- Remarkable talent for accents, which she says comes from her parents. Her portrayal of cockney landlady Phoebe Bamford in Goodnight Sweetheart (1993) was so good many people refused to believe she is Irish.
- Was engaged to Ballykissangel (1996) co-star, Stephen Tompkinson, for 2 years.
- She apparently plays the piano, saxophone, clarinet, violin, guitar and hopes to take up the flute, as it is 'more portable'.
- On the TV series Who Do You Think You Are? (2004) (2 Aug. 2010), Kirwan discovered that she was distantly related to Michael Collins, Irish patriot and Commander-in-Chief of the Irish Free State Army.
- Secretly fought a bulimia disorder for 18 years.
- 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'.
- She gave birth to her second child with Penry-Jones, a son Peter, on 8 April 2006. Choosing his name was easy, as both his grandparents are called Peter.
- She is the youngest of three daughters, her father worked in insurance and her mother was a French and English teacher.
- Daughter-in-law of actress Angela Thorne and actor Peter Penry-Jones.
- 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!
- Met husband-to-be Rupert Penry-Jones when both appeared in J.B. Priestley's play "Dangerous Corner" at London's Garrick Theatre in 2001.
- Best actress, National TV Awards 1996 Best Irish Entertainer, Irish Post Awards 1997
- She shaved her head for the crime thriller The Dark Room.
- Her first major role came at 15.
- Sister-in-law of actor Laurence Penry-Jones and Polly Walker.
- Performing in Harold Pinter's play Betrayal at the Donmar Warehouse, London as the character of Emma. (June 2007)
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