Roddy Doyle’s novel, Smile, is not about his schoolboy-self. But his time at a Christian Brother’s school certainly had an impact on his latest work. Roddy spoke on The Ryan Tubridy Show about his days at the school, which he described as “the foundation” of the book.

Painting a picture of a haphazardly planned school, Roddy noted that “the science lab seemed to be in someone’s sitting room“. One feature of this new school that Roddy struggled to adjust to was the increase in corporal punishment.

“I remember a guy in Art being hammered by a Christian Brother with a huge set square…like a crucifix almost. Because he hadn’t drawn his still life as the Brother had wanted him to do. Apparently, there was some true path when it came to drawing an apple.”

Roddy recounted that there was one teacher in particular who “patrolled” the corridors, seemingly looking for any opportunity to punish students.

He went on to describe an uncomfortable exchange he’d had with a teacher, the teacher making a point to compliment Roddy’s smile in front of the other boys.

“The good news is that there were witnesses but the bad news is that there were witnesses.”

This event and the subsequent bullying he endured, as a result, led Roddy to question himself.

“What was it about me that attracted the attention of that man?”

Ryan asked about the hostility Roddy has faced in the past for releasing works deemed controversial, like the 1994 BBC mini-series Family, later adapted into the novel, The Woman Who Walked Into Doors. The work dealt with the topic of domestic violence.

“I got death threats and really, the death threats, they don't go into any intellectual depth about why they want to kill you or why they just think it’s a good idea to get a photograph of you and write “dead” across the forehead.”

Ryan wanted to know how Roddy dealt with this kind of backlash. Despite some understandable fear at times, Roddy is circumspect when it comes to harsh reactions.

“My attitude as a writer was, ‘well, that’s a job well done’.”

To listen back to the full interview in which Roddy Doyle discusses his years working as a teacher, his writing career and his involvement in the children’s charity, Fighting Words, visit The Ryan Tubridy Show here.