Sinéad Keenan (born 27 December 1977) is an Irish actress with a wide range of television, film, and stage credits. Keenan is best known for playing Farrah Phelan in ''

Fair City ''Fair City'' is an Irish television soap opera which has been broadcast on RTÉ One since 1989. Produced by the public service broadcaster RTE, it first aired on Monday, 18 September 1989. It has won several awards and is both the most po ...

'' and for playing the role of a

werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshifting, shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a Shapeshifting, therianthropic Hybrid beasts in folklore, hybrid wol ...

called

Nina Pickering Nina Pickering is a fictional character in the comedy-drama TV series ''Being Human'', portrayed by Sinéad Keenan. Nina Pickering was a recurring character in the first two series of the show and a main character in the third series of the sho ...

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

's supernatural drama '' Being Human''. She has played DCI Jessica James in

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the ITV (TV network), Channel 3 ...

drama ''

Unforgotten ''Unforgotten'' is a British crime drama television series, which initially aired on ITV on 8 October 2015. It was created and written by Chris Lang and directed by Andy Wilson. The programme follows a team of London detectives led by DCI Ca ...

'' since 2023.

Early life and education

Sinéad Keenan was born on 27 December 1977 and raised in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, the eldest of three children. Her younger brother and sister, Rory and Gráinne, are also actors. She attended

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

, graduating with a degree in sociology and history. As a child, Keenan wanted to be a lawyer because she loved the US legal drama '' Matlock'', but as she got older she realised that she actually just wanted to play the part of the lawyer, not be one.

Career

Film

Keenan's first role was in 1999, when she was cast as the teenage girlfriend of

Cillian Murphy Cillian Murphy ( ; born 25 May 1976) is an Irish actor. His works encompass both stage and screen, and his accolades include an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe Award. He made his professional debut in Enda Walsh's 1996 pl ...

in the film, ''

Sunburn Sunburn is a form of radiation burn that affects living tissue, such as skin, that results from an overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, usually from the Sun. Common symptoms in humans and other animals include red or reddish skin tha ...

''.

Theatre

Throughout her career, Keenan has had strong roots in theatre becoming a member of the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

(RSC). She played

Hermia Hermia is a fictional character from Shakespeare's play, ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. She is a girl of ancient Athens named for Hermes, the Greek god of trade. Overview Hermia is caught in a romantic entanglement where she loves one man, Lysan ...

in ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'' at the

Novello Theatre The Novello Theatre is a West End theatre on Aldwych, in the City of Westminster. It was known as the Strand Theatre between 1913 and 2005. History The theatre was built as one of a pair with the Aldwych Theatre on either side of The Waldo ...

in 2006. The play was directed by

Gregory Doran Sir Gregory Doran (born 24 November 1958) is an English director known for his Shakespearean work. ''The Sunday Times'' called him 'one of the great Shakespearians of his generation'. Doran was artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company ...

. She played Evie in the original play, ''The American Pilot'' in 2005, and starred in ''

The Comedy of Errors ''The Comedy of Errors'' is one of William Shakespeare's early plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play ...

'' also in 2005.

Radio

In 2011, Keenan starred alongside

Jason Done Jason Done (born 5 April 1973), in Walkden, Lancashire, is an English actor who appeared as Mordred in the 1998 TV miniseries ''Merlin'', opposite Sam Neill. He is best known for his role as Stephen Snow in ITV drama '' Where The Heart Is'' ...

as DCI Lise Lazard in ''Crimes Of Mancunia'' set in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. It was written by

Michael Symmons Roberts Michael Symmons Roberts FRSL (born 1963) is a British poet. He has published eight collections of poetry, all with Cape (Random House), and has won the Forward Prize, the Costa Book Award and the Whitbread Prize for Poetry, as well as major p ...

, directed by Susan Roberts and produced by Charlotte Riches. In 2014 she appeared as Aoife in the radio play ''Doctor Who: Iterations of I'', made by

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and radio drama, audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'' ...

. It was written by John Dorney and directed by Ken Bentley. In 2025, Keenan starred as Maria Kossecka in

Hat Trick Productions Hat Trick Productions Limited is an independent British production company that produces television and radio programmes, mainly specialising in comedy, based in London. The company's logo is depicted as a rabbit pulling a man out of a hat inste ...

series ''Discretion'', broadcast as part of

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

's broadcast and podcast series ''Limelight''. It was written by Chris Brandon, produced by Claire Broughton, with executive production by

Jed Mercurio Gerald Gary Mercurio (born September 1966) is a British television writer, producer, director and novelist. A former hospital doctor and Royal Air Force officer, Mercurio has been ranked among UK television's leading writers. In 2017, Mercurio ...

Television

After appearing in ''Sunburn'', she played the character Farrah Phelan in Irish

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

'' for a year. Keenan has stated she would return to ''Fair City'', as another character. Keenan left ''Fair City'' amid fears of becoming type-cast, and moved on to film the movie '' On the Nose'' with ''

Cracker Cracker, crackers or The Crackers may refer to: Animals * ''Hamadryas'' (butterfly), or crackers, a genus of brush-footed butterflies * '' Sparodon'', a monotypic genus whose species is sometimes known as "Cracker" Arts and entertainment Films ...

'' actor

Robbie Coltrane Anthony Robert McMillan (30 March 195014 October 2022), known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, was a Scottish actor. He gained worldwide recognition in the 2000s for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. He was appointe ...

. Her next television role was as Lisa Cassidy in short-lived Irish sitcom '' The Cassidys''. Keenan then went on to have guest roles in '' Murder City'', ''

Taggart ''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries ''Killer'' from 6 until 20 Septe ...

'' and ''

Doctors Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

'', along with starring in movies '' Conspiracy of Silence'' and '' Trouble with Sex'', before landing the role of Kelly Hawkins in ITV's ''

Moving Wallpaper ''Moving Wallpaper'' is a British satirical comedy-drama television series set in a TV production unit. It ran on ITV for two series in 2008–09. The subject of the first series was the production of a soap called '' Echo Beach'', each episode ...

'', which ran for two series. Following this, Keenan played

Toby Whithouse Toby Lawrence Whithouse (; born 5 July 1970) is an English actor, screenwriter and playwright. His highest-profile work has been the creation of the BBC Three supernatural television series ''Being Human (British TV series), Being Human''. He ...

's ''Being Human''. The actress, and her chemistry with on-screen boyfriend Russell Tovey, was so well-liked by Whithouse that he edited the storyline to keep Keenan's character in the show. The character of Nina was retained for the second and third series; in the latter Keenan was upgraded to a main cast member. Following her success in ''Being Human'', Keenan has had guest roles in ''

Victoria Wood's Mid Life Christmas ''Victoria Wood's Mid Life Christmas'' is a comedy sketch show written by and starring comedian Victoria Wood, broadcast on Christmas Eve 2009. The programme, Wood's first sketch show for nine years, was described by Wood as being "a whole night ...

'', ''

Agatha Christie's Poirot ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'', or simply ''Poirot'' (), is a British mystery drama television programme that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2020. The ITV show is based on many of Agatha Christie's famous crime fiction series, wh ...

'', ''

Silent Witness ''Silent Witness'' is a British crime drama television series produced by the BBC that focuses on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. The series was created by Nigel McCrery, a former murder squa ...

'', and

David Tennant David John Tennant (; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the Tenth Doctor, tenth and Fourteenth Doctor, fourteenth incarnations of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction series ''Docto ...

's final episodes of ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

''. In March 2018, Keenan won the

Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

Programme Award for Actor (Female) for her role as Melanie Jones in '' Little Boy Blue''. In April 2018, it was announced that she had been nominated for a Leading Actress

BAFTA TV Award The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards, are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in ...

for the same role. Keenan had a starring role in the

Jimmy McGovern James Stanley McGovern (born September 1949) is an English screenwriter and producer. He is best known for creating the drama series '' Cracker'' (1993–1995), for which he received two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America. He als ...

and Gillian Juckes drama ''Care'', shown on BBC One on 9 December 2018. In April 2021, it was announced that Keenan would be starring in the two-part

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

drama ''

Three Families ''Three Families'' is a British two-part television drama series developed by Studio Lambert for BBC One. It is directed by Alex Kalymnios from a script by Gwyneth Hughes. Set in Northern Ireland between 2013 and 2019 when abortion was de fact ...

'', which will focus on

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. It was filmed in Northern Ireland in 2020. Keenan appears in series 5 and 6 of ITV's crime drama ''

'' as DCI Jessica James.

Personal life

In 2012, she married film and television director Chris McGill, founder at Dusthouse Productions, with whom she has two sons.

Filmography

Television

Personal appearances

Film

Radio and CD audio drama

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Keenan, Sinead 1977 births Living people Actresses from Dublin (city) Alumni of University College Dublin Irish film actresses Irish radio actresses Irish Shakespearean actresses Irish soap opera actresses Irish stage actresses Irish television actresses Irish voice actresses Royal Shakespeare Company members 20th-century Irish actresses 21st-century Irish actresses