Person to Person: 'I'm an Irish Sign Language Intrepreter...I'll be interpreting a backstage tour in Cork this week'

Tell us about yourself;

I am an Irish Sign Language Interpreter. It’s a four-year degree in Trinity College Dublin to become a qualified interpreter, which surprises a lot of people. We also have to do continuous professional development once qualified.

I started working as an interpreter in 2004. We work in medical settings, education, religious, legal and theatre to name a few.

I did my first panto in The Everyman about 14 years ago and have worked with them on numerous pantos and shows since. At first, a small number of Deaf people attended but now they are more used to coming to the theatre, and the pantos especially are very well supported. I will be interpreting the backstage tour at The Everyman on Culture Night, Friday, September 18 at 4pm.

Where were you born?

Erinville in Cork.

Where do you live?

I go between Cork (my home place and where most of my work is) and Wexford (where I live with my partner).

Family?

I live with my partner Jimmy in Wexford and my mom when I’m in Cork.

Best friend?

In primary school, I was lucky enough to be part of a great group of gals, and we called ourselves the ’Swan Club’. We used to hold clandestine meetings in our garage to organise goodness knows what, and we held regular tea parties in each other’s houses. The friend group is still going strong. That’s more than 50 years of friendship!

Earliest childhood memory?

I remember crying in the school yard on my first day in junior infants. A lovely girl, Carmel Riordan, promised to buy me a bag of chips to cheer me up. It was very astute of her. The mention of food and I was all better! The chips never materialised, but it had done the trick!

Person you most admire?

My mother. She’s Superwoman. She comes to all of my interpreted performances and then lets me analyse them afterwards. If that doesn’t scream patience, I don’t know what does!

Person who most irritates you?

The orange fella from across the pond.

Where was your most memorable holiday?

New Zealand. It was my first time surfing, skiing, driving an automatic. lots of firsts. Me and my friend Eileen were crying leaving. The cinema in Wanaka was particularly memorable. You could order cookies or pizza before the film, and they were made fresh and ready to collect at the interval. Yes, they had an interval for the films! It was amazing.

Favourite TV programme?

We watched Normal People during lockdown, and we had to wait a week between each episode. We have all the streaming services now so don’t have to wait for anything, but I remember the excitement waiting a whole week for Monday to come around so we could see if Marianne and Connell would finally get together! It really made it memorable.

Favourite radio show?

So You Think You’re An Adult on Newstalk with Declan Buckley and Barbara Scully is brilliant. I also love Arena, Sundays With Miriam, and the Oliver Callan Show.

Your signature dish if cooking?

I’m more of a baker! Lorraine Pascale’s big yummy double chocolate chip cookies.

Favourite restaurant?

I love going to Mai Fitz’s in Lissarda!

Last book you read?

Sign Language Interpreting For Theatre, by Lynette Taylor, Stephanie Feyne and Candace Broeker Penn.

Best book you read?

Jane Eyre.

Last album/CD/download you bought?

I bought a Damien Dempsey CD last week so I can listen to him on loop in the car. My first time buying a CD in years!

Favourite song?

I love any song by Damien Dempsey. Other than that, when I find a song I like, I play it a lot! I heard Paint The Moon by The Czars recently and pulled the car over to listen it was so good. I then found Kindling (Fickle Flame) by Elbow with John Grant which I love, and my song of choice travelling around Asia was Daybreak by BellX1.

One person you would like to see in concert?

Did I mention I like Damien Dempsey? I haven’t seen him in concert yet, so I’ll have to right that.

Do you have a pet?

We have two dogs. A collie Lady and a retriever/spaniel Poppy. They walk us most days!

Morning person or night owl?

Morning. I jump out of bed and hit the ground running.

Your proudest moment?

Interpreting the panto in The Everyman and interpreting the last two MTU BA in Musical Theatre final-year shows with Fiona Landers (a Deaf Interpreter). These were 9 To 5, The Musical and Come From Away. They were as good as anything you’d see on Broadway.

I’m very proud of my involvement with The Everyman. They also provide audio description and touch tours, relaxed performances and chill-out zones, and have recently started trialling a captioning app that goes to your phone, and surtitled performances.

I also worked with Eoin Nash and Horizons’ Suisha Inclusive Arts on their midsummer show Home Sweet Home and other projects. I felt really honoured to work with them, and they have more work in the pipeline, which is exciting!

Spendthrift or saver?

Definitely a saver, though I love charity shops so I don’t hold back there!

Name one thing you would improve in your area in which you live?

Everyone to learn Irish Sign Language and teach it in the schools, more Deaf Interpreters and Deaf actors in the theatre.

What makes you happy?

Good food, good company, the beaches of Cork and Wexford, and going to the theatre/cinema, and Deaf people enjoying access to the shows!

How would you like to be remembered?

My lovely dad has it written on his grave ‘He made the world a better place’. We don’t have to do amazing things, but just by being here we make the world better. I love that!

What else are you up to at the moment?

Making plum jam, freezing plums, preserving plums, giving away plums. I bought the tree about 10 years ago, and this is the third year where it is straining under the weight of the fruit! We never had a lot of fruit on our plum trees in Cork, but in the sunny south-east, there is less rain, more sun, and a lot more plums! I’m not preparing for any theatre work at the moment, but each show takes a huge amount of preparation, so if I was preparing for a show, I would be listening and practicing on loop as I potter and pot jam!