A biography for Dervla Kirwanhasn’t been written yet.
“Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) runs in my family, as do other mental health problems.”
“At first I didn't want to get involved with another actor. But Rupert is a lovely man who is clearly a great dad.”
“I take the kids horse riding every weekend at Quob Stables - the people there are lovely.”
“I've been very lucky with having a run of working with very special people and it just makes you work harder.”
“I moved to London when I was 18 to develop my acting career, but I still love going home to Ireland to recharge my batteries.”
“Ballykissangel' made me a household name, and I am enormously grateful for that, but I don't feel it would ever have developed me into a better actress had I stayed.”
“I ate ostrich. I'm not very proud of it. I was going through a very experimental period and probably during foot and mouth. It was exquisite, but I felt very guilty.”
“I watched 'Lagerfeld Confidential,' which was such an insight into the daily life of a maverick designer.”
“There's still, dare I say it, a cultural propaganda against the Irish, that we are, as women, 'feisty.' I hate that word.”
“I will always worry about where my career is going and am I any good.”
“When growing up, there were never any conversations about the past, because if you don't ask the questions, you never get the answers.”
“Sometimes, people are attracted to each other without knowing what or why or when it happens.”
“I was a waitress at a really rundown Italian restaurant in Dublin, for about a week, at 16. I thought it was going to be romantic - overhearing affairs and watching first-time couples all loved up. But instead I was just running about constantly.”
“David Attenborough's 'Life' series is phenomenal. He's a wonderful modern soothsayer.”
“Twenty or 30 years ago, certainly when my mother was my age, I'm sure she felt things were pretty over for her. You had your kids when you were 20. You brought them up. They left home. Then what do you do? While I feel genuinely optimistic. Well, I have no other choice.”
“I really want to get into feature films.”
“As long as you're chasing something, that keeps you alive, right?”
“Yoga is great for easing my back pain. It also helps me keep stress at bay, which is something I can suffer from.”
“Spending time away from family during filming, I think, for every working mum is always difficult. But it has to be done; there's no way round it you've just got to do it.”