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 Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), it first aired on Monday, 18 September 1989. It has won several awa ...

'' and for playing the role of

werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely ...

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 broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...

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

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...

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 Cas ...

'' since 2023.

Biography

Keenan was born and raised in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

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

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

, graduating with a degree in Sociology and History. As a child, Keenan says she 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

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. Originally the lead singer, guitarist, and lyricist of the rock band The Sons of Mr. Green Genes, he turned down a record deal in the late 1990s and began acting on stage and in short an ...

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 animals include: red or reddish skin that is ho ...

''. After this, she played the character Farrah Phelan in Irish

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

'' 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'' actor

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

. 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 ''Murder City'' is a British crime drama series produced by Granada Television, first broadcast on 18 March 2004 on ITV, that focuses on two mismatched detectives, DI Susan Alembic (Amanda Donohoe) and DS Luke Stone (Kris Marshall), who scour ...

'', ''

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 Septembe ...

'' and ''

Doctors Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

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

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

'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''. He also created the Channel 4 telev ...

'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'', ''

Agatha Christie's Poirot ''Poirot'' (also known as ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'') is a British mystery drama television programme that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2013. David Suchet starred as the eponymous detective, Agatha Christie's fictional Her ...

'', '' Silent Witness'' and

David Tennant David John Tennant (''né'' McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He rose to fame for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor (2005–2010 and 2013) in the BBC science-fiction TV show '' Doctor Who'', reprising the rol ...

's final episodes of ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

''. Throughout her career, Keenan has had strong roots in theatre becoming a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), playing parts such as

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 written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

'' and Evie in the original play, ''The American Pilot''. She also 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. ...

''. In March 2018, Keenan won the Royal Television Society Programme Award for Actor (Female) for her role as Melanie Jones in ''

Little Boy Blue "Little Boy Blue" is an English-language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 11318. Lyrics A common version of the rhyme is: Little Boy Blue, Come blow your horn, The sheep's in the meadow, The cow's in the corn. Where is ...

''. 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 BAFTA. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in 1955, consisted of six categories. Until ...

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 network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

drama ''

Three Families ''Three Families'' is a British two-part television drama 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-facto decrimin ...

'', which will focus on

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. It was filmed in Northern Ireland in 2020. In March 2022, it was announced that Keenan would be appearing in series 5 of

's crime drama ''

'' as DCI Jessica James.

Personal life

In 2012, she married to film and tv 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