Eva talks about her interest in journalism and decision to study further…

“So then when I was in my last year of secondary school, I got a placement at a magazine, a newsy kind of place in the city centre and that's— I had already thought that I'd quite like to do journalism and that really cemented it for me. So I had a situation whereby the editor of this book— editor of a magazine, it was a construction magazine for the construction industry, it was very boring— But he'd give me a book to read every week and he'd pay me to do a book review. And some of the books were actually really, really interesting so that's how I became aware of things like Bauhaus architecture or the Shaker movement in America, furniture and things like that. So although it was quite a dull publication, the books he was giving me to read were really, really interesting.

And that was the first time I thought, I can read something, write about it and get paid for it, which just seemed to be ludicrous [laughs]. So then I applied to study journalism at the Dublin Institute of Technology and I was accepted on to that course so I was the first person in my family to go to third level education. And the only reason I was able to do that was because I was funded by the European Social Fund. My younger sister after me was offered a place at Sligo Regional Technical College studying art but we couldn't get a grant for that so she wasn't able to take it because my parents couldn't afford it which was a huge shame.”

Eva’s interview tells a story of growing up as one of five children in a small house in Finglas in Dublin in the 1970s and early 1980s. She talks about family life and her relationships with both her parents. Books were important to Eva from an early age and she talks about her excitement at getting to study journalism in Dublin and how later her love of language led her into a career in corporate communications. She explores the differences in the cultural and social scene of Dublin to that of Northampton and tells of how she avoided the more traditional Irish in England ‘scene’ after emigrating in the 1990s. Throughout her interview, Eva provides an insightful commentary into her own and others’ attitudes to women, education, employment, sex, contraception, mothering and loss. She reflects on what Ireland means to her and her own children.

For more information on accessing Eva’s full interview or transcript please email faisneis@unaganaguna.org