Colin Farrell with Jenny the donkey in Banshees of Inisherin

By Suzanne Pender

IT SEEMS a local resident is the toast of Tinseltown, and such is her celebrity status that she’s even had her own body-double at Sunday night’s Oscars!

Jenny the donkey, arguably the stand-out star of Golden Globe winning movie The Banshees of Inisherin, is apparently now living her best life on the Carlow/Laois border.

Writer and director of the film Martin McDonagh fell for Jenny’s charms straightaway, and after her performance in Banshees Jenny could probably have her pick of coveted donkey roles but, happily for her, Martin was so enamoured with his little star that he ensured her early retirement.
“Martin has insisted that for Jenny’s sake her exact location remain a state secret, so to speak, just for the benefit of Jenny’s safety and her new owners,” said Rita Moloney of Fircroft Animal Actors, Rathangan, Co Kildare, who co-ordinated Jenny on the set.

“But I can tell you she has absolutely landed on all four feet … she’s living the dream,” Rita told The Nationalist yesterday.

“I’ve seen her at least once a month since, because I promised the producers I would, and she is doing so, so well. She’s wintered really well and I was just so pleased to see how well she’s doing.”

The scene-stealing miniature donkey was even name-checked by Jimmy Kimmel at Sunday’s Oscars, with a replica Jenny brought onto the stage in the Dolby Theatre, while Jenny also managed to secure what every woman in the world craves – Colin Farrell’s absolute adulation!

“She was absolutely the biggest ego on the set. She has absolutely no respect for man or beast; it was her way or no way … and she hasn’t changed one bit since, and she never will,” smiled Rita.