BBC star Graham Norton reveals a grá for the work of another Cork-based writer

Bandon’s favourite son, Graham Norton, has spoken about his West Cork lockdown, and his love of one particular Cork-based writer’s books.

In an interview with the Irish Examiner, the broadcaster and author, who recently married Scottish TV producer Jonothan McCleod, said the Covid-19 pandemic had resulted in their spending several months in his home in Ahakista.

“We spent months there and it was a great place to be,” the BBC One star said.

“The difference between a London lockdown and a rural West Cork lockdown was night and day. It was so stressful in London, it was just hell.” The Bandon native said his stay in West Cork had been a balm to the soul at a particularly fraught time.

“I’m by the sea, and you know, the tide coming in and the tide going out, the dogs running around, you know, a couple of days might go by before you were reminded you were living in the middle of a pandemic,” Mr Norton said.

“In London, you never forgot you were living in a pandemic, whereas there was a sense of some sort of normality in a rural setting because that community had to keep going.

“People had to get the harvest, people have to spread the slurry, all those things had to happen, cows needed to be milked,” he said.

“It just had a kind of a rhythm to it that seemed less alien than what happened in London.” Mr Norton was promoting his latest book, Forever Home, which is his fourth work of fiction.

He said the darkly comic novel’s solid plotline had been something which had reflected his own tastes.

“I like books with plots, I like to know this book is going somewhere and where it goes will then be resolved by the time it gets to the end of it.” He cited as “a great plotter” Cork-based crime writer Catherine Kirwan, adding that his sister had given him Ms Kirwan’s two novels, Darkest Truth and Cruel Deeds.

“I think she’s really good,” he said.

Ms Kirwan told The Echo she was delighted at his comments.

“I was incredibly thrilled to hear that Graham Norton enjoyed both of my books,” she said.

“I am a huge fan of his in everything that he does so it is a massive boost to get his endorsement. Special thanks to Graham’s lovely sister Paula for giving them to him as presents and making sure that he read them.”