Eva Birthistle

Eva Birthistle (born 1 January 1974) is an Irish actress, best known for her role in Ae Fond Kiss.... She won the London Film Critics Circle British Actress of the Year Award in 2004, and has twice won the IFTA Best Actress in a Leading Role (Film) award.

Early life and education

Birthistle was born in Bray, County Wicklow in the Republic of Ireland, but moved with her family to Derry, Northern Ireland when she was 14. She was raised Catholic but attended Foyle College. As a teenager, she went to Dublin to study acting at The Gaiety School of Acting.

Career

In 1995, she got her first TV role as Regina Crosbie in the serial Glenroe. She stayed for three years until 1998. She was offered her first feature film in 1997, All Souls' Day by Alan Gilsenan. She played a variety of roles in Irish films, including Drinking Crude (1997), co-starring Colin Farrell, and TV movie Miracle at Midnight (1998), with Mia Farrow. In 2002, Eva appeared in two dramas about Bloody Sunday: the documentary-style TV drama Bloody Sunday, starring James Nesbitt, and Sunday, written by Jimmy McGovern.