Birdy Sweeney

Birdy Sweeney (14 June 1931 – 11 May 1999) was an Irish actor and comedian.

Birdy was born Edmund Francis Sweeney in Dungannon, County Tyrone. He was one of 10 children. Growing up, Sweeney was a good whistler as a boy. He was nicknamed "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 (1992), The Hanging Gale (1995), 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.

Death Sweeney died on 11 May 1999 at St. Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, aged 67, He was survived by his wife Alice and their eight children, 6 boys who lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and 2 girls who stayed in Ireland.