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

In 1995, Eva got her first TV role as Regina Crosbie in the serial "Glenroe", one of Irish channel RTE's highest-rated shows. Birthistle stayed for three years until 1998. Other TV work followed, until Eva was offered her first feature film in 1997, All Souls' Day by Alan Gilsenan.

This actress 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.

Her arguably most prominent part so far has been the female leading part (Roisin Hanlon) in the Ken Loach movie "Ae Fond Kiss..." (2003/4), which won her many awards, including the 2005 London Critics Circle Film Award as "British Actress of the Year".

Eva has also appeared in Neil Jordan's "Breakfast on Pluto", Ol Parker's "Imagine Me & You" and "Save Angel Hope" by Lukas Erni in 2005 and in Brian Kirk's "Middletown" in 2006. Most recently, actress starred as human rights lawyer Jane Lavery in the TV conspiracy drama "The State Within" in 2006.