Birdy Sweeney

Who was Birdy Sweeney?

Birdy Sweeney was an Irish actor and comedian.

Born Edmund Francis Sweeney in Dungannon, County Tyrone, he garnered his nickname "Birdy" from his childhood ability to imitate bird calls which he demonstrated on BBC Radio Ulster. 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.

Sweeney made minor appearances in several major films, including The Crying Game, The Snapper The Butcher Boy, and Angela's Ashes, and made his stage debut in the 1989 Dublin production of The Iceman Cometh at the Abbey Theatre. From 1996, he played farmer Eamon Byrne in the first four series of the BBC drama series Ballykissangel.