Sweeney studied law for a year at the University of Tasmania, after which she transferred to the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music. She has worked as a singer, actress, playwright and script-writer.
Sweeney is the great-great-granddaughter of Irish convicts, and has retained strong cultural links with Ireland. She has also traveled and lived in Tasmania, New South Wales, and New Brunswick in Canada, and these places have provided inspiration for her writing.
