I don't work to any commissions. I do what I want to do.

She's a pot-of-tea-before-I-say-boo-to-you woman. There's always a pile of warm teabags in the sink when I come down, like what a horse would leave behind.

My novels come from within me; they are things I feel I want to do.

You know people are always putting Ulysses in the top 10 books ever written but I doubt that any of those people were really moved by it.

If there is a heaven, Jane Austen is sitting in a small room with Mother Teresa and Princess Diana, listening to Duran Duran, forever. If there's a hell, she's standing.

I've been asked why does Ireland produce so many great musicians, and the answer is it doesn't. When you count the great musicians Ireland has given the world in the last 20 years, you can do it on one hand.

I see people in terms of dialogue and I believe that people are their talk.