‘I was a chicken in an ad for a US board game once’

ACTRESS Rose Henderson is well-known for starring in Fair City and playing Sister Assumpta in Father Ted. She also writes plays. Henderson stars in a new production of the Irish comedy, Boom, which runs in the Gaiety Theatre from March 26 to March 31. For more information, visit gaietytheatre.ie. What’s the most important lesson about money which your career in acting and writing has taught you? Acting and writing do not make money. There are the rare jobs which bring in a splash of luxury. I was a chicken in an advert for a board game marketed in the US once. That paid for a holiday for my mum, dad and myself to Croatia. What’s the best advice you ever got about money? Be more careful with other people’s money than your own. My husband, Derek, is my financial adviser and he told me that. I couldn’t really keep my head above water without his cool ability to make sure I follow up invoices and make sure I get paid for jobs done, and pay my tax bill correctly. What’s the most expensive country you ever visited? We went to Lugano in Switzerland once. I remember paying 40 quid for a square inch of fillet steak with no vegetables. What’s your favourite Irish coin? The silver minted half-crown (leat coroin) with the horse on the front and a harp on the back. Apart from property, what’s the most expensive thing you have ever bought? My engagement ring — though, technically, I didn’t buy it. Tragically, it slipped off my finger in the sea on Clogga beach in Wicklow in 2012, after a burst of losing weight. What was your worst job? The 12-hour shifts waitressing in New York were very tough. I must have walked miles, and was terrified of the Chinese chefs who would brandish their knives at me for forgetting to establish the rarity of a burger. What was your best financial killing? My Father Ted contract included a small royalty. At the time, this was not ever going to be paid, as who makes money from an Irish sitcom? Twenty years later, viewings in Outer Mongolia and beyond continue to accrue. Are you better off than your parents? Probably. Better off is a matter of perspective. I am going to be in the Gaiety with Boom, working at a job I adore, while my Mum was not allowed to work at jobs she would have loved. If you won the Euromillions, what would you do with the money? It has to be the island — I love that ad. I am a sea swimmer so there’s nothing I would love more than to be able to walk out of my house to the sea every morning. Your favourite song or tune about money — and why do you like it? Feed the Birds, tuppence a bag — from Mary Poppins. It’s beautifully sung by Julie Andrews. Have you ever made an insurance claim? Yes, with disastrous consequences. My engagement ring was not named on the insurance and was lost offshore (two metres from the beach) so it therefore was not covered. What was the last thing you bought online? Magnetic eyelashes at Christmas. Do not buy them. You would have to be an eye-surgeon to apply them. Even my daughter hasn’t been able to manage them, and she has a steady hand. Do you ever haggle? I haggled over a purse in Thailand once, only to find that my husband had bought a matching handbag at twice the size for half the price. What three things would you not be able to do without if you were tightening your belt? Food — in particular, blueberries in porridge in the morning; my car; and my iPhone — I know how to use it now.