OFF CUTS: THE BEST QUOTES FROM ‘CUTTING EDGE’

“I obviously curtailed some of my professional ambitions a bit. I was never going to be an editor or a senior counsel, or a foreign correspondent, because I had to work in such a way that I could work from home. I am of the opinion that all children need is one good parent.” Brenda Power “You don’t need a huge crisis to go to therapy. It can just be that you want to get perspective on decisions you’re making. I wanted to get perspective on patterns I found occurring in my own life, having too many drinks after every gig, sleeping around all the time, but then, in your heart of hearts, knowing you’d like a partner and a dog and (to be) living a loving life.” Al Porter “I remember my mother every day in everything. I was with her when she died. It’s something I take comfort from — being there.” Chris O’Donoghue “I think some aspects of modern parenting are quite selfish. You see mums dropping their kids off to the creche at seven in the morning, when it’s dark, and then picking them up again at seven at night, when it’s dark. They say they want it all, but who’s suffering? At the end of the day it’s the child that’s suffering.” Niamh Horan “I realised I had to stop (drinking) when my doctor said you’re an addict and he called the Priory. I knew I had a problem but I thought my problem was other people’s problem with me … I left The Pogues so I could drink without other people hassling me.” Cait O’Riordan “Instead of focusing on the women — what they were drinking, how they were dressed — why don’t we focus more on the men who are doing the raping? In the case of sex assault, is the victim on the stand as well? It’s the only crime where we bring it back to the women all the time. If someone robbed your watch, they wouldn’t say: ‘You got your watch robbed, but you had a few drinks on you.’ It’s totally bogus.” Dr Ciara Kelly “Colleges around Ireland are all focused on consent, but I think we need to put an equal amount of energy into the amount of drink that is being taken by women. You’re putting yourself at risk if you don’t have your wits about you and if you have taken a certain amount of drink and put yourself in harm’s way. We need to start addressing this issue. I don’t think we should be afraid of it.” Niamh Horan “When we look at the awe-inspiring mysteries of the universe we know there could only be a God that could produce this. There’s another reason, of course, and that’s that I’m going to see my mother when I make heaven and I’m going to say to her, ‘Mam I made it. I know you thought I wouldn’t, but I did.’” George Hook