[1] She graduated with an Honours bachelor's degree in English and History and a Higher Diploma in Education from University College Dublin.
[5] While a television journalist at RTÉ, Fionnuala was the sole host of the 38th Eurovision Song Contest in 1993.
[7] and, in addition, anchored International Correspondents, a weekly behind the scenes look at the stories making global news, before returning to Atlanta to host CNN Newsroom and serving as the primary substitute on The International Desk.
[4][8][9] In 2006, Sweeney anchored and reported from Haifa during the Israel-Hezbollah war, for which CNN received an Edward R. Murrow Award.
[13][14] The same year she was part of the team nominated for another Emmy in the same category for the 2011 broadcast CNN Breaking News: Libya Revolution – Rebels Enter Tripoli and Gadhafi Compound.