Siobhán McSweeney

Acting

Siobhán McSweeney

Born 1979-12-27 · County Cork, Ireland

Siobhán McSweeney (born 27 December 1979) is an Irish actress and presenter. She is best known for her role as Sister Michael in Derry Girls. McSweeney was born in County Cork, Ireland where she grew up in Aherla. Before acting, she earned a science degree at the University College Cork. In 2001, she moved to London when she secured a place at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

Acting credits

Alice Through the Looking Glass poster
6.6

Alice Kingsleigh returns to Underland and faces a new adventure in saving the Mad Hatter.

Alice Through the Looking Glass

2016

Nowhere Special poster
7.3

John, a 35-year-old window cleaner, has dedicated his life to bringing up his 4-year-old son, Michael, after the child's mother left them soon after giving birth. When John is given only a few months left to live, he attempts to find a new, perfect family for Michael, determined to shield him from the terrible reality of the situation.

Nowhere Special

2020

The Wind That Shakes the Barley poster
7.3

In 1920s Ireland young doctor Damien O'Donovan prepares to depart for a new job in a London hospital. As he says his goodbyes at a friend's farm, British Black and Tans arrive, and a young man is killed. Damien joins his brother Teddy in the Irish Republican Army, but political events are soon set in motion that tear the brothers apart.

The Wind That Shakes the Barley

2006

The Electrical Life of Louis Wain poster
6.9

The extraordinary true story of eccentric British artist Louis Wain, whose playful, sometimes even psychedelic pictures helped to transform the public's perception of cats forever.

The Electrical Life of Louis Wain

2021

Madfabulous poster
6.0

When the flamboyant Henry Paget arrives in 1890s North Wales to claim his aristocratic inheritance, his theatrical flair and defiant eccentricities send shockwaves through the upper-class elite, much to the amusement of the local townspeople. Alongside his spirited cousin, Lily, and loyal butler, Gelert, Henry tries to carve out his own identity as the Fifth Marquess, navigating suffocating traditions, scheming relatives, and the long shadow cast by his estranged father.

Madfabulous

2026

National Theatre Live: The Playboy of the Western World poster
NR

Pegeen Flaherty’s life is turned upside down when a young man walks into her pub claiming that he’s killed his father. Instead of being shunned, the killer becomes a local hero and begins to win hearts, that is until a second man unexpectedly arrives on the scene...

National Theatre Live: The Playboy of the Western World

2026

Extra Ordinary poster
6.4

A driving instructor must use her other-worldly gifts to save a lonely man’s daughter from a rock star looking to use her for Satanic purposes.

Extra Ordinary

2019

Spud poster
6.0

Spud doesn't have much of a life outside of caring for her father. But that's okay. She doesn't feel bad about herself, despite what society says. But one day, everything changes.

Spud

2024

Scrubber poster
NR

A woman washes the dishes and becomes increasingly infatuated with her neighbour.

Scrubber

2020

The Widow poster
NR

In Ireland, 1952, after the death of her husband, Nora does her best to put food on the table for her children. She hopes to sell her artwork to the church. Reality, however, has other plans and shatters her beliefs and way of life. Can a silent act of kindness be enough to keep her going for the sake of her little ones? Or is this the beginning of her downfall? A compelling tale of a woman's courage through hardship.

The Widow

2020

Brian Friel: Shy Man, Showman poster
NR

The playwright Brian Friel stands among the giants of Irish literature. From the 1980s onwards, he withdrew from media and public life. This film sets out to show, through family, friends, actors, directors, as well as via his own handwritten and typed letters, personal archive, and readings from some of his plays, how Brian Friel re-defined Irish theatre in the second half of the 20th century.

Brian Friel: Shy Man, Showman

2022

Anthony poster
6.0

In July 2005, black teenager Anthony Walker was murdered by two white men in an unprovoked racist attack in a Liverpool park. He was just 18 years old. This film tells the story of how this talented young man's life might have turned out.

Anthony

2020

Happy Days poster
NR

Winnie is buried up to her waist. The merciless sun beats down. Her husband Willie barely speaks. And yet! - she proclaims – ‘this will have been another happy day’. Defiant, determined and fiercely resilient, Winnie greets each day with humour and boundless optimism, and lives as best she can between the bell for waking, and the bell for sleep. Siobhán McSweeney (Derry Girls) plays Winnie in Samuel Beckett’s masterpiece. Directed by Caitríona McLaughlin, with Marty Rea (Waiting for Godot) as Willie, the creative team also includes Jamie Vartan (design), Paul Keogan (lighting design) and Sinéad Diskin (sound design).

Happy Days

2021

Behind the camera