Every Friday, Ray D'Arcy invites someone in to guide him through the Soundtrack to their Lives. Today it was the turn of actor Pauline McLynn. Born in Sligo, Pauline moved to Galway when she was six months old, leaving her with a lifetime of Galway or Sligo origin issues.

"It can be said that I'm from Sligo, but it can be said that I'm from Galway as well, it just depends on who wants what."

Although she claims to always have wanted to be a hairdresser, Pauline has been acting and presenting for quite a while, appearing in so many hugely popular television and radio programmes, including Scrap Saturday, Have I Got News for You, Shameless, EastEnders, Threesome, Painting the Nation and, of course, Fr Ted. After a less-than-successful playing of what Ray alleged was the sound of milk bottles, the inevitable sound of the theme to The Gay Byrne Show was played.

"It was such a treat when you were sick to be allowed to listen to it… It was smashing. You never felt ill, because you got to listen to Gay Byrne."

Gay, of course, was a character on Scrap Saturday, although Pauline told Ray, it was hard to get someone who could do a good Gay Byrne voice. Ray wondered if it wasn't that the voice was hard to do, but that people were afraid to do an impression of the great man. We may never know.

From radio to TV and Pauline's watch list when she was younger included Batman and Black Beauty. But, she says, possibly her favourite ever was HR Pufnstuf. Ray reckoned Pauline would be a very good Witchiepoo. Remake/reboot on the way, surely?

What about the urge to perform, Ray wants to know, was that always there? Pauline's not sure that it was, but she recounts a story about how her mother would describe the teachers and other pupils in her art class and Pauline would act them out.

"I would do my own version of them then, based on what she said. And one night I made her laugh so hard – I don't know how, I hit the nail on the head with some teacher – that she got a little bit of sick on her cardy."

The beginning of comedic greatness right there.

Pauline is appearing in The Small Things by Enda Walsh, as part of Cork Midsummer Festival, from 14-23 June.

You can hear Ray's full interview with Pauline, as well as the rest of The Ray D'Arcy Show here: