I was once driven in a Porsche by Paul Newman
Presenter and mum-of-two Lorraine Keane talks cars, glove compartments, bad habits and dream passengers
Your current car? Renault Kadjar.
Is a car important to you? I have always been into cars, so what I drive is very important to me. It’s usually the start of my day and I spend a lot of my day in it, so my car has to be something I look forward to driving.
What does it say about you? I hope it says I’m stylish and I mean business [laughs].
What do you use your car for? Work. I do an equal amount of long drives from Dublin to various parts of Ireland and shorter daily trips in and out of the city, taxi-ing my children and holidaying in Europe.
What sort of state is your car in (inside
or out)? My car is my office, my second-home and my wardrobe a lot of the time, so I tend to keep it clean. Although the back seat belongs to the kids and the dogs, so it usually needs a weekly clean.
What’s in the boot and the glove compartment? Dry cleaning, yoga mat, umbrella, spare coat and purchases I’m hiding from [husband] Peter.
How would you describe your driving, then? I think I’m a good driver and I LOVE driving. I’m happiest on motorways, although I always stay within speed limits. No points yet! Although I’ve probably jinxed myself now...
Any bad habits? Moving kerbs. What is it with them? Just when you think you are just close enough...
Ever crashed, got a parking ticket or points? No. Perfect woman driver.
Have you ever experienced road rage, either passively or actively? Passively permanently [laughs]. All other drivers are dopes!
Have you ever had any romantic encounters in a car? Yes. In Peter’s car, he played The Blue Nile and I fell in love with their album Hats.
What was your first car? My dad got us a Peugeot 205 van between us kids.
Who taught you to drive? My dad.
Any driving test tales? Got it first time. Perfect! See?
Do you have a favourite car gadget? My car has lots of gadgets. I love that. Heated seats, surround-sound stereo, parking assist, sat-nav, sensor high beams, hidden compartment in the boot — just big enough for two large department store bags.
What music do you listen to on the
road? Radio Nova when in Dublin (especially Saturday evening, just to check on what my husband is playing or slagging me about).
Dream drive in a dream location? A convertible Ferrari on the Amalfi Coast or Cote d’Azur.
Who would be your dream passenger? I was driven around Mondello[Sicily] in a Porche by Paul Newman once — that’s hard to beat! I’d like to drive Oprah or Dr Marie Cassidy. I was lucky to be invited to a Ballet Ireland lunch recently and the state pathologist Marie Cassidy was guest speaker. I had to leave before the end so I never got to tell her how I much I admire her and how brilliant and entertaining her speech was. It was the best and most inspiring speech I have ever heard.
Passenger you’d least like? Trump.