What’s your earliest memory of laughter?
My friend Sandra and I got up to all sorts of ridiculous nonsense together. We always laughed and laughed. One time when we were at the Gaeltacht we were running and laughing so much that I tumbled head over heels and rolled down a hill after her.
What’s your guilty pleasure in life?
I love watching the same movies every Christmas. We always look at White Christmas and Holiday Inn and when we go to bed on Christmas Eve I insist we watch National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. I can’t give them up, they have to happen every year!
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Is there any talent you wish you had?
I wish I had the talent to play the piano. I have exceptionally long fingers, in fact somebody on Twitter recently called me “man hands”, which I thought was appropriate because my hands are bigger than most men’s. My three kids play the piano and one day my daughter taught me how to play [the song] Chopsticks and then I taught myself how to play more songs using an app. Having very long fingers means that it’s much easier because you can reach across the scales. I love playing my piano, but I’m not very talented, unfortunately.
What’s your favourite destination?
Donegal.
How would people describe you?
I think they would say I am determined and resilient. I’m a defender of what’s right and I’m very principled. I won’t let something go if I know it’s wrong. I’m like a little bulldog. Very recently my husband said to me that I had to let something go because I was becoming very unpopular. I replied, “Are you telling me, as a woman, to sit down and shut up?” If there was a movie to be made about your life, who would you like to play you? This answer has changed down through the years. Although I appear as blonde on TV, my hair was actually naturally red. It has faded to blonde, but I still identify as a redhead. I love Amy Adams, Julia Roberts, Lindsay Lohan and Emma Stone.
Has any song or book shaped your life in any way?
I read some very good books when I was in my early 20s – that period of your life where you’re becoming the person you’re going to be. Two books stand out for me; the first is A Tale Of Two Cities, which is a story about when wealth becomes too concentrated and there’s not an even distribution.
The other one is Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which is about slavery. As old as they are, both of those books are still so important to this day. You could still pull them out to teach people how not to be bad. They’re also much easier reads than people probably think, they’re not hard at all.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I’ll be retired. My husband Harm and I might go back to the Netherlands because he’s lived his life here and we’ve raised our children here. In the interest of fairness we might go and find a small farm where we can live a wholesome life with a swimming pool nearby. That would make me very happy.
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What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Don’t tell lies. I’m very clear with my children on this and my mam was very clear with me too. Nothing makes you look more stupid than getting caught in a lie. You will get caught and you need a very good memory to be a liar. I would rather take the consequences of my actions than be caught being stupid. I couldn’t bear that!
This interview appeared in the November 2023 issue of RSVP Magazine
English (US) ·