Dervla Kirwan
Dervla Kirwan

I am concerned that there's a cavalier attitude to the Irish Peace Process. What poor memories some have; I remember only too well the bag searches, the bomb scares and deaths. As they say, history doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes.

Dervla Kirwan
Dervla Kirwan

I ate ostrich. I'm not very proud of it. I was going through a very experimental period and probably during foot and mouth. It was exquisite, but I felt very guilty.

Dervla Kirwan
Dervla Kirwan

Getting pregnant proved to be a hell of a shock but it's really exciting.

Dervla Kirwan
Dervla Kirwan

My kids will never need a bodyguard because they'll have me.

Dervla Kirwan
Dervla Kirwan

A lot of first-time mothers worry about how they will cope. But I'm more patient than I thought I would be even though there are good days and bad days.

Dervla Kirwan
Dervla Kirwan

My mother was a woman of the '50s who had a family in the '70s while finding her political and feminist voice. She could make marvellous three-course meals after teaching all day but hated it. Because of that legacy, it took me a long time to realise the delights of the family table.

Dervla Kirwan
Dervla Kirwan

My parents have a brilliant ear for languages and mimicry and accents, which I think I've inherited - that I can listen to things and pick them up.

Dervla Kirwan
Dervla Kirwan

Yoga is great for easing my back pain. It also helps me keep stress at bay, which is something I can suffer from.

Dervla Kirwan
Dervla Kirwan

True Dare Kiss' is a gothic drama about a highly dysfunctional Mancunian family who, after 20 years, reconvene for the funeral of their father. I wanted to play Phil because I really liked the character, and there is an element of mystery about her - which I can't reveal.

Dervla Kirwan
Dervla Kirwan

Yeah, I talk to everyone. I think that's the secret, you know. Keep it friendly, keep it warm. People just want to connect, don't they, at the end of the day?

Dervla Kirwan
Dervla Kirwan

I used to be nervous about not working and so would work for the sake of it.

Dervla Kirwan
Dervla Kirwan

I've made a lot of mistakes in my career but the biggest mistake I've made is to turn down work.

Dervla Kirwan
Dervla Kirwan

I am all for high art but I owe it to myself to be clever about it and do commercial things too.

Dervla Kirwan
Dervla Kirwan

Ballykissangel' made me a household name, and I am enormously grateful for that, but I don't feel it would ever have developed me into a better actress had I stayed.

Dervla Kirwan
Dervla Kirwan

A lot of actresses say they are 24 when they are 34 but I find that ridiculous. I wish we didn't succumb to the youth-is-all ideology in this industry, because there is a huge audience out there who want to relate to characters of their own age played by actors of their own age.

Dervla Kirwan
Dervla Kirwan

I'd never scan the starters and main courses on a menu in a restaurant as a child. I'd want a dessert for starter, for main course and for dessert.

Dervla Kirwan
Dervla Kirwan

I was a waitress at a really rundown Italian restaurant in Dublin, for about a week, at 16. I thought it was going to be romantic - overhearing affairs and watching first-time couples all loved up. But instead I was just running about constantly.

Dervla Kirwan
Dervla Kirwan

The main thing I've done for my children is not to give them a stupid name, like actors do.

Dervla Kirwan
Dervla Kirwan

I really want to work with Mike Leigh.

Dervla Kirwan
Dervla Kirwan

I want to interact creatively with the directors I work with - it's a thrilling way to work.