When did you think about a career in writing and what were your first steps into it?
I became a journalist after college, and found myself interested in features. My first step was trying to tell other people’s stories as accurately, and compellingly, as I could. From there, I ghost-wrote a couple of books, and then I wrote a non-fiction account of my own experience of motherhood. That gave me the confidence to believe I could write an actual book, and so I wrote my first novel, The Privileged, in 2016.
2. Best gigs you’ve been to?
U2’s The Joshua Tree tour in Paris in 1987. We took a coach from Brussels, where I lived, to the Hippodrome de Vincennes in Paris. I was 16 and a mad U2 fan, and there was a guy I fancied on the bus with us. The planets aligned. Féile, Tipperary, 1994. The Prodigy, House of Pain, Primal Scream. So good that even sleeping in the car was worth it. The Pogues in The Olympia, 2003. Shane MacGowan had a broken leg, and they were hours late to the stage, and I was pregnant with my first child and wanted to go home. Then they came on, and they were amazing.
3. Fantasy wedding/birthday party band?
Nile Rodgers and Chic.
4. The record you’d take to a desert island?
Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On or Billie Holiday’s Lady Sings The Blues.
5. And the book you'd take?
Moby Dick or The Divine Comedy in Italian, which I used to speak well and now seriously need to brush up on.
6. Top three films?
The Big Sleep, Bad Teacher and the Irish animated film Song of the Sea, which is one of the most beautiful films I’ve seen.
7. Worst film you’ve seen?
Eyes Wide Shut. A sweet spot of bad acting, absurd plot, laughably ‘meh’ characters, and with enough pomposity to make it really take off.
8. Favourite authors?
Jane Austin, Toni Morrisson and Robert Frost.
9. Sports you most enjoy and top teams?
I love running and sea swimming. I train an Under-10 girls football team, and they are my favourite team to watch – Mount Merrion Youths FC.
10. Ideal holiday destination?
Kerry – specifically Ballinskelligs.
11. Pet hates?
People who pick up their dog's poo, tie it up in a little plastic bag, then hang the bag over railings or on a tree branch.
12. What’s your favourite:
Dinner? Roast aubergine.
Dessert? Chocolate mousse.
Drink? Water, and coffee.
13. Who is your best friend and how do you know each other?
My sisters, Bridget and Martha. They are blessed with great wisdom, great wit, great wardrobes and great generosity.
14. Is there a God?
God is the good in all of us.
:: The Glorious Guinness Girls by Emily Hourican is published by Hachette Ireland, available now.
