There's a lot I've missed about living in Ireland. You miss family, particularly when you've got kids.
The notion that patience is a virtue is something you don't fully appreciate until you're a parent. You need endless patience with little ones.
Growing up, I was your classic Catholic Irish kid. I went to mass every Sunday. Then in secondary school I went to boarding school, and there was mass seven days a week before breakfast - it may have put me off!
When you're independent and not attached to a major media organisation, they just look at you as if to say, 'Who are you again?'
You worry about whether you are match-fit, coming back to the stand-up stage.
Many's the audition I waltzed into unprepared and wondered why I didn't get it. I learned the hard way.
Most people haven't seen my dramatic work, but I did 10 years of theater before I ever became a comic. I'm just better known for comedy.
One day I got an invite to help the Christina Noble Foundation, and by this stage, I'd already been talking about her for 10 years. I said 'yes' right away, and that was the first time I met her.
I knew I wanted to be an actress from the age of 13.
I admire Pat Shortt as a businessman. Such acumen is unusual for an entertainer. He did all his own deals. I learnt a lot from Pat when I was on the road with him for a year.
I spent seven years in clubs in England, Australia, etc. Not all comedians cross over to sell out in a theatre.
My salary swings an unbelievable amount. When I had Holly, I took seven months off, so my salary was very low. It fluctuates wildly. No one pays you for the period you spend writing. I am certainly not rich.
I have no proper money to invest!
I can make my living out of Ireland, but the reason I came to London was that I felt I'd gone as far as I could go in Ireland.
You wouldn't expect a cattle dealer to sit down at a grand piano and play it beautifully. That's my father.
I was 25 before I joined the world, in my opinion. I was a very late developer, and everything came late.
I was never very good at being an unemployed actor. I always thought that I should have been doing something pro-active. I was never good at doing juvenile leads. I suppose it's because I have this big sarcastic head on me.
It wasn't that I left acting; it's just that I put it aside while I set about becoming a comic.
I knew I couldn't do what Eddie Izzard does, so I just tried to write some stories that were based, or partly based, on my own experiences.
When I came on the scene, there was The Nualas, who were doing character comedy, but there weren't any other women doing stand-up because Michelle Read had gone more into theatre.
