Birdy Sweeney (14 June 1931 – 11 May 1999) was an Irish actor and comedian. Born Edmund Francis Sweeney in

Dungannon Dungannon () is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the second-largest town in the county (after Omagh) and had a population of 14,340 at the 2011 Census. The Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council had its headquarters in t ...

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an administrative division for local government but retai ...

, he garnered his nickname "Birdy" from his childhood ability to imitate bird calls which he demonstrated on

BBC Radio Ulster BBC Radio Ulster ( ga, BBC Raidió Uladh) is a Northern Irish radio station owned and operated by BBC Northern Ireland, a division of the BBC. It was established on New Year's Day 1975, replacing what had been an opt-out of BBC Radio 4. It is ...

. He was a stand-up comedian on the club circuit for more than thirty years before he gained his first acting work as an extra in BBC Northern Ireland's adaptation of the play ''Too Late to Talk to Billy'' in 1982.Exshaw, John
Obituary: Birdy Sweeney
''The Independent'', 14 May 1999. Sweeney made minor appearances in several major films, including ''

The Crying Game ''The Crying Game'' is a 1992 thriller film written and directed by Neil Jordan, produced by Stephen Woolley, and starring Stephen Rea, Miranda Richardson, Jaye Davidson, Adrian Dunbar, Ralph Brown, and Forest Whitaker. The film explores the ...

'' (1992), ''

The Hanging Gale ''The Hanging Gale'' is a four-episode television serial which first aired on RTÉ One ( Republic of Ireland) and BBC1 ( United Kingdom) in 1995. The series was a British–Irish co-production, made by Little Bird Films for BBC Northern Ireland ...

'' (1995), '' The Snapper'' (1993) '' The Butcher Boy'' (1997), and ''

Angela's Ashes ''Angela's Ashes: A Memoir'' is a 1996 memoir by the Irish-American author Frank McCourt, with various anecdotes and stories of his childhood. The book details his very early childhood in Brooklyn, New York, US but focuses primarily on his lif ...

'', and made his stage debut in the 1989 Dublin production of ''

The Iceman Cometh ''The Iceman Cometh'' is a play written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1939. First published in 1946, the play premiered on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre on October 9, 1946, directed by Eddie Dowling, where it ran for 136 perf ...

'' at the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the p ...

. From 1996, he played farmer Eamon Byrne in the first four series of the BBC drama series ''

Ballykissangel ''Ballykissangel'' is a BBC television drama created by Kieran Prendiville and set in Ireland, produced in-house by BBC Northern Ireland. The original story revolved around a young English Roman Catholic priest as he became part of a rural com ...

''.Ballykissangel actor dies
''BBC News'', 12 May 1999

Death

Sweeney died on 11 May 1999 at St. Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, aged 67, He was survived by his wife Alice and their eight children.

Filmography

References

External links

* 1931 births 1999 deaths Male film actors from Northern Ireland Male stage actors from Northern Ireland Male television actors from Northern Ireland People from Dungannon Stand-up comedians from Northern Ireland 20th-century male actors from Northern Ireland 20th-century British comedians {{NorthernIreland-bio-stub