Roisin Gallagher: The Belfast Actress Rising Through British and Irish Television

Roisin Gallagher has become one of Northern Ireland’s most distinctive acting talents. Known for her honest screen presence, comic timing and dramatic strength, she has built a career across television, film, theatre, radio and writing. Her best-known roles include Shiv Sheridan in The Dry, Janet in The Lovers, Saoirse in How to Get to Heaven from Belfast and Emer Taylor in The Fall.

Born in West Belfast, Gallagher spent years developing her craft on stage before gaining wider television recognition. That long experience has shaped the confidence and emotional depth she now brings to major productions.

Who Is Roisin Gallagher?

Roisin Gallagher is an Irish actress and playwright from Andersonstown, West Belfast. She was born in March 1987 and is 39 years old as of 2026. Companies House records her nationality as Irish and her country of residence as Northern Ireland. She is represented by BWH Agency and remains based in Belfast. Her professional work covers television, theatre, feature films, radio and voice work. She also serves as a director of C-DER Productions Ltd, a television programme production company in Northern Ireland.

Roisin Gallagher Age and Early Life

Roisin Gallagher was born in March 1987 in Andersonstown, West Belfast. Some entertainment databases give 14 March 1987 as her full date of birth, but the strongest official company record confirms only March 1987. She grew up in a working-class Catholic family and has spoken warmly about her Belfast childhood. She was one of five children, with three older sisters and a younger brother.

Roisin Gallagher Parents

Her father was Daniel “Danny” Gallagher, while her mother is Pat Gallagher. Danny worked as an oil-truck driver, and Pat worked as a nurse before retirement. Gallagher was especially close to her father. He developed cancer and died in 2017. During his illness, she recorded conversations with him so his voice and stories would not be lost. Those recordings later inspired her stage work Natural Disaster, which explored grief, memory and the bond between a daughter and her father.

Family Influence on Her Work

Family remains central to Gallagher’s life. She has continued living in Belfast, close to where she grew up, rather than moving permanently to London. That choice has helped her maintain strong family ties while building an international career.

Education and Acting Training

Gallagher attended St Genevieve’s High School in West Belfast. Drama became important during her school years, and playing Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady helped strengthen her ambition to act professionally. She later studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, completing a BA Honours degree in Acting. Her professional CV includes ballet, contemporary dance, mezzo-soprano singing, physical theatre, aerial work, rope work and silks. She is also skilled in swimming, running, yoga and fencing.

Roisin Gallagher Height and Appearance

Roisin Gallagher is 5 feet 3 inches tall, or 160 cm. Her professional casting CV gives her weight as 54.88 kg, or 8 stone 9 pounds. She has green eyes, dark brown hair and a warm, sincere voice style. Her professional playing age is 32 to 38, although this is a casting range rather than her real age. Some magazine features give her height as 5 feet 4 inches, but her Spotlight information states 160 cm.

Early Theatre Career

Theatre formed the foundation of Gallagher’s career. Her stage work includes The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, The Bloody Chamber, Be My Baby, The Haunting of Helena Blunden, Dockers, White Star of the North, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Belfast by Moonlight, Pentecost, The Holy Holy Bus and Abigail’s Party. She also appeared in The Man Who Fell to Pieces, The Real Housewives of Norn Iron, Smiley, Playhouse Creatures and Lally the Scut.

Natural Disaster

One of her most personal projects was Natural Disaster. She created the work after losing her father, using memory, grief and recorded conversations to preserve his presence on stage. The project also showed her ability as a writer and theatre-maker.

Roisin Gallagher in The Fall

Roisin Gallagher appeared in the BBC crime drama The Fall as Emer Taylor. Her professional CV places the role in the second series in 2014. The Fall starred Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan and became one of the best-known television dramas filmed in Belfast. Gallagher’s part was smaller than her later leading work, but it formed an important part of her early screen career. She also appeared in Doctors, Paula, Come Home and Doing Money.

Breakthrough Role in The Dry

Gallagher’s major breakthrough came with The Dry, in which she plays Shiv Sheridan. Shiv is a recovering alcoholic who returns home and tries to rebuild her life while dealing with a complicated family. The role gave Gallagher space to combine comedy and drama. Shiv can be funny, awkward, angry and vulnerable, often within the same episode. Gallagher played the lead across three series. Her performance brought wider recognition and IFTA nominations, making The Dry the production most closely connected with her rise in television.

Why Shiv Sheridan Became Important

Shiv is not written as a perfect heroine. She makes mistakes, struggles with old habits and has difficult family relationships. Gallagher gives the character warmth without hiding those flaws, which helped make the role memorable.

The Lovers and BAFTA Recognition

In The Lovers, Gallagher played Janet opposite Johnny Flynn as Seamus. Janet is a Belfast supermarket worker whose life changes after meeting a political broadcaster. The six-part romantic comedy-drama mixed sharp humour with emotional tension. Gallagher’s performance earned her a 2024 BAFTA Television Award nomination for Female Performance in a Comedy Programme, placing her among leading television comedy performers in the UK.

Lazarus

Gallagher later played Laura in Lazarus, a Harlan Coben mystery production for Amazon. The role moved her into darker material and expanded her range beyond romantic comedy and family drama. Her professional CV records the production under 2024, while its public release came later. Acting CVs often use production years rather than broadcast dates.

How to Get to Heaven from Belfast

In 2026, Gallagher took one of her biggest roles as Saoirse in How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, created by Lisa McGee. The Netflix comedy-thriller follows three long-time friends who are pulled into a mystery after the death of someone from their past. Gallagher stars alongside Sinéad Keenan and Caoilfhionn Dunne.

Saoirse is a television writer with a messy personal life, a sharp personality and a strong bond with her friends. The role allows Gallagher to combine comedy with serious emotional material and gives her a major international platform through Netflix.

Boys of Tommen and New Television Work

Gallagher is also part of the cast of Evenfall, also known as Boys of Tommen, for Amazon MGM Studios. She plays Marie Lynch. The adaptation is based on Chloe Walsh’s popular Boys of Tommen novels. The role adds another major streaming production to Gallagher’s growing television career.

Film Career

Gallagher’s feature film work includes Made in Belfast, in which she played Charlene, and Skintown, where she plays Karen. Her short-film credits include Eyeline and To Lose Control.

Roisin Gallagher Husband and Children

Roisin Gallagher is married to Craig Hutchison, a Scottish electrician from Penicuik in Midlothian. The couple met in Edinburgh in 2012 while Gallagher was appearing in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. They later settled in Belfast and have two sons, Donal and Elon. Gallagher has spoken about balancing acting with motherhood. Unlike many performers who move permanently to London, she has continued to make Belfast her home base.

C-DER Productions Ltd

Gallagher and Hutchison are also connected through C-DER Productions Ltd. Gallagher became a director on 9 June 2022, while Hutchison joined as a director on 26 September 2022. The company operates in television programme production. Gallagher is also recorded as having significant control of the business.

Awards and Career Recognition

Gallagher has received major recognition for her television work. Her role in The Dry brought IFTA nominations, while The Lovers earned her a BAFTA Television nomination. Her professional journey reflects years of theatre work, smaller screen parts and steady development. She has also worked in radio, voice performance and creative development, giving her experience beyond screen acting.

Roisin Gallagher Today

Roisin Gallagher is firmly established across British and Irish television. She continues to work from Belfast while taking roles in productions for Netflix, Amazon, Sky, BBC, RTÉ and independent film companies. Her career stands out because she has remained closely connected to her home city while building an international presence. From theatre productions to BAFTA-recognised television work, she has developed into a versatile performer with strong dramatic and comic ability.

At 39, Gallagher is in one of the strongest periods of her career. With The Dry, The Lovers, Lazarus, How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, Boys of Tommen and Skintown among her recent work, her position in contemporary Irish and British acting continues to grow.

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