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.

Some of the people who look the most normal are probably the maddest people trying to look normal.

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.

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.

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

I tend to plan as I write. And I want to leave myself open and the character open to keep on going until it seems to be the time to stop.

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.