The Lovers writer David Ireland: I’ve had to learn to forgive and be forgiven, rebuild bridges and move on

On weekdays, I usually get up at six o’clock and run eight or nine kilometres. Then I come back home, have breakfast with my family and take the kids to school. Once that happens, I go to a coffee shop, order a large black Americano and start writing.

Usually eggs – scrambled or poached – with some sourdough toast from a local bakery.

I hate lunch. I’ve always hated lunch. The idea of stopping in the middle of your day and finding something to eat has always been an irritant to me. I usually eat something very basic like a ham and cheese sandwich so I can get it over with quickly and get back to work.

Before I was married, I would eat lots of steak, pasta and pizza, but my wife is very healthy and has encouraged me to be more conscious of what I eat. I say ‘encouraged’ but perhaps it’s more accurate to say she’s browbeaten me into submission. I still love red meat and pizza but now there’s a bit more broccoli and quinoa in my diet.

It’s becoming more important to me in middle age. I try to take vitamin C and D but I often forget.

No, I tried the 5:2 diet once. Worst mistake I ever made. I ended up putting on a stone.

My wife does most of the cooking during the week and then I do most of the weekend cooking. I usually make a curry for us on Friday night and we watch a movie – usually a romantic comedy from the 90s featuring Sandra Bullock or Hugh Grant. On Saturdays I make pizza for the whole family and we watch The Simpsons.

By running and walking a lot. I go to church regularly and I’m part of a Bible-reading group. I read the Bible every day and I pray. Keeping close to God has worked out better for me than any cure for depression I’ve tried.

I usually listen to gospel music while I’m out running early in the morning, usually in a park. Kanye West’s Jesus is King album is a favourite. It puts me in a great frame of mind for the day ahead.

I loved football but we didn’t play a lot of that. It was usually rugby, which I hated. I also couldn’t stand swimming and I used to pretend to drown so I had an excuse to get out of the pool and sit on the sidelines.

I stopped drinking in 1999, so I’ve been sober 24 years. It’s the best decision I ever made but I’m quite introverted, so it makes social gatherings a bit difficult. It’s worth it, though.

You can’t get trapped on a flight of stairs (well, maybe you can, but it’s never happened to me), so I’ll say ‘stairs’.

John Baxter’s biography of Stanley Kubrick which is very entertaining. I read lots of books about difficult, self-absorbed artists. No idea why that sub-genre should appeal to me.

I don’t really watch much TV and rarely watch Netflix. The only thing I’ve watched this year on Netflix was Edward Berger’s All Quiet on the Western Front, which I loved.

Well, I was very much on the anti-lockdown, anti-mask side of the debate. And most of my friends and family vehemently disagreed with me. I surprised myself with how obstinate and/or brave I was. And since then I’ve had to learn to forgive and be forgiven, rebuild bridges and move on. That’s been hard.

No, my work is my hobby. I love it.

I don’t think I do.

Well, in my career, my primary goal for this year was to make The Lovers as good as it could be. Thankfully, it seems to have been well-received. I wrote it as a love letter to Belfast and the audience in Belfast seems to have embraced it, which is a relief. In my personal life, I hope I can make my wife and children laugh as much as possible.

I usually go to bed around midnight or 1am – far too late, but I love staying up, writing and reading and watching old movies. I never relish the mini-death of sleep.

Part of me regrets not starting my writing career earlier. I only really had any success by the time I was 40 and I spent most of my twenties and thirties broke and out of work. I regret that I wasn’t more successful as an actor. I had so many auditions that I messed up through nerves or naivety – from The Lord of the Rings to The Archers – but maybe that was all for the best. Where I am today is okay.

When I was a younger man, I never wanted to get married or have children, but being a father and husband has been the best experience ever.

To be honest, I didn’t perceive coronavirus as a threat to my mortality. I was afraid of death when I was younger, but my faith in God has taken that fear away. I love my life and I want it to last as long as possible, but I’m also looking forward to the undiscovered country.