Thespian and director Michael in the ten-question hot seat
THIS week’s 10 Questions have been answered by local director, actor and proud Newmarket man, Michael O’Halloran
1) What do you remember about the place you grew up?
Newmarket was a boy’s paradise when I was growing up. Hurling and football in the Fair Field and the Convent Lawn, Cowboys and Indians in the laurels, behind the Demense wall, fishing the Dallow, hunting the countryside with terriers, and of course, The Casino Cinema at night. Heaven!
2) Which invention from your lifetime are you most amazed by?
I used to be most amazed by television, but now it is the computer/internet, in all its manifestations.
3) What are the most important lessons you’ve learned in your life?
This is a hard one. I have tried, not always successfully, to stick to Shakespeare’s advice... ‘ To thine own self be true’.
Keep your word, and give others the respect you expect from them.
4) Who is your hero?
I could choose from many, but my real heroes are heroines.
Three amazing women who showed great courage and constancy in adversity and tough times, and who influenced my life above all others: My grandmother, Nora Lucey; my mother, Mary Lucey O’Halloran; and my wife, Anne.
5) What was the last thing you read?
I read constantly and omnivorously, but I have loved Maurice Walsh’s novels since I was a boy, and often re-read him for sheer enjoyment.
6) What was the last TV show you binge-watched?
The Great on Channel love historical drama! 4.
7) What’s your favourite quote from a TV show/ movie/ book?
I
Far too many to choose from, but I really like ‘Nobody knows, dear child, what’s in the womb of futurity,’ from Brian McMahon’s play Bugle In The Blood and ‘Confusion is not an ignoble state’ from Translations by Brian Friel.
8) If you could go back to any time in history, where would you go?
I would go back to Israel in 30 A.D. There was a lot of important stuff going on around then..
9) What is your favourite place in Newmarket?
A line of a song I once wrote comes to mind:
“From Anne’s Bridge down below the town the Dallo flows serene,
“Thro gentle hills her water rills through lovely woodland scenes,
“There with rod and gun we sought our fun, and many a day enjoyed.”
But I have no particular favourite place. I love the place, and just about anywhere can trigger great memories.
10) What is your favourite Newmarket childhood memory?
My favourite boyhood memories are pretty well all encapsulated in the foregoing, but there is one that stands out.
Coming back home to Newmarket from England with my mother when I was 10.
I thought that day would never come.