Do not place a photograph of your favourite author on your desk, especially if the author is one of the famous ones who committed suicide.

The best way to reveal a character is to get them to open their mouths.

When I was a kid, if you didn't speak Irish, you really wanted to. And you played Gaelic games and you didn't pay any attention to what was happening in the outside world, because really, the - Ireland was the center of the universe. And I don't think that's the case anymore, although, admittedly, it is the center of the universe.

I'm going to sound like an old man but at my age, it's lovely doing something that you've never done before.

When you grow up on an island, what matters is how you stand to the sea.

If you are a writer you're at home, which means you're out of touch. You have to make excuses to get out there and look at how the world is changing.

I write short stories when a little idea occurs to me, that I know isn't a part of a novel that will stand by itself and should be concentrated.