Edmund "Birdy" Sweeney (14 June 1931 – 11 May 1999) was an Irish actor and comedian.
He was born in Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland and gained his nickname "Birdy" from his childhood ability to imitate bird calls which he demonstrated on BBC Radio Ulster. Sweeney 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 (1992), The Snapper (1993) The Butcher Boy (1997), 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.
Sweeney died on 11 May 1999 at St. Vincent's University Hospital in Dublin, aged 68. He was survived by his wife Alice and eight children.
Famous quotes containing the word sweeney:
“Now Sweeney phones from London, W. 2,
saying, Martyr, my religion is love, is you.
Be seated, my Sweeney, my invisible fan.
Surely the words will continue, for that’s
what’s left that’s true.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)