Corkonians Abroad: Chatting with Robert de Niro about food was surreal 

Where are you from originally, and what was life like there?

I grew up in Douglas with my mum and dad, two brothers and three sisters. I’m the second youngest. My father taught mechanical engineering at the Regional Technical College (now MTU) and my mother was a stay-at-home mum.

I come from a close, loving family and was fortunate to have had a great childhood. I loved sports growing up and did gymnastics for several years at Douglas Community School, and later ran for Leevale and Eagle Athletic Clubs.

When I finished at Regina Mundi College in Douglas, I studied some courses at the College of Commerce. When I left secondary school, I had quite a few interests and didn’t know which to pursue in terms of a career. Being a chef or going into hospitality industry interested me, but I also had an interest in wellness and just wasn’t sure which career path I should choose.

I remember the summer I finished my Leaving Cert and feeling excited but a little overwhelmed and scared at having to make big life decisions. It seemed so many of my friends knew exactly what they wanted to do, and I was still figuring it out.

What drove you to another country?

I had been dating a U.S college student who had been studying at UCC so I got to learn about America and its culture from him and my curiosity was piqued.

My younger sister and her boyfriend had gotten a J1 Visa along with a couple of friends to work on Nantucket for the summer. At the time, I had been working in an office for an environmental engineer in Cork, but wanted a chance to travel and meet new people and explore America a little. I applied for a visa to travel and work for a few months, thinking I would return home. Nantucket was supposed to be my first stop in my travel journey and where I was going to spend the summer only, but the universe had other ideas.

Where do you live now, and what is it like there?

I have been living on Nantucket Island for 31 years, which is very hard to believe! The time has flown by. I do like living here a lot. It’s very pretty. There is a strong sense of history, you can feel it especially when you walk downtown and look at the architecture of the homes and cobblestone streets.

People live very seasonally here. Because the island’s main business is tourism, the island goes from being extremely busy in the summer to being quieter in the spring and fall and being very quiet in the winter. When you haven’t seen someone in the colder months because they’ve been travelling or ‘hibernating’ a little, you don’t ask them how they’re doing, you ask them “how was your winter?”

Living on an island is not for everyone. We are very much at the mercy of the weather. If you have to go to the mainland (like needing to get a flight to Shannon from Logan Airport) and the boats and planes are cancelled, it can be challenging, so you always have to factor the weather in when you make travel plans. I love living near the ocean though. If I were to live somewhere else, it would have to be close to the sea.

Do you have family where you live now?

My husband Jack and I celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary in September. He is the reason I only got as far as Nantucket on my American travels! He is from a small town called Clinton in Massachusetts. I met him when I started working in the office of a local antiques auction house. I always had an interest in that from growing up watching Antiques Roadshow on TV. I even went to see them the time they came to Cork and were appraising at the City Hall. Jack and I got married in Maine on an even smaller island called Monhegan and then had a small party on a friend’s boat with family and friends from both sides of the Atlantic.

What has been the most memorable moment in your new home?

I’m going to pick two. Personally, it was the time I had a house full of my family from Cork who came to visit so they could celebrate the 4th of July. My nieces and nephews were young so going downtown for the water fight on Main Street and the watermelon and blueberry pie eating competitions was great fun. Then back to our house for a BBQ in the afternoon and to the beach later in the evening to see the fireworks. It was pretty perfect.

Professionally, it was the time I was working for a catering and event planning company (Hi, Nantucket Clambake Co!), and I worked on a big event where the special guests were Robert De Niro and Michael Douglas. I oversaw the green room and made sure the evening flowed well. Standing and talking with Robert De Niro about food was just surreal. And I can still remember how he likes his martini.

What is your job/career?

My husband had a shop, The Antiques Depot, when I met him and over the years, I became more involved in it. I accompany him on buying trips, which is always the most fun part of the business. When I stopped working in catering and event planning ten years ago, I started working at the shop more and started the social media side of things, taking photos and posting on Instagram and Facebook and getting more of an online presence. I still do all of that.

Working with your partner isn’t always the easiest, but we’ve made it work, and the business has grown and thankfully is successful.

The most rewarding part is introducing people to antiques for the first time, especially younger people. We work hard to keep the shop stocked with interesting pieces and the displays attractive and inviting. Martha Stewart visited the shop this summer and was very complimentary which was very gratifying.

I also wanted to do something in the wellness and self-care side, so I went back to school and took some courses with a college in Oregon that allowed me to study remotely. I started Pure Body Nantucket nine years ago. It’s a plant-based body care line that I make myself here on Nantucket. I sell online and at our local farmers’ and artisans’ market run by Sustainable Nantucket, and I also have a display at our antiques shop.

How might you spend the weekend?

I’m up early on Saturday morning from mid- May to mid-October to set up my display for the market downtown, which opens at 8.30 am. My husband helps me set up and break down and then it’s back to the shop for lunch and help out there. After we close, we usually head home tired after a long day with an early start.

On Sunday morning we have a lie-in and then usually go and meet friends for breakfast or go for a drive before opening the shop at 1pm. Some Sunday evenings we go out for dinner. We have a wonderful restaurant, Oran Mor, in the floor above our shop so we just go up the back stairs and eat at the bar.

How is the culture where you live different from Cork/Ireland? How is it the same?

One of the first things I noticed here was how people are more naturally confident. They have a more ‘can do’ and ‘the glass is always half-full’ attitude. I was also really surprised at how early everyone started their day, getting up at 6am or earlier, and how much work and errands people would try and squeeze in.

Anyone who works on Nantucket in the summer season usually does at least 40 hours a week. September is the locals’ summer, when we all take a deep breath, take time to enjoy living here, get to the beach, and spend more time with friends and family.

My sister Anne was here recently visiting me from Cork. I took a week off from work so that I could spend time with her. I wouldn’t be able to do that in July or August.

Nantucket is often only talked about in terms of wealth and the cost of living. And yes, that certainly exists and is a large part of life here.

What most people who visit here don’t get to know, however, are the locals who live here year-round and the sense of community. I have amazing close friends that are both American and non-American and we really look out for each other. People really show up for you when you need them and can be incredibly thoughtful and generous with their time. I think that is like Ireland, where community is important to most people.

A lot of the people who work on Nantucket are seasonal, especially in the hospitality industry. Their lives are different from most Americans in that they travel and work in quieter months and return the following year. Some businesses close in the autumn and don’t reopen until the following spring. Our shop is different from most in that it is open all year round.

What do you miss most about Cork?

My family and friends, the Cork sense of humour, the countryside and my favourite foods and restaurants/pubs/coffee shops.

Do you get to go home to Cork often? What do you do when you return?

I am extremely fortunate to travel home twice a year. As I don’t have kids, my husband and I return to Cork every year to spend time with my family just before Christmas and spend all of January there. My husband loves to cook so we would cook for my mum and dad and just spend as much time with them as possible. Between my husband and I, we volunteer for four nonprofits and charities on Nantucket, so we stay involved with those while away, and also keep in touch with our clients in both businesses.

While in Cork, we relax and enjoy our time. We hire a car which allows us to visit family and friends, take day trips to places like Kinsale, or make a trip into town to the English Market. As we’re home around Christmas, we always go to the panto and enjoy the holiday festivities around St Stephen’s Day right up until Women’s Little Christmas. Because my birthday is in January, we spend it staying in a nice hotel somewhere in the countryside.

I go home by myself for a week in June before the season really kicks off on Nantucket, so I can see my family around my mum’s anniversary of when she passed and spend time with my 94-year-old dad, who is still very active. I have incredible siblings who help and support him.

Any special mentions to family and friends back home in Cork?

If I’m allowed a list, first of all my dad, Jack Lynch, who will be delighted to see his daughter in The Echo! My siblings Anne, John, David and Paula and their spouses Lisa, Regina, Noelle and Mark. A special hello to my nieces and nephews: Orla (and John), Jack, Amy, Rachel and Darragh. And other family and friends: Jenny, John and Fiadh, the extended Lynch family, all those in Ardfallen, and my friends Triona, Adele and Carol. And lastly, but most importantly, a heavenly hello to my mum Mary and sister Carmel.

If you could spend an ideal day in Cork, what would that entail?

If it’s around Christmas, going for a walk and then a coffee and a breakfast pastry at Go Go’s in Douglas before going into town and shopping at the English Market. Then to Yuan Ming Yuan on Prince’s Street for Dim Sum or lunch at The Farmgate. I’d pop into Here’s Health and do a little shopping on Oliver Plunkett Street and Patrick Street while my husband, who is a big reader, heads to some of the bookshops, and then head over for a hot toddy to the Mutton Lane Inn.

When I’m home in June, if the weather is good, I want to be outside as much as possible, so I walk to the Farmers’ Market in Douglas on Saturday morning, a quick run around the shops before meeting a friend for coffee, then heading off into the countryside with my sisters and dad for a lovely drive, windows down, stopping off for lunch somewhere along the way.

What are your plans for the future?

I’m not someone who looks too far into the future, I try and enjoy the here and now as much as possible. Nantucket has been very good to me. I’m so fortunate I get to live here and spend as much time as I do in Cork. I know not everyone can say that.

I wish I was at home in Cork to see the look of surprise on my dad’s face when he reads about his daughter in The Echo!