Eva Birthistle

Born in Bray, Ireland Eva is a graduate of the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin. Following her first role as Regina Crosbie on the iconic Irish television soap Glenroe, Eva gained small roles in irish films such as Borstel Boy, Bloody Sunday and Saltwater, and appeared on British television dramas including Holby City, Trust and In Deep. Eva’s breakthrough came with the starring role in Ken Loach’s hugely acclaimed and award-winning Ae Fond Kiss, which won her both the IFTA and London Critics Circle Award for Best Actress. She has since worked with directors of the calibre of Neil Jordan, Brian Kirk, Peter Greenaway and Aisling Walsh, winning another IFTA Award in 2006 for her role in Middletown. Eva has also starred in high profile roles across television drama including the Golden Globe nominated The State Within, BAFTA nominated Five Daughters and the International Emmy Award winning Waking the Dead.

In recent years, she was worked across both film and television including the role of grieving mother Sarah Bailey on Amber, for which she collected her third IFTA Award in 2014. 

From 2015 to 2022, Birthistle starred in The Last Kingdom as Hild, a nun turned warrior and friend of Uhtred of Bebbanburg. She appeared in the 2017 Irish film The Delinquent Season opposite Cillian Murphy.