Galway-born conductor Eimear Noone, who became the first female conductor to perform at the Oscars last week, said that she hoped she could inspire young Irish girls to follow in her footsteps.
Noone conducted the Academy Award orchestra as it performed the music of the composers shortlisted for Best Original Score and said that she wanted Irish girls to see the performance and say, "yay, I can do that."
Speaking on the Ray D'Arcy show on RTÉ Radio 1 on Tuesday afternoon, Noone reflected on her performance and said that she was full of joy.
The Galway native said that the reception she'd gotten in Ireland had been wonderful.
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"The build-up in Ireland has been amazing. The performance is online. What I was excited about was I just wanted little Irish girls to see it and just go, 'Yay! I can do that! I can do that!' That was in my heart and in my mind."
However, she expressed disappointment that her performance was excluded from the Oscar's highlight package that was sent around the world, meaning that her friends and family were unable to see her when the highlights were broadcast on RTÉ on Monday night.
"I heard, unfortunately, when I came into the airport today that unfortunately my performance was not included in the RTÉ highlights that all my family and friends and everyone stayed up to watch. But, you know, there was so much good that I can't complain. But, you know, it would have been nice."
RTÉ has no editorial control over the highlights package.
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Noone said that the way she was treated by the Academy was "amazing." She said she was approached by women all night who wanted to congratulate her on her achievement.
She added that she was especially happy to see her colleague Hildur Guðnadóttir scoop the Best Original Score Award for her music in Joker, becoming the first woman in over 20 years to win the award.
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