I love Limerick. Dublin is where my life is at the moment, but LImerick will always be my home. I was born in Galway, but I grew up in Castletroy. It's a beautiful area. I went to Monaleen and then Castletroy College. I feel a lot safer in Limerick than I do in Dublin.

Limerick is a beautiful city, but its going to be gorgeous when the developments on the riverside are completed. Anyone who was here on the weekend of the Drama festival, and the Riverfest could not say a bad thing about the city. There was such a good atmosphere, and hundreds of people out.

To be honest with you, I got into acting completely by accident. When I started in college in first year I got into Cumann Gaelich. I heard about a script reading that was on by a group called Aisteoiri Dramaiochta Bulfinn, and they are a fairly well known Dublin-based drama group, around since the 70s. They gave me a chance even though my Irish was bad. Just seeing the craic, and going out for a drink after rehearsals, and hearing others talking, my Irish improved in leaps and bounds. It was great.

Travelling with Aisteoiri Dramaiochta Bulfinn is like being part of a big family. When you are practicing twice a week, and all under pressure, and helping each other learning your lines, getting costumes ready, and staying away for nights and weekends, you become like a family, and get to know each other a little too well. You would not find a better bunch of people.

The Irish Language community is just lovely. Everyone is so friendly and open, because everyone knows you have this common interest. We are very lucky to have Conradh Na Gaelige on Thomas Street. When I was in school, I did not think there were any places to go in Limerick to meet people and speak Irish, and that's the only way you are going to learn.

The Irish Language is probably the best thing that's ever happened to me. People who say the Irish language is dying a death have not seen how strong the Irish community is. That is the attitude of most people in Limerick, but that's going to change in the next 10 years. The negative attitude is there because of the way the language is taught, and I do not know if anything can be done about it.

Although I was good at English in school, it did not help me at all for the journalism course. The sort of English you learn at school in the leaving certificate is not the sort of language you use in journalism. It was a real struggle cutting down on the flowery writing and sticking to basic facts. But it turns out the course really suits me. You meet so many people, it's a really sociable profession to be in. You have to think about networking and getting to know people. It's great for outgoing people.

I never thought I would ever be on stage on the Belltable. It was scary, but really cool at the same time. It was different going around the country with Aisteoiri Dramaiochta Bulfinn. Last year, we went to Galway, the Aran Islands, and Donegal, and that was fine, but performing in Limerick was really scary, because it was home ground, and there were people I knew in the audience, and it was a lot harder to ignore this.

What I really love doing is staying busy. Between drama, and my college work, and practicing my writing, I have little spare time. But they do not feel like work. When I have spare time, I hang out with my friends, or have a picnic in the People's Park. I would love to go abroad and see the world, but at the moment, there are so many places in Ireland I haven't seen yet. There's a lot to do in this country.