Maggie O’Farrell

We can't be.

So you always have to think about where your characters are in space and time and how that might affect them and what could possibly be having an impact on them from within and from without.

I suppose someone said to me recently that Ireland's biggest export is people, of which I'm one, and...

I suppose I wanted to think about that in terms of the chaos that ensues from that.

And especially at a time, you know, in the 19th century when there were so many, thousands and thousands of people that emigrated from Ireland and they would never see their relatives again.

You know, you knew when you were waving them off from whatever harbour that that would...

you know, most likely be the last time you'd ever see them.

And a lot of people didn't know how to read or write at those times, so there was no communication.

I mean, there was some, but, you know, the communication might have been limited.

And what an extraordinary feeling that must have been.

I cannot imagine waving goodbye to my children now and thinking, I'm not going to ever see you again.

But also the kind of chaos that would ensue from that.

And also people, all these immigrants arriving in...

America or Australia or Canada or, you know, wherever.

And, well, I don't know, just the tumult of that that must have ensued.

And just the idea that you might be, you know, you might be close to people who you don't know are connected to you.

Yeah, I mean, I was born in Derry in the early 70s, which, of course, was a very fraught time in Northern Ireland.

And that's the reason why we left.

And so, and it's very, you know, my Irish identity is very important to me.

But at the same time, I know, you know, the voice that I'm talking to you in does not sound vaguely Irish at all.