I was lucky enough to be fairly quick at understanding what was taught, but unlucky enough not to be really interested in it, so I always got my exams but never had the scholar's love of learning for its own sake.

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.

It was so silly to try to define things by words. What did one person mean by infatuation or obsession and another mean by love. The whole thing couldn't be tidied away with neat little labels." - Lena Gray

If you woke up each morning, and immediately dwelt on your ills, what sort of a day could you look forward to?

We're nothing if we're not loved. When you meet somebody who is more important to you than yourself, that has to be the most important thing.

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'm getting better, happier, and nicer as I grow older, so I would be terrific in a couple of hundred years time.