Of course I wanted children. Bright, gorgeous, loving children. I could almost see them.

Everybody is a hero in their own story if you just look.

We have to make our own happiness, and we have to make our own decisions and play the hand that is dealt to us.

I have an irregular heartbeat, so that means a fair amount of medication - and I have blood pressure pills, too, but no vitamins or supplements.

An English journalist called Michael Viney told me when I was 25, that I would write well if I cared a lot what I was writing about. That worked. I went home that day and wrote about parents not understanding their children as well as we teachers did, and it was published the very next week.

In Ireland every place you visit and every person you meet has a story. And they love to tell you their stories. Everyone is interested in everything; in a land of storytellers, you will never be bored.

I look placid, you see, that's why people think I'm fine. Inside I worry a lot.