What do you generally do around Christmas time?
I spend Christmas in Mullingar with my mam, dad, my four siblings, their families, and me and my partner Louize. Louize’s family are close to Mullingar, so we spend the day at my family’s and then drive to her family in the evening.
We used to go to Mass at 12.30am, more to see everyone than to pray, but those days are long gone. Now it’s about spending time at home and being present with each other. There’s got to be one or two days that are solely about being present with the people you love.
Is Christmas dinner turkey and ham with all the trimmings or something else entirely?
Once, someone suggested having duck. There were a lot of raised eyebrows and it was never mentioned again. The only tension at dinner time is around the potato croquette distribution system that’s used in our family. I’m 6ft 6in and 18 stone and my sister is 5ft 5in and we both get two potato croquettes each. Perhaps that needs to be re-evaluated.
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Who’s on your naughty list?
I gave up disliking people I don’t know a long time ago. Gobshites are only gobshites because it gets them what they need in their jobs. They’re all just people playing the game, even if I don’t agree with it.
Which Christmas song would you happily never hear again?
Maroon 5′s cover of Happy Xmas (War Is Over) is the worst thing I’ve heard in my life. Often with covers, bands take a song with a deep sentiment and sing them as if they don’t have meaning.
I suspect there haven’t been any good Christmas songs in recent years because they’re not recorded in analogue any more. Now you get perfect-sounding, on-the-money digital recordings, but we as humans are drawn to imperfect-sounding music, which has a different feel.
Christmas jumper and/or pyjamas – yes or no?
In principle, yes, I’ll get on board with whatever makes people happy. But the ones I like never fit me – I’m usually in the XXL ones that are reduced to €2.99 in Dunnes.
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