Biography
Birdy Sweeney was an Irish actor and comedian. Born Edmund Francis Sweeney in Dungannon, County Tyrone, on 14 June 1931, he gained his nickname from his childhood ability to imitate bird calls, which he first demonstrated on BBC Radio Ulster. He worked as a stand-up comedian on the club circuit for more than thirty years before beginning acting in his fifties.
Sweeney made his screen debut as an extra in 1982 and his stage debut in 1989 at the Abbey Theatre in a production of The Iceman Cometh. He appeared in minor roles in films including The Crying Game (1992) as Tommy, The Snapper (1993), Space Truckers (1996) as Mr Zesty, The Butcher Boy (1997) as the Man in the Well, and Angela's Ashes (1999) as the Old Priest. On television he played Father Cullen in Father Ted (1995) and Eamon Byrne in Ballykissangel (1996–1999).
Sweeney died in Dublin on 11 May 1999, aged 67. He was survived by his wife Alice and their eight children.
