Aengus O'Snodaigh speaks to
GENEVIEVE CARBERY
What's your earliest holiday memory?My family used to travel from Dublin to Kerry, and I'd go to school in Dún Chaoin with my five brothers for the month of June. I've great memories of going to a different school, and as it was also a holiday we'd go to the beach. The school, an all-Irish single-teacher school, was under threat of closure, and we were one of three families who would travel there to make up the numbers.
What was your worst holiday?It was in the same region four or five years ago in Murreagh. It lashed rain for a full week, and when you have kids who want to go to the beach it is not very enjoyable.
What was your best holiday?Four or five years ago we went to a caravan and camping park in Le Vieux Port, Aquitaine, in southwest France. It had all the facilities and the kids were old enough to enjoy everything on site, as well as neighbourhood attractions such as surfing and high ropes. We also hired a car to drive to neighbouring towns.
If budget or work were not a restriction, what would be your dream holiday?I'd love to go on one of those big fancy luxury Caribbean cruises with the kids.
If you had your pick, who would you bring on holiday with you?My wife and kids. It's great when we are away from the normal everyday life, because I get to spend the time with them.
What's your favourite place in Ireland?Dún Chaoin, in Kerry. It brings back loads of memories and is one of the most beautiful places I've been in the world, even though I've travelled far and wide. If you get the weather you can sit and enjoy the peace and quiet there. Your recommended holiday reading? My favourite are historical novels and faction books – they are historically accurate but with a mix of fact and fiction. One I read lately was 1916 by Morgan Llywelyn. which combines the sinking of the Titanic and the Easter Rising.
Where will you go to next?I've not decided yet, but maybe back to southwest France. We also had a great camping holiday at Redcross, in Co Wicklow, so we might go back.
Aengus Ó Snodaigh is Sinn Féin TD for Dublin South Central. In conversation with Genevieve Carbery