Born in Milngavie near Glasgow, Birrell left school when aged 15 to start an apprenticeship with a BMC dealer.

[1] He acquired extensive technical experience working as a race mechanic for his elder brother, Graham Birrell.

[1] He moved south and transferred to Formula Ford in 1969,[1] racing against drivers such as Emerson Fittipaldi and James Hunt.

Birrell was also successful in touring cars, mainly in a Ford Capri - taking a Class win in the 1972 24 Hours of Le Mans.

A promising career was ended when he died of unsurvivable injuries in an accident during qualifying for the F2 Trophee D'Europe race at Rouen when a front tyre failed at the notorious Six Freres corner, Birrell's Chevron B25 being thrown into a poorly secured crash barrier.