What are you up to?

I’m busy practising my reading of short fiction piece about Dublin that was selected for publication in a forthcoming anthology called; Story Cities - A City Guide for the Imagination to be published in June 2019 by Arachne Press.  This anthology explores ways in which stories respond to, reflect and re-imagine the city.

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What piece of music always sends shivers down your spine?

Sinéid O’Connor singing The Famine.  It’s a haunting piece.  I agree with the lyrics; And if ever there is gonna be healing there has to be remembering and then grieving so that there can be forgiving…

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What’s on your smartphone playlist at the moment?

Lots including Phil Collins and Westlife.

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Who is your favourite singer?

Nina Simone, Mary Black and Van Morrisson compete for first place.

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What is your favourite book?

Dubliners by James Joyce.  Now there’s a man who understood the Irish psyche!

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What is your favourite film?

I will settle with Educating Rita written by Willy Russell. I love Rita’s humour and her fierce courage to follow her dreams (brilliantly played by Julie Walters).

 

Who is your favourite actor?

Meryl Streep.  She’s so authentic and versatile – a winning combination.

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What is your favourite poem?

Aodh wishes for the cloths of Heaven by W. B. Yeats.  Poignant last lines; But I being poor have only my dreams.  I have spread my dreams under your feet. Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

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What is your favourite place in Ireland?

Sandymount beach in Dublin holds many happy childhood memories. We cycled there on long summer days and it was there that my father taught me to swim.

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Which book has really moved you?

The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah: The Autobiography.  I’ve just finished reading it.  Inspirational.

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Which living person do you most admire?

Author, Edna O’Brien.  She was such a young woman when she broke new ground in Irish Literature, particularly for Irish women writers.

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Which person from the past do you most admire?

John O’Donohue; poet, author and philosopher.  I treasure my signed copy of his book Anam Cara.

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What is your favourite holiday destination?

I’ve spent many tranquil hours with my husband and family in Port Andratx, a small fishing port in Mallorca, south west of the island.

 

What is your favourite dish?

Salmon fillet with grated ginger and soya sauce, cooked in tinfoil in the oven, and served with a mixed salad.

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What’s the greatest lesson life has taught you?

To live an abundant life, live in the present moment.

In terms of inanimate objects, what is your most precious possession?

My dreamcatcher which hangs in my bedroom window.

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What do you believe in?

When we listen carefully to the images and symbols in our dreams and work with them they will change our lives.

 

What is your motto?

It’s one I’ve borrowed from Shakespeare; To thine own self be true and it must follow as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.

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Have you a favourite quote from a book?

Dreams are our ‘last wilderness’, to be protected with the same fervour as the rain forests, the ozone layer, and the whale. As the only natural oasis of spiritual vitality left to us, dreams are among our most precious possessions, and we must stand up to those who would diminish the value that we place on them. (Liam Hudson was a British Social Psychologist and author of Night Life – The Interpretation of Dreams, 1985).

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Who is the greatest love of your life?

My husband, Owen, and our extended family with a special place in my heart for our wonderful grandchildren.

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