I think Catholicism took root very quickly in Ireland because it's a very superstitious religion, the holy ghost, the holy spirit, it has a goddess, very visual, the music.

Im living as an artist, and thats a staggering feeling, its a total luxury. And because you have this amazing chance, with so much freedom, Im determined to make something that is worth that. I feel this responsibility - to create something that makes an audience feel, which takes them somewhere. But thats very hard to achieve.

The play is a very simple idea really; someone needs some support and consolation, and she finds a place where she gets it.

I could not flourish in the Hollywood system because the first thing spoken about is "What genre is it?" and "Who's it for?" It's a very strange question to me; it's for human beings.

I just want the actors to put their faith in the language. Just let the words do the work.

I have a theory about Ireland, being at the edge of Europe. For 1,000 years, people didnt know what was beyond. But we thought about it - a lot. And that beyond became internalized in our psyche.

The young person isn't certain that love can be real; the middle-aged man is only discovering that it is; and the older person seems so sure of it. I was interested in the way that many of us go through the whole of our lives staying with someone just out of complacency, because leaving isn't easy.