Things we learned in lockdown...

... so far.

Miriam O’Callaghan, Aoibhin Garrihy, Daithi O Se and more of LIFE’s favourite people share their crisis management techniques

Forced to slow down, we have all been inventive in finding ways to occupy, and distract, ourselves. Sarah Caden chats to some of our favourite people about what they did, and learned, in lockdown; a time of frustration, fear, worry and boredom, but also of silver linings, strange joys and even the occasional revelation

DAITHI O SE

Daithi O Se continued to co-host RTE’s ‘The Daily Show’ with Maura Derrane through lockdown. He commuted to the RTE Cork studios three days a week from his home in Galway, where he lives with his wife, Rita, and their son Micheal (six)

PRACTICAL

We always cut the lawn. We’ve a house on about half an acre, and Rita wanted to buy a ride-on mower, but I don’t want one. I like the push lawnmower. It takes about an hour-and-a-half to do it, but I think it shouldn’t be done too quickly. I enjoy it.

There are briars that I probably should have tackled earlier, but never had the time. So I bought a slash hook in lockdown. I went at the briars, and it was probably the best workout I’ve ever had in my life.

We’ve an open-plan bird box down the end of the garden, so that was a challenge. I had to take it easy around there, where I now know there’s a robin. Before, I’d have gone down there with a petrol strimmer and just madly strimmed the whole thing, fast, birds and all. But I’ve changed in that way.

PERSONAL

I leave the house about 8.30am in the morning, and I’m home about 8pm. It’s like an ordinary job, but I think when you do TV all the time, you get in the habit of really going at a pace. You don’t notice time going by. Like, ‘what is after happening? What do you mean my son is six? I only brought him home from the hospital a few days ago...’

But you get used to going at a pace and there’s nothing, until this, to slow you down. I remember years ago I went up the Shannon on a boat. I rang a friend and told him I would be in Athlone that day at 3.30pm, all going well. The next day, I called him and said I’d be in Athlone on Thursday or Friday. The boat would only go at a speed of five knots and no faster, and that was that. I’ve never been slowed down like that since, until now.

The world has slowed down and I’ve slowed down with it. I’m up to bed at 9pm, watch the news headlines, read a book. I used to head up about 10.30pm, but I’d go up at 8pm now, if I could. It’s still bright out, but I’m gone by the second story of the news. I’m out and about more, eating better, sleeping better. Going back to nature sounds flowery, but we’ve gone back to more how we lived years ago. It’s just simpler.

We lived in the moment for generations, now we’ve just gone back to it.