Fr James McSweeney is a native of Millstreet, Co. Cork, where his parents Con and Nora still live. He has two brothers, two sisters, two nephews and one niece.

James studied in Maynooth and was ordained a Priest for the Cork and Ross Diocese in 1995. He has served in Ballinlough Parish and has been based in the Ballyvolane/Dublin Hill region of Blackpool Parish in Cork City since 2001.

He is a keen cyclist and a passionate photographer. James holds annual photo exhibitions and his photographs have appeared in many publications. James has produced a calendar each year for the past five years. He is a major fundraiser for a wide range of Cork charities through his calendar and his life animal crib at his house each Christmas.

For the past four years, James has run a "Thought For Today" website www.todayismygifttoyou.ie or www.2u.ie and he writes the daily "Thought For Today" in the Evening Echo newspaper