On the couch . . .
with author Roisin Meaney
Roisin Meaney was born in Kerry and grew up in Tipperary and Limerick city. She qualified as a teacher and worked in Dublin for a few years. Roisin has also taught English in Zimbabwe and worked as an advertising copywriter in London. Her first novel, The Daisy
Picker, was published in 2004. Since then she’s written several bestselling books for adults, and two for children, and been translated into six languages along the way. Roisin’s latest, The Birthday
Party, has recently been released
Who controls the remote in your house?
Considering I live with my cat, Fred, who hasn’t yet gured out how to use the remote; that would be me. Luckily, Fred is happy to watch whatever’s on.
Are you a “telly on, laptop on the knees and phone for tweeting” over-load kind of person?
Not at all. I’m a sad excuse for a female and completely unable to multi-task, so if the telly is on, everything else is o . I’m fascinated with people who can tweet and watch simultaneously: if I take my attention from the screen for a second, I’m lost.
Who would play you in the TV drama of your life?
Emma Thompson. Like me, she’s not conventionally good-looking (sorry, Emma) but is interesting, witty and intelligent. We could be sisters. Actually, the more I think about it, the more I’m convinced we were separated at birth.
All-time favourite TV drama, comedy, soap, documentary and live TV event?
Drama: Breaking Bad. Completely wonderful. Who would have thought Malcolm’s Dad had it in him? Comedy: After Life, by the brilliant Ricky Gervais. Hilarious and heartbreaking by turns; my favourite combination in comedy, and I imagine not easy to pull o . A close second would be Father Ted: superb slapstick with a warm heart. Documentary: Whistleblower – The Maurice McCabe Story. A brilliant piece of work by Katie Hannon. Made me terribly angry to think of what that poor man and his family went through. Live TV: Eurovision, for the laughs and costumes and cringeworthy moments and the occasional decent song.
Your books seem ideally suited to a TV adaptation – has the chance ever arisen, and if not, would you like it?
I would absolutely love it. I’ve even written the screenplay for episode one of The Last Week of May, which is crying out to be a seven-part drama (the book spans a week) – and I’m open to o ers, if any lm-makers are reading.
Are there any genres of TV you just can’t abide?
I love reality shows on cooking, gardening, moving house etc., but can’t watch the ones where people put themselves in front of a panel of judges. I’m too scared they’ll get slated.
What fictional author do you most admire?
Very hard question. Best I can do is narrow it down to three: William Trevor, Anne Tyler and Kate Atkinson. There’s nothing as great as opening a book and realising, before you nish the rst page, that the writer knows exactly what they’re doing. Such pleasure ahead.
Is there just too much good TV now to watch it all?
Yes. I try to ration my telly when I’m writing. It can mess with my head, so an hour a night is generally my limit. Kindly stop tempting me with more good stu than that.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
Everywhere. The next book will probably feature a character lling out a questionnaire for The RTÉ Guide!