David Ireland

David Ireland was born in Sandy Row, Belfast, and grew up in Ballybeen, Dundonald, County Down. He received his training as an actor at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. His career began in theatre, where he performed with notable companies such as the Royal Shakespeare Company, Manchester Royal Exchange, the Citizens Theatre Glasgow, and the Traverse, Edinburgh. This foundational acting experience provided him with an understanding of performance, which later influenced his writing.

Ireland’s transition into playwriting marked a significant turning point in his career. His debut play, “What The Animals Say,” was produced at Òran Mór in Glasgow in 2009 and later transferred to the Belfast Festival. A major breakthrough came with “Everything Between Us” in 2010, which earned him both the Stewart Parker Trust BBC Radio Drama Award and the Meyer-Whitworth Award for Best New Play, establishing him as a significant new voice in theatre. He served as Playwright-in-Residence at the Lyric Theatre Belfast from 2011-2012, further developing his craft. His play “Cyprus Avenue” premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in 2016 and received the 2017 Irish Times Theatre Award for Best New Play and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Drama. This play subsequently toured to prestigious venues including The Public Theater in New York City, the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, and the Metropolitan Arts Centre, Belfast, and returned to the Royal Court in 2019.

His dark comedy “Ulster American” was performed by Traverse Theatre at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2018, where it won the Carol Tambor Best of Edinburgh Award that year. This play garnered further accolades in 2019, securing Best Female Performance, Best New Play, and Best Production at the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland. In 2023, “Ulster American” had its London debut starring Woody Harrelson, Andy Serkis, and Louisa Harland. Beyond theatre, Ireland has made notable contributions to television as an actor, including a recurring role in “Derry Girls” from 2018 to 2022, and as a writer for the 2023 Sky Atlantic series “The Lovers.” He also has upcoming projects as both actor and writer for “Cold Water” (2025) and as a writer for “The Fifth Step” (2025).