Memorial to Myself I have been away toasting tables lined with the pricier variety of imbecile; humouring old buzzards in Aran sweaters and cranky caps until their sweaters collapsed threadbare off their bastard backs. I have cut ribbons for guys floating balloons across the town square and calling it dance. I have eaten with people … Read more
For a lot of my life I felt a fervent need to be doing something creative but I didn’t know what. Eventually I started to feel the unsated creative urge turn to intense frustration within me; a physical tension through my body, like important growth held back or suspended indefinitely. I pictured bunched vines in … Read more
Irish Rail Dublin, that old whore, with her piss -stained pavements Abruptly transforms into a woman of a certain station. Such are the, at once, brutal and subtle shifts where In an instant, Hell aligns in an altogether strict Congruence… Like when you climb aboard The final commuter train of the week on a Friday … Read more
Faking It When Cleopatra rolled Out of the rug, she thought: Don’t worry! Even if I do not enjoy your performance, You will enjoy mine—a lot. I’d like to credit myself As an actress, but the truth About men is: I’ve yet To meet one unwilling To believe he is a singularly Exceptional lover—yeah, baby. … Read more
THIS IS WHERE I KEEP MY DREAMS I was born and raised in Dublin, in a house with a piano and a garden. At the bottom of the garden, there were two beautiful chestnut trees, one taller than the other. It was here that I went when I needed to be alone. I always observed … Read more
At Rudy’s Bar, Alassio (After Thomas Hardy) – O how could I order that tuna and chips, – And sip my beer and gaze at yachts and cruise ships Beyond the tops of changing booths and beach umbrella tips; – And glimpse and catch the sea’s soughing of old truths – Through exhaled smoke … Read more
Winifred Barrington, only daughter of Sir Charles Barrington, led a charmed life – far removed from the political and economic struggles of the general population in the 1920s. The Barrington family, who lived in what was then known as Glenstal Castle, were landed gentry and enjoyed the associated trappings. However, they were well respected as … Read more
My father was a French lumberjack. That’s just a joke. People don’t always know I’m joking. Especially men. They laugh when I’m being serious, then nod or look blank when, well… guess I’m not too good at telling jokes. Now, I know how to act funny. On camera, I mean. In character. From the inside … Read more
There is no fiercer battle than that between sisters. The sibling tension is ever-present in ‘The Battle of Kildare Place’. This comedic play is a two-hander between two sisters: a corporate older one married with two children, and a ditzy, free-spirited younger one eking out a living as a proprietor of a small flower shop … Read more
In my studio here, I have a clavichord, built by my parents in 1971, with a somewhat rococo and amusing backdrop painted by my mother (who otherwise has left us with a stunning body of mostly modernist artwork). I grew up with this painfully quiet clavichord, along with a gorgeous harpsichord (also built by my … Read more