Siobhán McSweeney (born 27 December 1979) is an Irish actress and presenter. She is best known for her role as Sister Michael in the teen sitcom '' Derry Girls'' which earned her a

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

Award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award may be d ...

Early life

McSweeney was born and raised in

Aherla Aherla () is a small village in County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a population of 562. It is in the townlands of ''Aherla More'' and ''Rathard''. Aherla is built on a limestone shelf typical of County Cork's ridges and valleys. The ...

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, and attended secondary school at Scoil Mhuire, Cork. Before acting, she earned a science degree at the

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

. In 2001, she moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

when she secured a place at the

Central School of Speech and Drama The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, commonly shortened to Central, is a drama school founded by Elsie Fogerty in 1906, as the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art, to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for ...

. McSweeney trained under

Philippe Gaulier Philippe Gaulier is a French master clown, pedagogue, and professor of theatre. He is the founder of École Philippe Gaulier, a French theatre school in Étampes, outside Paris. He studied under Jacques Lecoq in the mid-1960s and was an instr ...

at École Philippe Gaulier in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Career

McSweeney's first role was in 2006 as Julia in the film '' The Wind That Shakes the Barley''. In 2015, she played Una Gilbert in the film '' Mr. Holmes''. The same year, she played Ruth Cheetham in '' No Offence''. In 2016, she played Audrey in ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...

'' at

National Theatre Live National Theatre Live is an initiative operated by the Royal National Theatre in London. It broadcasts live, by satellite, performances of their productions (and those of other theatres) to cinemas and arts centres around the world. About I gre ...

. Later that year, she played the role of Witzender in the film '' Alice Through the Looking Glass''. In 2017, she played a social worker in the short film ''Big Dog''. From 2018 to 2022, McSweeney played the role of Sister Michael in the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

sitcom '' Derry Girls'' written by Lisa McGee. McSweeney also played Petra in three episodes of '' Collateral''. In 2019, McSweeney played the role of Boring Noreen in the film '' Extra Ordinary''. She also played Alice in the television series ''

Porters Porters may refer to: * Porters, Virginia, an unincorporated community in Virginia, United States * Porters, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community in Wisconsin, United States * Porters Ski Area, a ski resort in New Zealand * Porters (TV series), '' ...

'' on Dave. In 2020, she appeared in the short films ''The Widow'' and ''Scrubber''. Outside acting, McSweeney has also made guest appearances on television shows including '' Sunday Brunch'' and ''Front Row Late''. She also appeared on the ''Derry Girls'' edition of ''

The Great British Bake Off ''The Great British Bake Off'' (often abbreviated to ''Bake Off'' or ''GBBO'') is a British television baking competition, produced by Love Productions, in which a group of amateur bakers compete against each other in a series of rounds, atte ...

'' which aired on 1 January 2020. Since January 2021, she has been the presenter on ''

The Great Pottery Throw Down ''The Great Pottery Throw Down'' is a British television competition programme that first aired on BBC Two from 3 November 2015 to 23 March 2017. It was then moved to More4 from 8 January to 11 March 2020, and has been broadcast by Channel 4 si ...

'' on Channel 4. She did not appear in the initial episodes of the 2022 series, after breaking her leg in two places.

Ellie Taylor Eleanor Jane Taylor is an English comedian, television personality, actress, and writer. After appearing as a contestant on '' Show Me the Funny'' in 2011, Taylor has appeared on numerous television shows, including '' 8 Out of 10 Cats'' (2011 ...

stood in for her. In 2023, she appeared in a celebrity episode of ''

Catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

'' winning almost £30,000 for her charity, The Maya Centre in North London.

Personal life

On 8 November 2019, McSweeney's flat in London caught fire due to a cube double adaptor that had fallen out of the socket. McSweeney was out at the time but revealed she had developed anxiety following the incident.

Filmography

References

External links

* Irish film actresses Irish television actresses Irish expatriates in England Living people Actors from County Cork Alumni of University College Cork 1979 births Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Best Female Comedy Performance BAFTA Award (television) winners People educated at Scoil Mhuire, Cork Irish television presenters {{Ireland-actor-stub