# Ferdia Walsh-Peelo
**Ferdia Walsh-Peelo** (born 1999) is an Irish actor and musician from Ashford, County Wicklow, best known for playing Conor "Cosmo" Lalor in John Carney's musical film *Sing Street* (2016) and Miles in the Oscar-winning *CODA* (2021)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6916321/). He came to acting with no formal training but an established musical background as a classically trained boy soprano, pianist, and school-band frontman[2](https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2016/04/21/sing-street-ferdia-walsh-peelo).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1999, Ashford, County Wicklow, Ireland[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6916321/) |
| Breakthrough role | Conor "Cosmo" Lalor in *Sing Street* (2016), his first acting role, won through an open casting call[3](https://www.theaureview.com/watch/sydney-film-festival-interview-sing-streets-ferdia-walsh-peelo-and-mark-mckenna-talk-working-on-john-carneys-latest/) |
| Television | Alfred the Great in *Vikings* (2017–2020, 22 episodes); Nick Kent in *[Pistol](https://www.edgepedia.org/pistol-miniseries)* (Disney+, dir. Danny Boyle)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6916321/) • [4](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/ferdia-walsh-peelo/) |
| Film | *CODA* (Miles, 2021), *Love Gets a Room* (Edmund, 2021), *Here Are the Young Men* (Rez, 2020)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6916321/) |
| Music training | Boy soprano in opera, including a tour of Mozart's *The Magic Flute* with Opera Theatre Company at age 12; classically trained in piano[2](https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2016/04/21/sing-street-ferdia-walsh-peelo) • [5](https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2016/04/23/retour-dans-les-annees-1980) |
| Band work | Lead vocalist of the Irish folk-rock band The Fynches, formed with his brother Oisín Walsh-Peelo[6](https://wicklowtimes.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Wicklow_Times_21_10_25.pdf) |
## Early life and musical training
Walsh-Peelo was born in Ashford, County Wicklow, and grew up in a musical family[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6916321/) • [7](https://columbiachronicle.com/arts-culture/f5759a3e-08fd-11e6-9d4d-ab4bf68228d4/). He began singing young, entering his first singing audition at age seven and performing in operas as a boy soprano[8](https://www.nationalboardofreview.org/2016/04/qa-ferdia-walsh-peelo-lucy-boynton-john-carney/). At 12 he toured Mozart's *The Magic Flute* with Opera Theatre Company[5](https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2016/04/23/retour-dans-les-annees-1980). His theater credits include playing Miles in *The Turn of the Screw* at the DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama and the First Boy in *The Magic Flute* at Lir Theatre[4](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/ferdia-walsh-peelo/).
As his voice changed he moved into guitar, songwriting, and rock and punk influences[8](https://www.nationalboardofreview.org/2016/04/qa-ferdia-walsh-peelo-lucy-boynton-john-carney/). He had his first band at school at age 11, busked for pocket money, and made amateur music videos before ever auditioning for film[2](https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2016/04/21/sing-street-ferdia-walsh-peelo).
## Sing Street
Walsh-Peelo's screen debut came through an open casting call in Dublin, which he attended after hearing about it through a friend; he queued for about five hours, was recalled several times, and was eventually cast[3](https://www.theaureview.com/watch/sydney-film-festival-interview-sing-streets-ferdia-walsh-peelo-and-mark-mckenna-talk-working-on-john-carneys-latest/). Director John Carney had searched for roughly six months for a musical teenager to lead the film[7](https://columbiachronicle.com/arts-culture/f5759a3e-08fd-11e6-9d4d-ab4bf68228d4/). In early auditions Carney asked him to talk about his life on camera and play music rather than act; Walsh-Peelo did not perform a scripted scene until the final screen test[3](https://www.theaureview.com/watch/sydney-film-festival-interview-sing-streets-ferdia-walsh-peelo-and-mark-mckenna-talk-working-on-john-carneys-latest/).
*Sing Street* is a coming-of-age musical set in 1980s recession-era Dublin, in which 14-year-old Conor, moved from a private school to a rougher state school, forms a band to impress an older girl, Raphina ([Lucy Boynton](https://www.edgepedia.org/lucy-boynton))[9](https://time.com/4293552/sing-street-movie-review/). Walsh-Peelo was 14 when he shot the film and drew on his own experience of having two older brothers[10](https://www.movies.ie/46070-2/). He knew little 1980s music beforehand, having been playing skiffle and bluegrass-influenced material, and described learning the decade's pop culture as a steep learning curve[2](https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2016/04/21/sing-street-ferdia-walsh-peelo) • [5](https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2016/04/23/retour-dans-les-annees-1980).
The film premiered at the [Sundance Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/sundance-film-festival) in January 2016 to positive reviews[11](https://ex-press.ca/2016/04/18/interview-ferdia-walsh-peelo/). On IMDb it holds a 7.9 rating, and Walsh-Peelo's credits list one win and seven nominations overall[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6916321/).
## Later screen career
After *Sing Street*, Walsh-Peelo continued in both film and television. He played [Alfred the Great](https://www.edgepedia.org/alfred-the-great) in the historical drama series *Vikings* across 2017 to 2020, appearing in 22 episodes[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6916321/). His film work includes Rez in [Eoin Macken](https://www.edgepedia.org/eoin-macken)'s *Here Are the Young Men* (2020), Miles in [Sian Heder](https://www.edgepedia.org/sian-heder)'s *CODA* (2021), and Edmund in Rodrigo Cortés's *Love Gets a Room* (2021)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6916321/). He portrayed the broadcaster Dave Allen in the BBC television film *Dave Allen at Peace* and Nick Kent in Danny Boyle's Disney+ series *Pistol*[4](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/ferdia-walsh-peelo/). Later credits include Peader O Luing in *Four Letters of Love* (Cornerstone Films, dir. Polly Steele) and Tybalt in *Juliet & Romeo* (Briarcliff Entertainment, dir. Timothy Scott Bogart)[4](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/ferdia-walsh-peelo/).
## Music
Music has remained central to Walsh-Peelo's work alongside acting. He is the lead vocalist of The Fynches, an Irish folk-rock band he fronts with his brother, the multi-instrumentalist Oisín Walsh-Peelo; the band released its self-titled debut album in 2025[6](https://wicklowtimes.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Wicklow_Times_21_10_25.pdf). The brothers also collaborate on ambient-folk material[12](https://www.westcorkmusic.ie/artists/oisin-walsh-peelo/). In 2016 he said he intended to keep pursuing both acting and music, describing himself as being in a position with many options in each[10](https://www.movies.ie/46070-2/).
## References
1. [Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6916321/)
2. ['Sing Street' Star Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, WBUR Here & Now (April 21, 2016)](https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2016/04/21/sing-street-ferdia-walsh-peelo)
3. [Sydney Film Festival Interview: Sing Street's Ferdia Walsh-Peelo and Mark McKenna, The AU Review (June 19, 2016)](https://www.theaureview.com/watch/sydney-film-festival-interview-sing-streets-ferdia-walsh-peelo-and-mark-mckenna-talk-working-on-john-carneys-latest/)
4. [Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Independent Talent](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/ferdia-walsh-peelo/)
5. [Retour dans les années 1980, Le Journal de Montréal (April 23, 2016)](https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2016/04/23/retour-dans-les-annees-1980)
6. [The Fynches debut album release, Wicklow Times (October 21, 2025)](https://wicklowtimes.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Wicklow_Times_21_10_25.pdf)
7. [Irish lad Ferdia Peelo-Walsh on 'Sing Street', The Columbia Chronicle (April 25, 2016)](https://columbiachronicle.com/arts-culture/f5759a3e-08fd-11e6-9d4d-ab4bf68228d4/)
8. [Sing Street Q&A with Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Lucy Boynton, and John Carney, National Board of Review (April 29, 2016)](https://www.nationalboardofreview.org/2016/04/qa-ferdia-walsh-peelo-lucy-boynton-john-carney/)
9. [Review: 'Sing Street' Honors the DIY Spirit, Time (April 14, 2016)](https://time.com/4293552/sing-street-movie-review/)
10. [Sing Street: Ferdia Walsh-Peelo & Lucy Boynton Interviews, Movies.ie (2016)](https://www.movies.ie/46070-2/)
11. [Interview: Ferdia Walsh-Peelo on Sing Street, The Ex-Press (April 18, 2016)](https://ex-press.ca/2016/04/18/interview-ferdia-walsh-peelo/)
12. [Oisín Walsh-Peelo, West Cork Music](https://www.westcorkmusic.ie/artists/oisin-walsh-peelo/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › Irish actors › Surnames N to W*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license