Dervla (meaning 'Daughter of a poet') Kirwan was born in October 1971 in Churchtown, Dublin. Her father worked in insurance and her mother was a French and English teacher. She has two older sisters. She was just 15 when she landed her first role in the BBC Drama Troubles and a year later she got a part in the first part of Billy Roche's 'Wexford Trilogy' which ran from 15 Feb-19 Mar 1988 at the Bush Theatre, London. She played this role again when the plays were made into a TV series broadcast 31 July 1993. Her stage work continued with 'Poor Beast In The Rain', the second part of the Wexford Trilogy, (Bush theatre 13 Nov-22 December 1992/TV 7 August 1993), 'Hush' (Royal Court Theatre 10 Aug-7 Sept. 1992), 'Water Music' (Cockpit Theatre 23 Sept-17 October 1992), 'Once A Catholic' (Tricycle Theatre 18 December 1992) and 'An Absolute Turkey' (Globe Theatre 27 Dec 1993). Her only feature film to date is December Bride although she is currently 'waiting to hear about 3 or 4 film projects'. On television she has appeared in A Time to Dance (12 Jan-2 February 1992), Goodnight Sweetheart (which she quit at the end of the 1996 series, handing over the character to Elizabeth Carling), and Ballykissangel. On October 8th 1996 she won the National Television Award for 'Most Popular Actress' for her role as Assumpta in Ballykissangel.
Remarkable talent for accents, which she says comes from her parents. Her portrayal of cockney landlady Phoebe Bamford in Goodnight Sweetheart was so good many people refused to believe she is Irish. She gave birth to her daughter Florence in April, 2004. The father of the baby is her partner, actor Rupert Penry-Jones. Co-owns the production company Aphra Productions with actress Sarah Parish. Dervla is an anglicised form of Deirbhile, which means `daughter of a poet'. Was made to leave her convent school when she revealed her ambition to become an actress She gave birth to her second child with Penry-Jones, a son called Peter, in 2006. There were no arguments over what to call him as Peter is the name of both his grandfathers. She is the youngest of three daughters, her father worked in insurance and her mother was a French and English teacher. She says that she is not naturally skinny, but she does watch what she eats, insisting that her love of KitKats (chocolate bar) is separating her from a sainthood! Also a keen writer - she has kept a diary of all her experiences since she was 17 and jokes that one day, she will publish them under a pseudonym! She apparently plays the piano, saxophone, clarinet, violin, guitar and hopes to take up the flute, as it is 'more portable'. Best actress, National TV Awards 1996 Best Irish Entertainer, Irish Post Awards 1997