Birdy Sweeney

Birdy Sweeney

Birth : 1931-06-14,

Death : 1999-05-11

History

Birdy Sweeney was an Irish actor best remembered for his regular role in TV drama Ballykissangel. His name came from his uncanny ability to mimic birdsong.

Profile

Birdy Sweeney

Movies

The Poorhouse Revisited
In the time of Ireland's Great Famine, an elderly gravedigger revisits a traumatic event through the decaying visions of his fragmented dreams.
Angela's Ashes
Old Priest
Based on the best selling autobiography by Irish expat Frank McCourt, Angela's Ashes follows the experiences of young Frankie and his family as they try against all odds to escape the poverty endemic in the slums of pre-war Limerick. The film opens with the family in Brooklyn, but following the death of one of Frankie's siblings, they return home, only to find the situation there even worse. Prejudice against Frankie's Northern Irish father makes his search for employment in the Republic difficult despite his having fought for the IRA, and when he does find money, he spends the money on drink.
Divorcing Jack
Lift Attendant
He's Irish, he's ageing, he drinks, is a touch cynical and when he has time writes a newspaper column. On the eve of the country's first election as an independent state, Dan Starkey's life is about to change after he finds the young woman he has just made love to dead and his only ally is a nun
The Nephew
Old Codger
Twenty years ago, Tony Egan's sister went to America. Nobody ever heard of her again. But now, the message of her death arrives in her town of birth. Only days later, her only son Chad arrives, too. Obviously, his mother took a black husband. Soon, Chad falls for Aislin, who has a bit of a crush on him too. But there is an old conflict going on between her father and Chad's uncle. This conflict resurfaces and begins to draw circles, wider and wider.
The Butcher Boy
Man in Well
Francie and Joe live the usual playful, fantasy filled childhoods of normal boys. However, with a violent, alcoholic father and a manic depressive, suicidal mother the pressure on Francie to grow up are immense. When Francie's world turns to madness, he tries to counter it with further insanity, with dire consequences.
Downtime
Pat
Former police psychologist Rob helps to save young Chrissy when she is about to commit suicide by jumping of 21st-story balcony with her 4-year-old son Jake. When he persuades her to go on a date, they are trapped with Jake in an elevator after a drunken gang crashes into the elevator's engine room and creates havoc.
Space Truckers
Mr Zesty
John Canyon is one of the last independent space transport entrepreneurs. Rough times force him to carry suspicious cargo to Earth without questions being asked. During the flight the cargo turns out to be multitude of unstoppable and deadly killer robots.
The Snapper
Loner
Sharon Curley is a 20-year-old living with her parents and many brothers and sisters in Dublin. When she gets pregnant and refuses to name the father, she becomes the talk of the town.
The Crying Game
Tommy
Irish Republican Army member Fergus forms an unexpected bond with Jody, a kidnapped British soldier in his custody, despite the warnings of fellow IRA members Jude and Maguire. Jody makes Fergus promise he'll visit his girlfriend, Dil, in London, and when Fergus flees to the city, he seeks her out. Hounded by his former IRA colleagues, he finds himself increasingly drawn to the enigmatic, and surprising, Dil.
Journey to Knock
Stan
Journey to Knock humourously follows three disabled men on their pilgrimage from the North of England to Knock shrine in Co. Mayo.
Reefer and the Model
Instant Photo
Reefer and the Model is a 1988 Irish film written and directed by Joe Comerford. It concerns Reefer, a former Irish Republican Army man who operates a ferry using an old trawler between the Galway coast and the Aran Islands; his friends Spider and Badger; and the pregnant Teresa ("the Model"), who has abandoned a life of drugs and prostitution in England. The group become involved in the armed robbery of a post office and are pursued by the Gardaí. The film premièred in Galway in August 1988. Reefer and the Model won the Europa Prize at the Barcelona Festival, and Best Feature at the Celtic Film Festival in Wales. At the 1988 European Film Awards, the film was nominated for Best Young Film, Carol Scanlan was nominated for Best Actress, and Ray McBride was nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
The Temptation of Eileen Hughes
Caretaker
The McAuleys are local celebrities and Eileen Hughes, a young shop assistant, is flattered to be taken under their wing. Then she accepts their invitation to join them for a week's holiday in London ...
The Cry
Mr. Ferguson
Ulster 1959. A young journalist visiting his quiet hometown is awakened by a scream in the night. He catches sight of a youth being beaten up and dragged away. When he investigates, witnesses seem to melt away, and life-long friends reveal a sinister indifference. Or is it fear?
A Woman Calling
Man in Shop
Professor Broderick, a famous professor of Psychology, returns to his house by Belfast Lough to discover a woman waiting for him.
Naming the Names
Man at Divis
Finn's story seems to begin when Henry Kirk comes into the bookshop where she works. But it goes back a lot further than that...