Eileen Walsh (born 16 April 1977) is an Irish actress. Her credits include '' Miss Julie'' (1999), '' Janice Beard 45 WPM'' (1999), '' When Brendan Met Trudy'' (2000), '' The Magdalene Sisters'' (2002), '' Pure Mule'' (2005), ''Eden'' (2008), ''The End'' (2008), '' Catastrophe'' (2015), '' The Children Act'' (2017), ''

Maze A maze is a path or collection of paths, typically from an entrance to a goal. The word is used to refer both to branching tour puzzles through which the solver must find a route, and to simpler non-branching ("unicursal") patterns that lead ...

'' (2017), ''

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

'' (2021), and '' Ann'' (2022). In 2023, Walsh was the recipient of the Kerry Film Festival (KIFF), Maureen O’Hara Award, a recognition of achievement for women who have excelled in film, TV and/or media.

Biography

Born and raised in Cork,

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, Walsh was raised in a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

household, and had no intention of becoming an actress, until she followed in the footsteps of her elder sister

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

, who was also an actress. A young Eileen began to attend theatre workshops and her first break came when, as a student, in 1996, she landed the role of Runt in the stage version of '' Disco Pigs'', alongside Cillian Murphy, who played her friend. She was later heartbroken when losing that role to Elaine Cassidy in the 2001 film version. She worked alongside Peter Mullan in '' Miss Julie'' (1999). In 1999, she played the titular character in '' Janice Beard 45 WPM'', alongside Rhys Ifans,

Patsy Kensit Patricia Jude Francis Kensit (born 4 March 1968) is an English actress and singer. Beginning her career as a child actor, Kensit gained attention when she acted in a string of commercials for Birds Eye frozen peas. She went on to appear in films ...

and Eddie Marsan. She starred in '' When Brendan Met Trudy'' (2000). In 2002, she played the role of Crispina in '' The Magdalene Sisters'', where her character was beaten and humiliated by nuns, forced to strip, and sexually abused by a Roman Catholic Priest. Her performance earned her a nomination for British Supporting Actress of the Year at the 2002 London Film Critics' Circle Awards. She featured as Therese Farrell in '' Pure Mule'' (2005), and as Breda Farrell in the film ''Eden'' (2008), and the same year she played jessica in the short film ''The End''. In 2008, Walsh won the award for Best Actress at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

for her portrayal of Breda, a lonely housewife whose willpower is put to the test in the film ''Eden''. Her film career continued with '' The Children Act'' (2017), ''

'' (2017), ''

Personal life

Walsh is married, lived in London (2009), and has two children.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Eileen 1977 births Living people Actors from County Cork Irish film actresses Irish television actresses