Dervla Kirwan was previously engaged to Ballykissangel co-star, Stephen Tompkinson in 1998. Tompkinson and Dervla Kirwan worked together in 1999 on the TV version of Tim Firth’s The Flint Street Nativity.
They also co-starred in the 2001 mini-series, Hereafter, which never aired in the UK but was released on DVD under the title Shades in the United States and Canada.
Tompkinson has supported various cases by providing promotional videos or voiceovers. These include a fundraising effort toward research to find a cure for Duchene Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and a financial appeal by Chester Zoo.
He has also supported causes such as the Westminster Carers Time Bank and, in 2008, he became an Ambassador for Project African Wilderness, a not-for-profit organisation that seeks to protect and restore the Mwabvi Wildlife Reserve in Malawi.