My Holidays

AONGHUS McNALLY - BROADCASTER

What’s your earliest holiday memory?

My dad, the actor Ray McAnally, is from Moville, Co Donegal. I vividly recall staying in a mobile home beyond it, at the beautiful beach at Shrove. It was fantastic – all the sand dunes and fresh air. There is a John Hinde postcard of Moville harbour of a little boy, my brother Conor. I had resentment about that for 40 years! I was around the corner and he never shouted that there was a photographer. If he had, I would have been on the postcard!

What was your worst holiday?

I went to China a few years ago and didn’t enjoy it. It was fascinating to see it, but I felt that life was cheap and was uneasy about it. The ratio of staff to guests in hotels meant there was someone waiting every 10 feet, and people were uneasy about saying anything, perhaps a legacy of the regime.

What was your best holiday?

I’m a bit of a workaholic, so I rarely go on holidays. But three years ago my wife Billie and I went to France and drove 3,000km over 10 days. We had nowhere booked but would get up in the morning and ask, “Where will we go?” We had dinner in the Eiffel Tower for our 30th wedding anniversary, drove to Leon, Geneva and Bordeaux.

I went on a magnificent trip to Argentina, Bolivia, China and Peru where I was escorting a tour. Culturally, it was the most diverse and beautiful setting, but there was amazing poverty alongside gold-leaf church architecture. I was really taken with Machu Picchu. The journey was up a steep winding road and, like the hanging island from Avatar,there appears this incredible construction.

If budget or work were not a restriction, what would be your dream holiday?

I’d like more down time with Billie, a month in France with nothing planned. In the evenings we’d potter around, eat moules-frites and Billie would have a glass of wine and me a pot of tea (I’m a non-drinker).

If you had your pick, who would you bring on holiday with you?

My dad died in 1989, aged 63. As I got older, I realised he was a brilliant but unusual man. I knew him at a distance because he was away working. So I’d love to bring him on holidays to get to know him better and delve more into his mind.

What’s your favourite place in Ireland?

I’ve an affinity with Cork where I worked with RTÉ radio for three years. I bought a place in Bandon and love the feel of it there. Because I learned Irish from the Connemara Gaeltacht, I love Tír an Fhia and to hear Irish spoken as a living language.

Your recommended holiday reading?

l like plot-driven books by authors such as John Grisham and Stieg Larsson. Every time we’re on holidays, I have great intentions of reading. Maybe because I’m wound up like a spring I don’t read a whole heap.

Where will you go to next?

I’ve a week in Cork, then I drive home and get a 6am plane to Manchester to compère a magic convention after which I’ll fly to Lanzarote entertaining a tour.

Aonghus McAnally appears in

When Jolie Met Christie,

about Christie Hennessy’s life and music, at Cork’s Everyman Palace Theatre from September 19th-24th as part of a national tour. everymanpalace.com

In conversation with GENEVIEVE CARBERY