in Murphy's former primary school, St. Anthony's, in Ballinlough, Co Cork, as many students and staff praised Cillian and looked up to him as a role model.

Netizens were teary-eyed after seeing the celebrations in Cillian Murphy's former primary school and described the moment as being quite wholesome. However, a few social media users wanted to know how some of these kids got to watch Oppenheimer, a movie made for adults. One X (formerly Twitter) user exclaimed:

Netizens loved the wholesome moment (Image via X/@CultureCrave)

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Netizens were moved by Cillian Murphy's former school celebrating his Oscar win

Cillian Murphy's Oscar win was a victory received with open arms by almost all of the entertainment world and the internet. Cillian's old alma mater was also quite pumped by his victory. An RTE news report showcased the kids at Cillian's old Cork primary school, St. Anthony's, exhilarated over Cillian's win. Kids and staff even decorated their school with bright, colorful balloons.

Principal Sean Lyons told RTE that there was a certain atmosphere, energy, and positive feel-good factor around the school.

"The boys bounced in with a pep in their step,"

He added:

"He's (Murphy) been just a remarkable role model and so humble and so respectful in every way."

RTE's report showed ecstatic first graders waving the Irish flag and Oscar statue models as they were all excited about Cillian Murphy's win. One ecstatic kid mentioned that Cillian was the only person from Cork to win the award. The fifth graders were just as excited. One fifth-grade girl told the outlet:

"He definitely deserved it. He's a really good actor and yeah, I'm delighted he won the Oscar,"

Another fifth-grade boy told the outlet:

"Cillian fully deserved it, and he deserves praise from everyone in this country, so well done to him on winning it and all the other awards as well."

The school even had a sign in front of the building that congratulated their past pupil for winning a BAFTA and a Golden Globe. The sign also wished Cillian Murphy success at the Oscars. The final shot of the RTE report showed a plethora of overjoyed kids carrying Irish flags and jumping up and down in front of their school.

Social media users were touched by the celebrating kids and were all in agreement that the moment was extremely wholesome. One user stated that everyone deserved such a loving institution. However, some users wondered how the fifth graders saw Oppenheimer as the movie was meant purely for adults. Here are a few reactions to Culture Crave's tweet of the RTE segment.

Principal Sean Lyons further told the outlet that he and Cillian Murphy had even been in the same class in 6th grade. He described him as a good-humored person who was always smiling. According to Lyons, Cillian was also quite fluent in both English and Irish.

"He had a great love of the language, and he was a very good illustrator or drawer in the class,"

He added:

"He was a very normal person, a grounded person and liked the craic but a very humble person."

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Meanwhile, Chris Nolan's Oppenheimer emerged as the biggest winner in this year's Oscars, having taken home 7 of its 13 nominations. The wins include Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and Best Original Score.