Chatting to Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh about reading is a treat. Standing in front of her book shelf choosing her favourites, she relives each title as if for the first time. When she finds her old copy of The Plough and The Stars, she discovers her old scribblings in the margins. Even as a teenager, Ireland's much-loved broadcaster was signing autographs, albeit on her schoolbooks.
THE CHILDHOOD READ
"We are the Famous Fiiiiiiive, Julie, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy the Dog! I absolutely loved these books and Enid Blyton. I also enjoyed The Merchant of Venice growing up, Portia pretending to be a man? Oh my God it made an impact."
CLOSE TO MY HEART
"Leabhar Mór na nAmhrán contains over 400 traditional Irish sean-nós songs gathered from all over the country. I absolutely adore this book and it is really close to my heart in every way. Micheál Ó Conghaile put this together, it has all of the songs from Connemara that I would have heard all my life growing up. It also includes what they mean and it is lovely to have them in print.
THE INSPIRATION
"A book that I have read recently is The Bluest Eye, a novel by the late Toni Morrison, an incredible feminist writer. I found the novel in my mother's house, she had bought it in Canada and it actually taught me a lot about my Mom that I probably didn’t give her credit for. I was really impressed, and I suppose that’s a lesson for all of us, don’t presume you know your parents until you look at their book collection."
