Ryan Tubridy: 'My chat with Mary was compelling but at times disturbing'

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21 hours ago

What a pleasure it was to sit down and talk to former president Mary McAleese for the final episode of Season 3 of The Bookshelf podcast. We recorded the conversation last weekend in Dublin, and from the moment she walked into the room, I knew it would be a special encounter.
She began by asking if I remembered what she wrote to me when I was in the doldrums two years ago, which was: 'There's life after RTÉ and I should know.'
She went on to explain how difficult her time there as a journalist at the height of the Troubles was and why she felt she had to leave, and indeed, the opportunities that opened up as a direct result of her departure, which ultimately led to the Áras. Ryan Tubridy and Mary McAleese. Pic:for Ballymore
The conversation was often deeply disturbing as Mary recalled how her profoundly deaf brother was attacked by thugs outside the family home and left for dead. Thankfully, he survived, but the scars run deep.
On another occasion, gunmen arrived at their house and sprayed bullets from top to bottom and left to right in a bid to ethnically cleanse the McAleese family from their home, the street and the area. Luckily, as Mary suggests, they weren't the brightest terrorists as they chose to attack on December 8, a day when most Catholic families took the day off to go to town for early Christmas shopping.
The interview was so compelling that I hardly touched on her time as a two-term President of Ireland. She remembers the campaign as being particularly vicious (at one point she feared for her family's safety) and suggested that candidates should not go after each other but rather focus on what she described as the interview board – the Irish people themselves. Ryan Tubridy and Mary McAleese. Pic: Supplied
As our time drew to a close, I asked Mary for a high point and a low point of her 14 years in the Park. For the low point, she didn't miss a beat and quickly said 'Omagh'.
If you listen back (or watch) the podcast, you'll hear a pause as Mary gathers her thoughts and immediately brings us on a dark and desperate walk through the awful events that became known as the Omagh Bombing.
Her vivid and visceral recollections are spine-tingling, and her description of hugging community leaders and unlikely allies, such as David Trimble, stopped me in my tracks. Pic: Greg Wood/AFP via Getty Images
On the other question of a high point, the former president said that while she was tempted to say the visit to Ireland by Queen Elizabeth II, she decided to opt for the opening of the Special Olympics when Ireland played host.
Her face came alive with joy as Mary spoke of the undiluted pride she was filled with as she watched the Olympians mix with the likes of Nelson Mandela and Arnold Schwarzenegger but above all, how communities pulled together with countless volunteers to make the event a roaring success built on kindness, decency and the best of Irish.
I'm only scratching the surface with the above description of this interview, and I'm glad to say the response has been extraordinary, with most people saying that so much of what Mary McAleese had to say passed them by when she was holding the highest office in the State. Imelda Staunton as Mrs. Kitty Warren Pic: Johan Persson
Lots more suggested they'd love to see her return for a third term, but I think we'll leave that kind of chatter to our friends in the USA.
If you're planning a trip to London soon, there are some wonderful theatre productions available to see. I've mentioned Giant, the Roald Dahl play starring John Lithgoe, which is still going and is truly the best thing I've seen on stage in many years.
This week, I also got to see the George Bernard Shaw play Mrs Warren's Profession, which stars Imelda Staunton and her real-life daughter, Bessie Carter. It's a wonderful play and beautiful production that also proves how some ideas, topics and themes never grow old and remain majestic in the hands of GBS. Ryan Tubridy and Colm Toibin. Pic: Supplied
The last time I met Colm Tóibín was at the White House 10 years ago on St. Patrick's Day, when Barack Obama was president. When we met again last week, we were in London and he was a guest on my radio show, ostensibly to discuss the paperback release of his Brooklyn sequel, Long Island.
I asked Colm how he remembered his trip to the most famous residence in the world and he recalled how cold our departure was courtesy of the White House staff who clearly didn't know that a gathering of Irish people (abroad!) on St Patrick's Day would descend into a never-ending conversation and storytelling session that would and should end with some music.
However, Colm reminded me that the staff formed a line across the room and slowly closed in on the assembled guests who had to shuffle backwards, inch by inch, until we were eventually in the portico, through the main door and out through the gate.
It was one of many tales told by Colm, who was in such good form that I wished we could have taken the conversation on to another venue! We spoke about the enduring power of Ailish, the chief protagonist in both Brooklyn and Long Island.
She was portrayed brilliantly by Saoirse Ronan who received an Oscar nomination for the part. Colm told the funniest story of how he was invited to the Oscars, but because he was 'only' the book's author, he had to walk the grey carpet (or lino as he called it) which was situated directly behind the red carpet where all the action was happening.
The only saving grace of the evening was that one of the barmen at the venue was from Ireland and recognised Colm (who no longer drinks), which meant a steady flow of vino for the night. Small mercies!