Latest news with #sentimental
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Kevin Barry: ‘You can almost fool yourself into thinking there's no class system in rural Ireland'
As a child I would have seen myself as a lone-ranger type, an outlaw. I grew up in Limerick city in the 70s and 80s. My most vivid memory of Limerick in the 1970s is walking down to school, to the CBS in town, and walking past the gutters all flowing with blood, because there were still loads of slaughterhouses in town. It was pig city. The gutters were just full of blood. I haven't written much directly about Limerick city, but it's come into my work disguised in westerns. I lived in cities until I was 38 or 39, but I'm a country mouse now. I moved to Sligo in 2007. It takes time to get used to living in the countryside: there are physical things like the sheer dark at night and the noises from the ditches. We travel a bit, but when I come back to Sligo, when I cross the bridge in Carrick-on-Shannon , I feel myself deflate: it's lovely. I'm a very sentimental creature, and I miss Ireland when I'm away: I get a bit glassy-eyed thinking about what's going on with the weather back home. In Sligo the days drift. It's a very good place for a writer because there is nothing else to do. It's just me and the cows and the lake across the road. The first thing I do every morning when I get up is write fiction. Most days it's not going well; you're sat in the Sligo rain coming down on the Velux window, going, 'Jesus, I'd rather be doing anything else.' But that's the pact you make with your subconscious: plays come from the back of your mind. My part of the deal is showing up. READ MORE Despite myself, I'm quite a joyous person. I whinge, but I'm generally happy. I get very wary if I ever find myself acting tortured. If I'm clutching my head, like a tortured artist, I move away from the desk because I don't want to read that stuff. There are a lot of people whose stories aren't being told. When we think about class in Ireland, we think about cities, because class is very obvious in the city: you can tell by the accent and the school someone went to. In the countryside, it's more vague. There's often only one school in the town and everybody sounds the same. You can almost fool yourself into thinking there's no class system in rural Ireland, but there is and it's even more rigid. It's there, silently policed. Just before my Leaving Cert, one of our teachers came into the school and gave us this speech. He said: 'Because you're working class lads in a working class school, you're going to end up working in jobs where your bosses are going to be the lads from the better schools in town. They're no smarter, but that's it.' We were all amazed by this, the fact that it was systemic. Kevin Barry in 2007: 'Living in the west of Ireland feels very different than it did when I moved here. Everyone is enslaved by their phones.' Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill Joan Didion said anytime you write something good, you're selling someone out. I think that's true. The ideal situation is if you're selling yourself out. When you write fiction, it comes out on the page: you're giving yourself away. There has to be something about yourself coming out to make it real and good. With friends and family reading your work, you're always more worried because they know where you're getting it from. [ Some say you're not a writer if you're not willing to sacrifice your family to your art. Not me Opens in new window ] The fundamental question hitting anyone now in the creative world is: how am I going to live? Where am I going to live? It's really going to affect your work. I would have been amazed if somebody had told me 20 years ago you're going to be writing plays and short stories in rural Sligo. But I moved here because we had a small mortgage if we bought a house here. It didn't seem like a creative decision. But of course it colours the work. Living in the west of Ireland feels very different than it did when I moved here. The place, like every other place, is saturated by digitalisation. Everyone is enslaved by their phones. It's warping a sense of reality. In [my new play, The Cave], these two misfortunate brothers live in a cave: their biggest problem is their obsession with this Mexican actress on a Netflix show, and they're obsessed with what she's getting up to because she might be getting engaged to a fellow from Offaly. This is the whole plot of the play, but they've lost all grasp of what's real and what's not real and what impacts their life and what doesn't. It's really cool to be doing a Sligo story on the Abbey stage given one of the founders of the place [WB Yeats] had that connection. For the opening night of The Cave, I'll be sitting bang centre in the audience. If anyone is there and they don't laugh, I'll be taking names. I have a desperate thing where I laugh very loudly at my own material. It looks a bit unbecoming, but what can you do? In conversation with Nadine O'Regan. This interview was edited for clarity and length. The Cave by Kevin Barry stars Aaron Monaghan, Judith Roddy and Tommy Tiernan and runs at The Abbey Theatre until July 18th.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
The Repair Shop guest fights back tears recounting death of 'soulmate' dad - and reveals his heart-wrenching last three words
A guest on The Repair Shop fought back tears recounting the death of his 'soulmate' dad - and revealed his heart-wrenching last three words. The BBC show, presented by Will Kirk and Dominic Chinea, sees a team of skilled craftsmen repair broken items beloved by guests for their sentimental value. Last night's episode saw Will head to Oldham, Greater Manchester, to collect a vintage fruit machine from guest John Geraghty. He explained his father bought it as a birthday and housewarming gift for his mother nearly five decades ago. But his father sadly died not long after in a car crash - having headed out on a mere ten-minute trip, saying the heartbreaking three words: 'I'll be back'. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. John recounted the awful day to Will, which started with his father receiving a phone call from a close friend, saying he had broken down: 'Me and my dad always wanted to help somebody out. 'We both jumped in the van, reversed off the drive and as we did, a friend of mine appeared. 'My dad said, "Why don't you jump out of the van? You stay here with Neil - I'll be ten minutes, I'll be back.' Getting out of the van was a split decision that saved John's life: 'A car came out of a junction without stopping. 'By the time the fire brigade got there, unfortunately it was too late.' Will was moved by the tragic story, saying: 'Must've been tough.' John gave a touching reply: 'Yeah because my dad was my soulmate. You know, I'm an only child and me and my dad did everything together. 'I think about it every year and on that day, June 28, and on his birthday. We were so close and it still hurts now.' The Repair Shop team had a mountain to climb when it came to fixing the item - it had a stuck mechanism and damaged paintwork, and John had never seen the lights work Asked to describe his father's character, he said fondly: 'He was the life and soul of the party.' The tragic story makes the fruit machine all the more special: 'It's the one big thing we've still got that I can walk past everyday and it reminds me of my dad and it reminds me of my mum. 'It'll be lovely to see it restored and working again.' The Repair Shop team had a mountain to climb when it came to fixing the item - it had a stuck mechanism and damaged paintwork, and John had never seen the lights work. But arcade expert Geoff Harvey rose to the challenge, fully restoring the fruit machine to its former glory over several days - to John's absolute delight. The emotional episode came after fans of The Repair Shop were left 'in tears' at another instalment of the show earlier this year - as a family were finally 'brought peace' after their item was fixed. It saw electrical expert Mark Stuckey get to work on restoring guests Zaff and Nasari's vintage projector, which belonged to their dad. The siblings' father brought the projector with him to Rochdale after being forced to flee Uganda in 1972. The emotional episode came after fans of The Repair Shop were left 'in tears' at another instalment of the show earlier this year (pictured) - as a family were finally 'brought peace' after their item was fixed The brother-sister duo were hoping to restore the projector, almost 50 years after it was last used, as they said it contained precious memories from their life in the African country. Zaff and Nasari became emotional as the newly-fixed projector was unveiled, both tearing up. 'Oh my God, wow,' said Zaff, as Nasari added: 'It looks brand-new.' The pair then got to view memories of their parents they had never seen before, which saw expert Mark ask: 'Was it as you hoped?' 'And more,' Nasari said, getting choked up. 'It brought me peace, seeing my mum and dad and how we were and my grandfather, how much time we spent together. Yeah, happy memories.' 'I bet you can't wait to get back home and get the family together,' Mark said, to which Zaff added: 'Absolutely. A big get-together, I think and have a viewing, basically.' Viewers of The Repair Shop were also left emotional at the segment, with one saying: 'Don't know why I'm tearing up.'
BBC News
28-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
'I spent my life savings on my camper van - now it's been stolen'
A woman has been left distraught after her camper van, which she said she had spent her life savings on was stolen from near her Griffiths said the theft was spotted when a friend contacted her to say the van was not parked in its usual place in the car park of The Top House on Bardney Drive in said the van contained a number of sentimental items, adding it has left her "feeling like I want to cry all the time".Nottinghamshire Police said it was appealing for any witnesses who were in the area between 19:00 BST on 18 May and 07:00 on 19 May. 'Understandably distraught' Ms Griffiths said she had to park the van at the pub because other vehicles were blocking space at the back of her bought the vehicle in October - one month after she had taken partial retirement - she said the impact of the theft had been significant."Instead of paying my mortgage off I bought the camper van - I was going to use it so me and my dog could go everywhere," she said."We were going everywhere, and now we can't, it's just depressed me really."I worked all my life for that money."PC Andy Smith, from Nottinghamshire Police, said the force was "following a number of lines of inquiry"."It is believed that shortly before the crime was committed, a group of young people on push bikes were seen in and around the pub area and we would like to identify them," he said."The victim has spent a considerable amount of money buying the van and renovating the interior and is understandably distraught by what has happened."
