Latest news with #agreeable
Irish Times
10-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
‘A personal regret is that my father who designed our house never got to see it'
How agreeable are you? I get along with most people; it's part of my nature. I also have a big family – we have a clatter of kids, six, so life and things get thrown at you. It's easier to navigate all of that if you're more agreeable. What is your middle name and what do you think of it? I have two middle names, Elizabeth Ann. I'm named after my mom, and I've always liked that connection. Everyone calls me Caoimhe, but when I lived in Italy , if somebody found my name difficult to pronounce or if I was making a reservation for, say, a restaurant, I gave my name as Elisabetta because it was easier. Where is your favourite place in Ireland? We live in Castlebellingham, Co Louth , and we swim at Salterstown pier all year round. It's close enough to Annagassan, and it's probably the best-kept secret in this part of the country. When the tide is in, you can walk on the pier, and you're directly in the water. It's quite special. Describe yourself in three words. Empathetic, nurturing, resilient. READ MORE When did you last get angry? I wouldn't get very angry often. Things irritate me, but it's usually tripping over someone's shoes. I think jumping into the sea very frequently helps with that, and yoga on the beach. I try to ensure that I have plenty of calm in my life because there's always stuff going on. Our house is rarely calm. What have you lost that you would like to have back? When I was in my 20s, I travelled to Bologna, Rome, New York, and Paris, all fashion-related visits. I loved being able to jump on a train and go to Venice or Florence, and when I was in the US, to go from New York to visit one of my sisters in Connecticut. I miss that freedom, but it was at a different stage of my life and of its time. I love what I have now. What's your strongest childhood memory? When we were children, we used to go to France every year. I was about 10 when we went to Monet's Gardens in Giverny, and I've always remembered that. We've got beautiful photos of us standing on the Japanese bridge. We went back two years ago, my husband and my children, so I suppose I'm trying to give my children what I got, bringing it full circle. Where do you come in your family's birth order and has this defined you? I'm number four out of six, two older sisters, an older brother and two younger brothers. As there was only a year between my sisters, they were always together. The boys were collectively grouped, and while I did lots of stuff with them, I probably became very independent. I did a lot of travelling on my own, but I don't view it as a negative thing – it's good to be comfortable in your own company. What do you expect to happen when you die? I'd probably get my ashes spread somewhere very special – our orchard, where we have planted 2,000 trees, and then maybe Salterstown pier. That would be lovely. And maybe I'll get my children, hopefully, to plant a tree for me. When were you happiest? You have to put it into context, don't you? I was really happy when I was young, single and working in the fashion industry, but I have to say, I'm content now and have a lot to be very thankful for. Which actor would play you in a biopic about your life? This is a tricky one. She doesn't look anything like me at all, but it's Jessie Buckley . She has a beautiful voice, and I like that she's Irish as well. I'd be very drawn to that. What's your biggest career/personal regret? A personal regret is that my father, who was an architect and who designed our house, never got to see it. When he was in hospital, he got Covid . He had come back from the brink and was on the cusp of coming home, but his health took a nosedive. So he designed our house, but we never really understood all the little design things he did until it was built. Many people have said to me that he's in the house all the time, and I have to say, yeah, that's true. Have you any psychological quirks? One thing I can't live without is good coffee . Earlier this year, when I was over in Prague with my boys for a rugby trip, I brought my ground coffee and a small pour-over. You know how some people bring tea bags with them when they go on holiday? Well, for me, it's coffee. I have to have my coffee in the morning – life is too short not to. In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea
Irish Times
04-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Jerry Fish: ‘I'm a London-born Dub but I discovered most of my DNA is from exactly where I now live'
How agreeable are you? It depends on what you want from me. I'm friendly, easy going, reasonable, but I've never been a pushover. What's your middle name and what do you think of it? My middle name is Joseph, and it was my grandmother's name, Josie, and my grandfather's as well as my father's and my brother's first name. It's a family name. I think it's strong and friendly. Where is your favourite place in Ireland? I just love Ireland as a country, especially when the sun is shining. I tell people that I live where the last wolf in Ireland was killed, on Mount Leinster, where we've been for 20 years. It's quite strange because I did the DNA thing, and I discovered that most of my DNA is from exactly where I live. I'm obviously here for a reason. That said, I'm a Dub, and my family and ancestors are all inhabitants of Raytown [better known as Ringsend], the mouth of the river Liffey in Dublin, so my heart is at Poolbeg lighthouse in Dublin Bay. Describe yourself in three words. An emotional fish. READ MORE When did you last get angry? I was very angry when I was the singer in An Emotional Fish in the 1990s. I was disappointed to find that as a working-class person I was isolated in the music industry, and that most of the industry comprised middle-class people whom I didn't really understand at the time. I wanted to be Iggy Pop. I still look to Iggy as a role model, but he is cool, not angry. Luckily, I've veered more towards the former than the latter. What have you lost that you would like to have back? I've never had an inkling to look back, but I've lost a lot of dear friends – I lost my best friend when he was 20. I've realised recently that not only have I spent a lot of my life dealing with grief, but also with the realisation that grief comes with a gift, which is the knowledge that we're all visitors to this world, that we're just passing through. What's your strongest childhood memory? I grew up in south London, an Irish immigrant. We were the melting-pot generation, so my parents were greeted by the infamous 'No blacks, no dogs, no Irish' signs. Yeah, welcome to London. It was a diverse, tough childhood; most of my peers were from the Caribbean or were cockneys. The older I get, however, the more I reflect on my childhood in London. I'm grateful for it because I think the 1960s and 70s, in particular, were when Britain changed. It became a new Britain, if you like, a new people, and I'm still quite proud to have been part of that London community. [ 'No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs': Irish Times readers recall seeing notorious signs in Britain Opens in new window ] Where do you come in your family's birth order, and has this defined you ? I'm the eldest of six. I left home at 17, returned to the UK and started travelling. The eldest has responsibilities; I had to help out a lot, and that certainly taught me things, but I also had the fortune of being able to leave first, to escape chaos. What do you expect to happen when you die? No idea, but you are what you bring to the party, not what you take from it. If you spend your life being kind and generous, you leave that behind, and that rolls forward. If you're mean, you put that on the Earth. When were you happiest? I spent much of my misspent youth playing in garage rock bands and living as a beach bum in the Mediterranean, but I became happiest of all when I became a father. Even though I had a tremendously liberating youth that I can recall great moments, from being in An Emotional Fish, touring the world, even before that, sleeping on beaches and not having any worries or cares. Fatherhood filled a gap, something I realised I was missing. Which actor would play you in a biopic about your life? I recently watched the Robbie Williams biopic, Better Man, where he was portrayed by a chimpanzee. In my biopic, which would be directed by the late David Lynch or Wes Anderson, I could be played by a fish. Which fish? I think carp have great faces. [ Better Man review: Robbie Williams as a monkey is a surprising look at the ego-driven's star's life Opens in new window ] What's your biggest career/personal regret? I think everything happens for a reason, and we learn from our mistakes and failures. I've been through many ups and downs, but they all led to a better place in some way. I'm very happy in the here and now, and for me, that's where it works. Have you any psychological quirks? I'm an artist who ran away with the circus, so I am a psychological quirk. It's a whole mess, a circus, and I am its monkey. In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea Jerry Fish brings his Electric Sideshow and Fish Town to Electric Picnic, August 29th-31st,
Irish Times
27-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Naomi Moore: ‘I'd love to go back to having no fear of anything'
How agreeable are you? I think I go with the flow quite a lot. At work, I'm agreeable until I really want to do something, and I'll make sure that gets done. Ultimately, I would say I'm agreeable unless I'm pushed too much. What's your middle name and what do you think of it? I'm Naomi Therese Marcella. My mother wasn't sure what to call me. I think she picked out Naomi first and then thought if people didn't like it, we could go with Therese. Marcella was my dad's mom's name, and that was picked to maybe ingratiate me in the will, but I didn't get anything! Where is your favourite place in Ireland? Naul, my home in Fingal, Co Dublin, where we've spent 20 years refurbishing a lovely old cottage that we have extended, renovated and put our own touches to. Naul is a sleepy village, pretty, untouched. Everyone knows everybody, so you can walk into the village pub or the Séamus Ennis Arts Centre at any time, and there's someone that you know. I love it. Describe yourself in three words. Creative. Chaos. Co-ordinator. READ MORE When did you last get angry? My husband may have seen me angry twice, my friends would probably have never seen me angry, and at work, rarely. If I do, it's usually because someone has been unfair or someone has been hurt. I never like to waste my energy on anger, so it's very rare. It takes a lot to wind me up. You have to really annoy me. [ Ireland's 'film censor' Ciarán Kissane: 'My mother told me I watched too much TV and now I watch movies for a living' Opens in new window ] What have you lost that you would like to have back? When you're in your 20s, you're totally bulletproof, and you don't have to think twice about anything. I'd still be a little bit like that, but not as much as I used to be. I'd love to go back to having no fear of anything. What is your strongest childhood memory? We grew up in Portmarnock , and my dad worked for a plastics factory; they made sturdy, thick bags for fuel like peat and coal. When I was about six, my brothers put me into one of them, tied the top with a big rope, tied the rope at the top of a tree and then launched me out. I'd go spinning around and around the tree until the bag whacked into it, and then I would spin back again. I think that's where I got the adrenaline buzz. Every photograph from that summer in the family album is of me in the bag! Where do you come in your family's birth order, and has it defined you? Being the baby of six has absolutely defined me. By the time I arrived, my parents had almost completely given up on discipline. That didn't work with the first five, so why bother with me? The fact that there were six kids meant you had to share – not only food and clothes but also love, kindness and generosity, all of which my mother instilled in us. My family gave me creativity, fearlessness, compassion, empathy and fairness. What do you expect to happen when you die? I would hope you get to see all the people you've lost, to hang out with them and have good fun. [ Only children: 'I have great colleagues, some are as close to me as any family members I could wish for' Opens in new window ] When were you happiest? I'm always happy, genuinely. I had a great childhood. I loved school. I still have friends that I was in kindergarten with. I boarded at Drogheda Grammar School, and I have great friends from there, too. Then, at 20, I met my business partners at the recording studio, which is where I met my husband. I'm now in a more reflective period where I'm happy to have chats in old pubs rather than going out clubbing. I'm always happy at whatever stage I'm at. I think I was born under a lucky star. Which actor would play you in a biopic about your life? I'd love Rosanna Arquette to do it. She could put on an Irish accent. I've always liked her and kind of identified with her for some reason. What's your biggest career/personal regret? It's boring, but I don't have any at all. In my personal life, I've always seemed to fall into a lucky space. I have great relationships with my family and my friends, and I've a wonderful husband. Career-wise, it's the same. I'm in a job that changes constantly, and I've had the opportunity to work with a broad range of people, all the way from Bon Jovi and 50 Cent to Hozier and Lewis Capaldi. Have you any psychological quirks? I probably have lots, but my main one is that I can't eat carrots unless they're cooked whole and roasted. If they're boiled, I won't eat them – I can't even stand the smell of them – and if they're chopped in circles, I can't eat them, either. In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea
Irish Times
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
‘Over the years, I've lost a little sense of my calmness. I wish I were a little bit more patient or cool-headed'
How agreeable are you? I'm someone who always tends to go with the flow, so I'd describe myself as agreeable. Maybe other people wouldn't. They'd perhaps see me as a bit grumpy, but part of it is that as you get older, you tend to know what you want and don't want, and so you're more vocal about it. What's your middle name and what do you think of it? My middle name is John, named after my dad. It's not too complicated a name that you need to talk about or explain where it comes from. Other than seeing it on my passport now and again, it's very quickly forgotten about. Where is your favourite place in Ireland? I'm from Adare in Co Limerick , so that always holds a special place in my heart. I don't get to go down there too often nowadays, but when I do, I remember how lucky I was to have grown up there. It's a beautiful village. Another place is Valentia Island, where you feel like you're on the edge of the world. Describe yourself in three words. Calm, generous, reserved. READ MORE When did you last get angry? I don't tend to get angry all that often. In my personal life, you could say I get angry about sports when there's a bad result for your team, but it's actually more disappointment, and that fades. What have you lost that you would like to have back? My initial reaction is to say, what have I lost, literally, that I would want to get back. But then I think about the broader side of it, like losing energy or losing patience. I feel that over the years, I've lost a little sense of my calmness, and I wish I were a little bit more patient or cool-headed [like] I was maybe even five or 10 years ago. What's your strongest childhood memory? I have a very strong visual image of me being in Montessori class; I was one of the Wise Men for a Nativity play. Other strong memories are when we would go on family holidays. My mother is from Wales, so we would go there quite a lot. I remember the excitement of waking up at four o'clock in the morning, packing up the car. It used to take about four-and-a-half hours driving through every town and village on the way to get to the ferry, but they're memories I always remember. Where do you come in your family's birth order, and has this defined you? I'm the youngest of four. Growing up, I learned quickly what to do and what not to do. I definitely observed situations, and calmly measured the approaches, I suppose, and then decided how to participate. That has definitely defined me, but in a positive way, I would say. What do you expect to happen when you die? There was one quote I stumbled across a couple of years ago. I'm not sure who it was, but the quote was that what happens when they die is that the ones who love us will miss us. There's no expectation from me as to what happens, but I hope that whoever loves me will miss me. I think that's a sign of a life lived well. When were you happiest? In general terms, I'm very happy now. I have a dream job and a healthy family. The days of unbounded joy include my wedding and the birth of my three kids. Another happiest day was when Limerick won the All-Ireland in 2018. Like marriage and kids, it was a release of emotion. Like, Jesus, this is something special. [ Limerick 3-16 Galway 2-18: Five match defining moments Opens in new window ] Which actor would play you in a biopic about your life? I'd always look at Dominic West, from The Wire – he had a fairly good Baltimore accent in that. He lives in Glin in Co Limerick, so he might get the accent right. [ Dominic West on his natural swimming pool: 'When I'm in the mood I do a spot of underwater gardening' Opens in new window ] What's your biggest career/personal regret? I'm lucky not to have too many regrets. Business-wise and career-wise, I seem to have struck gold every time I've moved to a different job or company. One of the things that sticks with me, however, is that I never did an executive MBA. I meant to do it in my mid-to-late 20s, when I had the time. Now I don't have the time, but I will get to it some day. Have you any psychological quirks? I can't sit in a room and relax or work if it's messy. It could be chaos outside of the office, but in that particular room, if I have to work or sit and watch something or just chill out, I have to do a quick tidy up. The distraction of having something messy doesn't sit right with me. In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea
Irish Times
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Photographer Ruth Medjber: ‘I spent too much of my early career helping idiot men with theirs'
How agreeable are you? I would say, professionally, I'm very agreeable because when you're a freelancer and you have so many clients on the go at once, I just do what the clients want me to do. That said, in other aspects of my life, my friends and partner would probably say I'm quite determined and stubborn. What is your middle name and what do you think of it? I was named after my godmother, who is my mom's cousin, but they fell out when I was about eight years of age ... I don't use my middle name at all. I even took it off my passport. Where is your favourite place in Ireland? Dollymount Beach. You can walk for five kilometres and not meet anyone, especially on a bit of a horrible day. And then you see the Poolbeg chimneys, the sight of which is a real moment of personal focus every time I'm there. I'm like, there's the lads. I know I'm home and that I can finally relax and breathe. Describe yourself in three words. Persistent. Compassionate. Tired. READ MORE When did you last get angry? In general, I'm not an angry person. I'm angry at injustice more than anything else, and I think we're all in a constant state of anger and disbelief that there isn't enough being done about the genocide that's happening in Gaza. [ Ruth Medjber: 'I don't need a therapist, because I have a camera' Opens in new window ] What have you lost that you would like to have back? I'm quite lucky in that I've never lost an awful lot in my life. I consider the greatest loss to be death, and when my dog died, that was the greatest loss for me. That and my campervan burning down a couple of months ago because of an electrical fault in the dashboard. What's your strongest childhood memory? My dad worked in a camera store and would give me these little plastic 35mm point-and-shoot cameras as Christmas present stocking fillers. I had a pink one when I was about three years of age, and it was my first form of expression, before I could even articulate through language. I still remember taking photographs. I did a series on toilet bowls, then light switches, shoes and other inanimate objects. Randomly enough, I was on eBay a couple of months ago and I found the same type of camera for sale. I have it here with me. I'm going to start trying it out to see if I can reclaim some of that three-year-old energy! Where do you come in your family's birth order, and has this defined you? I've one older brother, who is two years older than me. It's quite nice growing up when there's just the two of you. Our parents gave us a lot of freedom, respect and independence. Because of their trust, I became a very independent child and adult from quite a young age. That helped me build courage for myself as I tried new things and lived in new countries. What do you expect to happen when you die? Realistically, feck-all. If I were thinking fantastically, it'd be great if your spirit lived on, but what if you were trapped on Earth without a body? Or without a dog, a camper van, a beach? I mean, could you imagine never smelling sea air again? [ In pictures: life backstage with Hozier, Arcade Fire, Elton John and more by some of Ireland's top music photographers Opens in new window ] When were you happiest? One of the most recent happiest times took place in 2023. The sun was out, I was with my partner, and I was watching Yusef/Cat Stevens on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury. He sang I Love My Dog, which is one of my favourite tunes, and in that moment, I don't think I could have been happier. I was bawling my eyes out. I looked over at my partner. He was just laughing at me, and I was, like, absolutely delighted. Which actor would play you in a biopic about your life? That's a hard one. You don't want to say some amazingly gorgeous celebrity because people will go, what, really?! I'll probably do a Kneecap and see if I can fulfil the role myself. What's your biggest career/personal regret? I spent too much of my early career helping idiot men with theirs. My life would have been different if I had been a little bit more selfish and if I had had better taste in human beings than I did when I was in my 20s. Have you any psychological quirks? If someone on the TV claps their hands, I do the same. If I hear a noise, I repeat it. When I'm home, all the presses and doors have to be closed before I can settle down. In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea
