How agreeable are you?
I think it depends on the situation. I would say I’m generally very agreeable, but I choose my battles. There are some things I won’t move on.
What’s your middle name and what do you think of it?
My middle name is Lillian and when I was younger I didn’t think it suited me because my name is fully Irish. But it’s my granny’s – on my mum’s side who I never met – name, and I’m really glad to have that family history with it. She had 11 kids and she died really young, so it’s nice to have a little part of her.
Where is your favourite place in Ireland?
My favourite place is on the boat on the lake, and the lake in our family could either be Lough Carra or Lough Corrib. The Carra is where I grew up as a child and it’s stunning. It’s one of the most westerly, marl lakes in the whole of Europe. It’s got this beautiful limestone base. Unfortunately, that has been very much damaged by the amount of stuff that’s in the oil systems. That’s not just in Co Mayo, it’s around the whole country. Lough Carra is going through a bit of a revival now, hopefully, because there’s a whole project involving scientists and farmers to try and revive it. Being out on the Carra is so different because the limestone base makes it beautiful and green. And the water was so clear and it was almost idyllic. It was like being in The Bahamas, except that you’re in Mayo. But I would also say that the Corrib is now my go-to place to just take a deep breath, and get my shoulders relaxed.
Describe yourself in three words
This is so hard. I asked my husband for this, so I’m going to say what he thought: Focused. Optimistic. Driven.
When did you last get angry?
I got angry at a guy on the radio who was talking like our only objective in this country was to make our economy grow. And this makes me angry because I think we have to start thinking about: to what end is this? If the economy is growing, what are the things that we are sacrificing for that? We all lose sight of the fact that society and the economy are a subset of nature, and nature is not an infinite resource. So, if we want something to keep growing, we have to ask what is it expanding into? And what are we depleting?
I really feel that now we have to start valuing the fact that you cannot have a thriving society, or a thriving economy without looking after nature. It just makes me really angry to hear someone talk about the economy when we have to actually think about this in a bigger system. And also, to what end. What’s the purpose in having a roaring economy if we don’t have a functioning healthcare system or we don’t have a functioning housing system?
What have you lost that you would like to have back?
The capacity to be at singing sessions and trad sessions. I absolutely love being in a singing session. Since I’ve had my three kids, I haven’t had the opportunity to do that. Now, I’m teaching them ballads, very slowly. They have their favourites now, which I think is adorable, so I’m waiting for them to grow up so I can just have singing sessions at home with them.
What’s your strongest childhood memory?
I think it’s sitting in the boat, not being able to do anything, kind of bored because no one was talking to me. I’d be out fishing with my grandad and my dad, trying to make picture out of clouds, or just look at the waves and eventually I would curl up at the top of a boat, covered in oilskins, just listening to the waves lapping up against the boat at the top. And just sleeping to that until it was time to stop on an island for a picnic. I think it’s something that I’d love for my kids to do. I’d love to be chilled out with them, going out for a couple of hours.
Where do you come in your family’s birth order, and has this defined you?
I come first and I have five younger brothers. I feel like it has absolutely defined me because I probably was a third parent for my brothers for a while. I feel like I’m a very organised person and I like being in control of what’s going to happen, because when there’s six kids and you’re the eldest, you end up with a lot of responsibility – which isn’t a bad thing.
The magic of biodiversity: Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin
In May 2019, the Irish government declared a climate and biodiversity emergency. To guide us through everything we need to know about biodiversity loss and the impact it has on the natural environment, we’re joined by activist, educator and former Rose of Tralee Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin, who recently chaired the Citizens Assembly on the subject. From hedgerows to bogs and from forests to lakes Ni Shuilleabhain tells Roisin Ingle why we all need to be on board when it comes to protecting and supporting biodiversity. This episode explores what we can do as individuals to make a positive difference and become good ancestors to future generations.
What do you expect to happen when you die?
Nothing, to be honest. I am not a religious person. But my gran passed away two years ago and it was really nice to have the whole wake with my sons and to talk them through the process of somebody dying. And what I say to them is what I believe: that as long as we hold someone in our memories, they’re always with us. So, we talk about it, and we miss her, and that’s really important, that we can still love them when they’re gone.
When were you happiest?
I’m so happy now. I feel very fulfilled in where I am in life right now, with my husband, my children, my work. I’m very content and just feel very grateful. I think one thing that having small kids makes you do is that that you’re forced to be in the present with them. It’s a lovely gift to have.
Which actor would play you in a biopic about your life?
Not that anyone would ever be interested in a biopic of my life, but if it happened, I’d love if Zooey Deschanel did, because I love her fringe.
What’s your biggest career/personal regret?
I don’t really have any career regrets. I’m very lucky in that I’ve had a really meandering career where lots of things happened that I never thought would. If you had asked me earlier in my life, I probably would have said quitting my PhD in London six months in was probably a mistake. But actually, it wasn’t a mistake, because I wasn’t happy and I came home and I ended up doing loads of TV stuff, and then I really sat down and thought about what I wanted to do, and I wanted to teach. And so, I became a teacher and that led to my PhD in maths education. And that led to my career in academia now. Personal regrets? There’s a line in the song Caledonia “lost the friends that I needed losing”. I have only now, in my 40s, realised that that is sometimes necessary, and I think I held on, or mourned friendships for too long that were actually past their time.
Do you have any psychological quirks?
I do. Sometimes, when people are talking to me, I’m actually typing what they’re saying in my head. I don’t know why. I’m trying to figure out if it’s something about the conversation. But I learned to touch type in transition year, and sometimes, when I’m maybe focusing a lot on what they’re saying, I’m actually typing it into my brain. So that’s a quirk that I haven’t told many people about.
Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin is chairwoman of the Independent Advisory Committee for Nature Restoration and associate professor in maths education in UCD
