September 29, 2024 • 34 mins
Join me, Aideen Ni Riada, as I sit down with the incredibly talented Irish author Sheila Forsey to uncover the twists and turns of her unexpected journey into writing. From a small village drama festival to joining the Watergate Theatre Group, Sheila's story is a testament to the power of following one's passion. Discover how a career shift and a serendipitous connection led her to secure an agent in America, and the importance she places on writing what truly resonates with you.
We spoke abut Sheila's expansion from writing historical fiction to playwriting with her play "Teddy" set in 1980s Ireland and how the journey from script to stage is fraught with challenges, but her collaboration with director Eric Fraser Hayes has been helpful. We also discussed the pivotal role of directors and actors in bringing a script to life.
"Teddy" centers on Rose's return home and the tension surrounding her developmentally challenged son and its rich exploration of family, culture, and responsibility promises to captivate audiences.
About Sheila
Sheila Forsey is an Irish Times best-selling author of historical fiction. Her work has received many acclaimed reviews for giving a visual and textured insight into Ireland’s complex past in 20th Century Ireland. She is a writer in schools with Poetry Ireland and a Heritage Specialist in schools with The Heritage Council of Ireland. Sheila is a graduate of Maynooth University in Creative Writing and a postgraduate of Trinty College Dublin in Creative and Cultural Entrepreneurship.
A love of theatre and her experience as a former core member of the Watergate Theatre Company in Kilkenny has led her to write for the stage. Her play the Memory Room was shortlisted for Scripts Playwrights Festival.
Her play Teddy was written with the support of Wexford Playwrights Studio funded by Wexford Arts Council and Arts Council of Ireland. It will have its premier at The Eugene O’ Neill Festival in 2024 in New Ross, under the direction of Eric Fraiser Hayes, Artistic Director of The Eugene O’ Neill Foundation at Tao House, California.
Connect with Sheila
Website: sheilaforsey.com
Facebook: Sheila Forsey Author
Twitter: @sheilaforsey
Thanks for listening! To book a free consultation with Aideen visit https://www.confidenceinsinging.com/contact/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Aideen Ni Riada (00:03):
Welcome to the Resonate podcast with Aideen.
I'm Aideen Nereida, and myguest today is Irish author
Sheila Forsey.
I'm going to tell you a littlebit about Sheila and can't wait
to see where our conversationgoes.
Sheila is an author, a creativewriting teacher and a heritage
specialist in schools withHeritage Council of Ireland.
(00:26):
Her passion is sharing Irishhistory from the last 100 years.
She's well known for herbest-selling historical fiction
set in 20th century Ireland,which explores the themes of
emigration to America and therepercussions of separation.
With her play Teddy, sheila isthe first female playwright
(00:48):
featured in the Eugene O'NeillFestival in New Ross, my
hometown, fyi, following in thefootsteps of acclaimed
playwrights such as Owen Colferand Billy Roach.
You're very welcome, sheila.
Sheila Forsey (01:02):
Thank you so much for having me Aideen delighted
to be here.
Aideen Ni Riada (01:05):
Yeah, I am excited to talk to you because I
know anybody who has delvedinto a creative pursuit has had
their fair share of self-doubtand has had their own
difficulties getting started,and I know you teach creative
writing as well.
Would you be willing to tell usa little bit about your journey
(01:27):
as a writer?
Sheila Forsey (01:30):
Yeah, it's been maybe more recent than you might
imagine.
I had a completely differentlife before I started writing
and a completely different roadthat I was on and that kind of
happened by accident.
A lot of things seem to havehappened to me, kind of that I
(01:52):
didn't really choose in thebeginning, so kind of.
Rather than go back on that, Ikind of start where I started
writing.
Really, I think, kind of I comefrom a small village that it
was a drama festival and therewas also a drama group and I
wasn't one of these that gotinvolved in sports or anything
(02:13):
like that, but I got a part inthe local drama festival and
that kind of set me on a road of, I think, a bit of a love of
words and a love of plays andwe're really lucky because we
had a small village with allthese great plays coming to us
and you know.
So that was a brilliant thingto have in rural Ireland.
(02:35):
And fast forward then kind ofmany, many years later, when I
was married and had children,and just before that, a few
years before that I was, I'dmoved to Kilkenny City in the
Midlands and I was part of theWatergate Theatre Group there
(02:55):
and I suppose.
Then different things happenedand I kind of stopped that and I
came to a crossroads in my lifeof where I was working and
everything else.
And I came to a crossroads inmy life of where I was working
and everything else and Idecided, right, I would try
something else.
And there was a course going onat the time, um, creative
writing through Manus, and partof it was being held in Kilkenny
(03:17):
City and it seemed like youknow, it was literally an email
you know that I sent off would Ibe accepted?
And I was accepted.
And that was really where Ibegan.
And that is going back to I'mhopeless with numbers I think it
was about would be about 10, 11years ago.
So that's where I kind ofstarted.
But I really very much wanted to.
(03:38):
You know, I had had a businessand I had closed that and I
really needed a career.
I thought this is it, I'm goingto be a writer now, you know.
So I really went in thinkingI'm going to do this and, um, I
think if somebody had told mehow difficult it was, I might
have thought twice about it, tobe quite honest with you, aileen
, but I'm so glad I did do it.
(04:00):
But, um, I decided to write anovel.
Then, um, for the market,something I would highly not
recommend anybody to do but Idid that and, um, it was kind of
a few years later that I wrotemy I was, I was lucky, I got an
agent and which is, you're told,extremely hard, yes, but I was
(04:21):
very lucky.
Different things happened and Igot an agent, in America
actually, and I got a book dealand it was her then that
actually, um, you know, she kindof just said to me what do you
really want to write?
And and that's when I think, Ireally started to write what I
really wanted to write.
And that was my foot was alwaysin the past a little bit, and
(04:43):
that's kind of, I suppose, whereI really, I feel, started to
write what I really wanted towrite.
Aideen Ni Riada (04:48):
How did you ever get a, an agent in America,
of all things?
Sheila Forsey (04:54):
It was actually again a funny little story that
I had read a book how Do you GetPublished, and it was written
by Terry Pr prone, and at theback of the book I said I wonder
who actually published her book?
And it was an agent in america.
And shortly after that I wentto a book launch and I sent my
(05:18):
first three chapters, as you do,over to this agent in america
and she actually replied andreally liked it and said she was
coming to America or coming toIreland to meet one of her
clients who happened to be fromWexford.
So isn't it a very small world?
Wow.
So she actually became my agentthen.
(05:41):
It wasn't quite as easy as that.
It took a little bit of timeand I sent her the rest of the
book and then she did sign withme.
But that was actually how Icame across her.
I was literally reading thatbook and I looked at the back
and saw that that was her agent.
I've never spoken to TerryBrown.
(06:01):
I don't know anything about her, but that was actually my first
of how I actually found her,because a lot of people
recommend the artist's yearbookfor finding a lot of agents and
stuff and there's a small amountof them in Ireland, but what I
have found is that Irish orAmerican agents and UK agents
(06:22):
really do like Irish writers, sothat's a big plus for us that's
a great tip as well for anyonelistening, and thanks to Terry
Prone, obviously.
Aideen Ni Riada (06:31):
And I have a great belief that each of us
needs to put ourselves forwardin the ways we want to put
ourselves forward, because thatinspires others.
And look how that book inspiredyou to uh check what you could
do with it.
And there's also the wholething of you know.
You were willing to, almostlike a cold call, contact
(06:55):
someone who you had no idea ifthey'd be interested in you at
all and and that was something Iwould not have been very good
at in the beginning and sendingstuff out.
Sheila Forsey (07:07):
And I remember sending out my first ever short
story to a competition and Ihalf expected, you know, the
postman to return with like thereward, like a few weeks later,
you know, and I remember gettinga rejection and thinking, oh my
God, maybe I'm not meant to dothis at all.
I must be really bad, Like Iwasn't even shortlisted,
longlisted, nothing.
(07:28):
Oh my goodness, how many timeshave I repeated that story to
give encouragement, because lotsmore rejections, you know,
arrive through your door.
As a writer, you know somethings you just get and some
things you don't.
And you just learn, like, Isuppose, in any art form, to
stop taking it, try to stoptaking it personal.
But we're sensitive souls, Ithink anybody that is in into
(07:51):
any type of art form.
So it always has a little bitof a like, a cut, but it's not
as deep as it used to be.
Aideen Ni Riada (07:59):
I'm glad to hear that a little bit, a little
bit.
Sheila Forsey (08:01):
I don't know if you get a tougher skin, but you
definitely handle it better, youknow.
Aideen Ni Riada (08:07):
Yeah, yeah, Tell me.
You have a specific theme thatruns through your books and even
your new play, Teddy.
That's related to America andrelated to separation, that
longing for home and immigration, home and immigration.
(08:31):
So what drew you to that as asubject matter.
Sheila Forsey (08:33):
What was it about it that called to you?
Yeah, the first book that Ifeel I really put my heart into
was Kilbride House and it wasabout a Protestant and a
Catholic and I really wanted toexplore that whole relationship
in Ireland and I had fell inlove with Dingle many years ago
and especially the peninsula, sothat was kind of my my area to
(08:56):
begin.
But when I look back now I knowthat my childhood, like
everybody's childhood, has had ahuge part to play and my father
used to recite what we say do arecitation, and he would do
these recitations at any sort ofyou know kind of gathering, and
there was lots of them.
I grew up in one of thosehouses where there was seems to
(09:18):
be gatherings all the time, andhe did one particular one called
Moriarity, and it was quite aheartbreaking recitation about
somebody who had went to Londonas an immigrant but had never
found the path home and who'dkind of got lost in no man's
(09:39):
land, I suppose almost in London.
And he used to say this andeven as as a child I knew all
the words, but you know I stillused to kind of get sad that
Moriarty never got home, youknow and and it stayed with me,
that story, and then he had alsohad another one and it was
about a Protestant and aCatholic and it was called the
(10:00):
Papish on the Prod, and know heused to say this and he had a
great way of saying theserecitations and I think they had
a profound effect on me.
To be quite honest with you,aideen, because even today I
still hear them in my head.
My dad's dead, you know, over20 years, but you know they're
still alive and well with me andthey definitely have played a
(10:23):
huge part in my writing, and sothat theme is has been there
from childhood.
And also their own brothers andsisters, you know, especially my
mother's all emigrated toAmerica and most of they all
came back with great stories youknow of, you know times that
they had, but I also heard thestories of what I now know as
(10:44):
the forgotten Irish, and it was,it was those people that really
interested me, the people whodidn't get home and the people
who left for another wereanother and many didn't want to
leave.
They left, of course,especially in the 50s.
So many went and they were, youknow.
They gave so much to Ireland.
They sent back so much moneybetween sending money for in to
(11:07):
their families and to theirparishes and so many envelopes
came home with money whenIreland was possibly on its
knees but and they really didhelp.
But some of them got lost and Isaw a documentary maybe about
12 years ago on RCE and it wasabout this hostel in London
(11:28):
where some of these men wereactually still living and some
of them were in their 80s nowand they had left at maybe 15
and 16 from a lot from the westof Ireland and they had never
got home.
So they really stayed with meand I kind of wanted to find
their voice and see.
So so they very much are in alot of my, my writing.
Teddy is different.
(11:50):
Teddy is a little bit differentto that.
I had never written about the80s and growing up as a teenager
.
I was born in 1970, so the 80swere really, you know, my, my
years as a teenager and so that,like every teenager, they had a
profound effect on me, and so Ireally wanted to explore that
(12:10):
time in Ireland as well, becausethere was different things that
happened in it, that that Iremember really, really well and
and for me they did influenceTeddy in a strange sort of way.
Aideen Ni Riada (12:23):
So what's different about Teddy?
And I mean, first of all, I wasreally curious what prompted
you to write a play, because youobviously have been doing the
historical fiction novels for alittle while.
First, was Teddy one of thefirst plays that you'd written?
Sheila Forsey (12:42):
It actually was.
Yeah, it was, it was, it was,it was written.
It's funny, my publisher for mybook, when she read I think it
was my second book she said,sheila, you write um, like the
curtain is going across and it'salmost like a play.
(13:02):
And and I thought about it andI said, but sure, that's what I
knew.
Really that's what I knew Ibrought.
I was brought up with drama, youknow, from going to festivals
and and seeing festivals andseeing plays and John B Keane
and all those kind of plays andand then when I lived in
Kilkenny I was, as I said, verymuch part of the Watergate
Theatre Group.
So you know, I suppose that wasmy first kind of love.
(13:26):
So, even though I'm new toplaywriting, I feel I've kind of
gone back really full circle,because I kind of started there
really with a love of words.
I don't think I was braveenough to write a play before,
because theatre for me, you know, is really powerful.
I feel like I think I had moreroom in a novel to maybe find my
(13:51):
voice, where, when you'rewatching a play, I mean it's so
alive and it's so real To beblack and white about it.
If it's not good, I mean it'sit's, there's no room for it.
You know, it's it's over whereI I think I was.
(14:12):
I didn't feel confident enoughto write a play until the time
was right that I felt that, okay, maybe I can explore this.
And then the WexfordPlaywrights Studio set up and I
was accepted into that as partof a group of emerging
playwrights starting, and we gota lot of encouragement there
(14:33):
and the mentorship was reallyreally good.
So that really was part of howI started, even though I had
kind of dabbled in it when I haddone creative writing in
Maynooth.
I had never said I am going towrite a play.
It was just I wasn't going togo there because I did not want
to write something.
I was a play.
I think I was too um, I Ididn't feel I would be able to
(14:57):
write a play, I think.
Aideen Ni Riada (14:59):
And it's only now, I feel, I have the
confidence.
Yeah, it's a more of avulnerable position because
you're being judged moment bymoment.
I mean, if you sat in thataudience you could feel whether
there was a response or not.
So you're so much closer to thelistener, to the person that
you're speaking to, thatcommunication is more intimate,
(15:24):
um, more raw.
Sheila Forsey (15:24):
Yeah, and, and I I'm one of those in a play that
are, when I'm in the audience ofa play, I find and I've only
realized this myself from fromgoing to to plays that you know
I will be the one that will.
You know I cry if it's sad andI laugh.
You know you will hear melaughing and but I will also cry
.
So you know I and I'll also bebored if it's not any good, you
(15:47):
know.
So I was going to be my ownworst critic.
You know I'm I'm quitedistracted as a person anyway,
so I will be the first person tothink, oh my god, will this
ever be over?
So I knew I was going to be oneof my my own worst critic when
I was writing a play.
Where it's like with writing,you know, I've just started a
(16:07):
new group of writers and adultwriters and they, they always go
.
I'll write a short story.
You know a short story is easy.
Where you know anyone that'swriting those.
A short story is actually quitea difficult thing to do.
It's a craft by itself.
Where a novel you have moreroom.
With theater I think you haveno room it.
You know you've got to.
(16:28):
You've got to get this right,you know.
But what I didn't realize wasthat it is such a collaborative
thing really, you know, it's notjust you writing a play and and
I.
That has been the great processthat I have learned throughout,
from the beginning, from whenit was with Wexford Playwrights
and then when it was with Eric,who has given me so much, you
(16:51):
know, guidance in redrafting andredrafting and even though you
work with an editor with a book,you have to get it to a certain
degree before you get that kindof help.
You know, and I am somebody wholoves learning.
You know I'm not that writerwho will go my, my writing is
great and you know, I hopeeveryone else thinks it's great
(17:13):
as well.
I, I will be the person whowill.
I I'm just starving for youknow, I love.
I love somebody to collaboratewith and and helping me with
something, and that you wereboth learning.
So I love the process, butdidn't realize that I would love
it, I suppose.
Aideen Ni Riada (17:30):
And Eric Fraser Hayes is a.
He's renowned as a director fordirecting Eugene O'Neill plays.
When you started working withhim, did you feel that
experience was there?
What?
What was it that you got fromhim that helped you to see the
play from a different angle?
Sheila Forsey (17:54):
Working with Eric was has really changed my, I
suppose, belief in myself as aplaywright I think as well,
playwright, I think as well.
I think he's such a fantasticdirector and mentor.
But he's so gentle with us.
(18:14):
You know, everything was aguide suggestion.
You know it was.
You know, would you like tomaybe perhaps try it from?
Look at this, whatever, and hegave me so much room.
You know, would you like tomaybe perhaps try it from?
Look at this, whatever, and hegave me so much room.
You know that that reallyreally helped.
So it was a huge learningprocess for me and you know I'm
(18:36):
really really grateful for thatand I know that now I can take
that kind of with me as well.
But so, working with him, Ifelt, you know, for a minute, I
think that there is this personwith so much experience that I
don't really have of, of, of, ofwriting, of, of the position
that he was in.
But yes, he was just one ofthose people that kind of met
(19:00):
you at your own level and he wasjust just wonderful to work
with, Absolutely, and I justfelt I've learned so much from
him.
Aideen Ni Riada (19:07):
Because the thing about a play is when you
hand it over to a director.
It'd be like getting one ofyour books made into a film.
It's like they could createsomething completely different
from your vision.
So having the right director, adirector that is sensitive to
what the writer may have wanted,allows him then to go.
(19:32):
His interpretation is thenguided by your wishes, but then
each actor has their owninterpretation of the, the
characters as well, and acertain look or a certain way of
moving can actually completelychange how they, how the words
themselves, are interpreted,because there's so many layers.
Words are all you know.
They really are guided by theintention behind the words, and
(19:52):
sometimes that's harder to readin a novel and it can be very,
you know, more obvious in a play.
Was there anything within Teddythat evolved dramatically
through Eric's interpretationand through the actor's
interpretations?
Sheila Forsey (20:12):
Oh gosh, there was a couple of things really, I
suppose from the first readingor the first I did have a
professional reading before itwent to Eric and the actors,
especially the female who playedthe mother yeah, her insight
was really significant for meand that changed really in the
(20:37):
next draft quite, quitedramatically for me.
It's strange what you write downfirst sometimes is a is so key
to what comes out at the end, tothe end product, and yet as you
go through so many, many draftsbut it's strange, but by some
(21:01):
coincidence, one of my earlierdrafts went to Eric first and
there was something in that thatwe had got, we had removed
completely, but it was thatthing that actually drew Eric to
the play.
Wow.
So, which was really strange,but that has come back in and
(21:21):
that was when I look at it now.
It was actually that it was thesoul of the play and without it
it didn't have the soul.
So it was a strange thing that,you know, he saw that and he
reminded me of why I wrote theplay and that was a really
(21:44):
personal thing.
I think that I'd almostforgotten of why I had written
the play and then I went oh,that's actually the whole reason
behind this entire play, and ifthat was gone, the re, as I
said, the real soul of itwouldn't have been there.
So it was.
It was just a really strangething that happened, um,
(22:05):
throughout it, um, so there'sthere's been lots of little
things like that, but that wasprobably the biggest thing that
happened for me, wow, and areyou going to reveal what that I
can't really because it would bea it would be a spoiler for the
playyeah, I feel I will actually,
because there's, yeah, there issomething that kind of runs
(22:27):
through the entire play.
That, um, that um, growing upin County Wexford, um, and I
won't say too much and, andenniscarthy being my local town
there was, yeah, there was,there was something there that,
yeah, really kind of me is.
Uh, just personally, as a child, I was quite I suppose haunted
(22:49):
is the word um, I would use, butI can't really say too much
more or I'll give away the story.
Aideen Ni Riada (22:54):
You're making everyone so curious.
Now this is going to boostsales of the tickets.
No end, I don't know.
It's okay not to say it.
They can put the two together.
Sheila Forsey (23:04):
Yes, they can put the two together, even when
you're looking at the play.
What was she even talking about?
Aideen Ni Riada (23:10):
But yeah, so there was definitely a reason.
Will you tell us a little bitabout the play?
You know the basic things aboutthe play just in case someone
hasn't heard much about it yet.
Sheila Forsey (23:26):
Yeah, yeah, so it's set in 1980s Ireland and
it's just in my own head it'sset in 1987.
And it is really, I suppose,even though it's called Teddy
and Teddy is such an importantcharacter in the play, rose is
living in America and Rosereturns home to her home for
(23:46):
Christmas.
Rose is doing really well inAmerica.
She was very lucky because shehas an aunt and an uncle there,
so she got her green card andwhatever.
Very lucky because she has anaunt and an uncle there, so she
got her green card and whatever.
And she's um, she's actuallywent back to school and she's
designing her own clothes.
So this is, you know, quite anunusual thing in 80s Ireland.
So she's, she's doing really,really well, but she did child
(24:09):
when she was 16 and he is livingat home with her parents and
it's christmas and even thoughrose's life is going really well
in america, teddy, her son, isstill living in ireland and
being lovingly reared by herparents.
(24:32):
So so you know, rose comes homefor Christmas, but there is
straight away a kind ofattention that is there more to
Rose's visit than meets the eye.
Is she just coming home forChristmas or, you know, does she
want to spend more time withTeddy and what will that mean
for the family?
And I suppose nothing like thathappens without a lot of family
(24:57):
drama, that she had this childand she left and she went to
London first and then she wentto America.
But also Teddy is challengeddevelopmentally and he's
approaching 18.
So this kind of changes thingsa little bit and that's really
(25:18):
where we kind of meet the family.
And there's also a brother inthe play who has a very
important role because he's kindof I think he's keeping
everyone together.
Aideen Ni Riada (25:29):
And he's played by Sean O'Brien, I believe
Bobby is the character right?
Sheila Forsey (25:32):
Yes, bobby, yes, he is, and Lily is the man.
And Lily has lived, you know,quite a normal country life.
I think you know from where shecame from and they're quite a
well-to-do family.
They're not like you know,they're quite a well-to-do
farming family.
They're you know the son'requite a well-to-do farming
(25:53):
family.
They're.
They're you know the the son,bobby, he has horses.
They go to the point to pointit's, it's it's you know they're
doing well for 1980s, irelandand um.
So.
So things should be really,really good within the family
and they are.
And she's coming home and shehas presents and it opens, you
know, with a lot of family cheerbecause she's, she's home for
(26:16):
Christmas, beautiful.
So, without telling too muchabout the play, yeah, um.
So there's a lot of differentthemes explored within it.
And family, of course, um is isa huge theme and I suppose
responsibility and um control aswell, I think in a strange way.
(26:36):
And religion, because it is1980s, ireland, religion is
still very, very strong withinIreland, and not just religion
of 1980s, but I think thestrains of religion of the
decades before as well, becausehe was born in 1970, teddy was,
(26:57):
so he was born even at adifferent time now and and it
would have been a very religiousireland- so interesting?
Aideen Ni Riada (27:04):
yeah, so, and I know that the eugene o'neill
festival is is known forbringing together actors, uh,
from both America and Ireland.
You have playing Lily, margaretRoster, who's well known in New
Ross as an actor and director,sean O'Brien, who is a leader in
(27:28):
the theatre scene in New Rossas well, and the rest of the
actors I know some of them arefrom America.
Isabel Serguza is the Americanlead actor, and was there
anything about working with themix of cultures that made it
(27:49):
easier or harder for you, sheila, going into it?
Sheila Forsey (28:00):
Well, andy Doyle actually, who's a Wexford actor
and so well known and so wellrespected in um.
Not just I, I'm proud ofWexford as well.
Aideen Ni Riada (28:06):
Um, he's actually playing um the father,
so um was there um, and TeddyPhelan is playing Teddy himself.
Yeah, he is indeed.
Sheila Forsey (28:25):
Meeting Isabel has really given another layer
to the story, because I think ifyou were living in America for
that length of time, you wouldbecome quite Americanized as
well, and I think Rose wanted tobecome more Americanized.
So it was really lovely toactually explore that.
And also, isabel has a lot ofIrish connections as well, so
(28:45):
it's a kind of a strange one.
It's kind of coming a littlebit full circle for us all a
little bit.
You know so, because she has alot of Irish connections and
that has given her, I think, andmyself, that connection that we
have together, because whohasn't got Irish relations and
Irish emigrants and everythingelse?
(29:05):
But you forget about the peoplein America that they have the
stories as well.
You know, they have the storiesfrom Ireland and we talk so
much about the people that wentaway, but the people that are
away, they have their ownstories and they hand them down
to the next generation and thenext generation.
And that is where Isabel is.
So she brings a lot to the rolethat I hadn't really thought
(29:30):
about.
You know that about those, youknow, if you were to put the
play into the future of ofperhaps another generation, of
how they would feel about this,so.
So she's brought lots ofdifferent layers to it.
So it and it is.
It's lovely to have the mix ofthe of the Irish and American
(29:51):
actors.
Aideen Ni Riada (29:52):
Yeah, well, we're very excited that your
world premiere of Teddy ishappening in the humble town of
New Ross County, wexford, and wewish you very well with the
rest of the rehearsals andeverything that's going on.
Are you working on anothernovel as well at the moment?
Sheila Forsey (30:12):
I have completed a novel at the moment yay, that
has taken me, yeah, like quite along time, a couple of years
and um, it's a new, it's abiofiction, so it's a
biographical story of somebody'slife, so it's a way nesting in
(30:34):
different publishers at themoment, so hoping that it'll all
come to fruition at some stage.
Aideen Ni Riada (30:40):
And um, is this a famous Irish?
Sheila Forsey (30:43):
person it is well , she's quite forgotten, okay.
So you see, I like theforgotten, I like I'm, I suppose
, in bringing light to theforgotten.
So I came across this story andI'm not allowed to say who she
is just at the moment A lot ofmystery.
But I can say she was reallyfamous in her day and but
(31:11):
amazingly she has been forgotten.
So I'm hoping the book willgive light and I'm hoping she
will be happy that her story hasbeen brought back.
She's actually she died about20 years ago Fascinating, yeah.
Aideen Ni Riada (31:27):
Yeah, and just finally, I'm kind of feeling
into this idea that you reallylove.
Finally, I'm kind of feelinginto this idea that you really
love.
It's like honoring ancestors inone regard as well, that you
have a great compassion forthose who have gone before us,
people who suffered through lifeto give us a better life, and
our lives are completely builton the lives of those who have
(31:50):
gone before us.
But, like you say, they're soforgotten, and I know that their
souls will be happy to beremembered in whatever ways we
can, and I'm very grateful foryou for coming on the podcast
today.
Is there anything you'd like tosay to the listeners, perhaps
any listeners who are buddingauthors or who have a creative
(32:11):
outlet that they are not fullyexploring yet, or who have a
creative outlet that they arenot fully exploring yet?
Sheila Forsey (32:18):
Well, I can.
A few weeks ago I actuallystarted doing an art class, and
now I know why people have alittle bit of fear of taking up
a new art form or maybe evenstarting one if they've never
kind of tried it before.
Maybe even starting one ifthey've never kind of tried it
before Feel the fear.
I suppose that's a cliche,isn't it?
(32:40):
But it's something you kind ofhave to do.
And the one thing that I hear alot of oh, I'm kind of going to
wait till I have a bit of timeand then I'll start to write, or
, you know, maybe when I retire,or you know, maybe if I could
get away for a week or whatever.
You know, if there's somethingthat you want to write about, or
(33:00):
if you have a story that youwant to write or you feel needs
to be told, just start it today,just write it.
Write the first line, start withone word and just begin because
there is no right time.
There's no right time at alland we have a lot of regrets in
life.
Who doesn't?
(33:20):
Well, I do, anyway, and I thinkany.
Anyone that I know reallyreally well.
You know, everybody has a fewregrets, so don't allow the
untold stories to be a regret.
If there's a story that needsto be told, you're the one to
tell us, and and we all have ourown unique stories to tell.
So just don't wait, just go anddo it thank you so much, sheila
(33:43):
.
Aideen Ni Riada (33:43):
It's absolute pleasure to have you on the
resonate podcast today.
Thank you to everyone listening.
We're very honored that you'vetaken the time to listen in.
If you've got somethingcreative that you're waiting to
do, please take Sheila's adviceDon't wait.
Don't wait, start today.
And thank you so much, sheila,for being here.
(34:04):
That's it for today's episodeof the Resonate podcast.
Bye-bye.
Welcome to the Resonate podcast with Aideen.
I'm Aideen Nereida, and myguest today is Irish author
Sheila Forsey.
I'm going to tell you a littlebit about Sheila and can't wait
to see where our conversationgoes.
Sheila is an author, a creativewriting teacher and a heritage
specialist in schools withHeritage Council of Ireland.
(00:26):
Her passion is sharing Irishhistory from the last 100 years.
She's well known for herbest-selling historical fiction
set in 20th century Ireland,which explores the themes of
emigration to America and therepercussions of separation.
With her play Teddy, sheila isthe first female playwright
(00:48):
featured in the Eugene O'NeillFestival in New Ross, my
hometown, fyi, following in thefootsteps of acclaimed
playwrights such as Owen Colferand Billy Roach.
You're very welcome, sheila.
Sheila Forsey (01:02):
Thank you so much for having me Aideen delighted
to be here.
Aideen Ni Riada (01:05):
Yeah, I am excited to talk to you because I
know anybody who has delvedinto a creative pursuit has had
their fair share of self-doubtand has had their own
difficulties getting started,and I know you teach creative
writing as well.
Would you be willing to tell usa little bit about your journey
(01:27):
as a writer?
Sheila Forsey (01:30):
Yeah, it's been maybe more recent than you might
imagine.
I had a completely differentlife before I started writing
and a completely different roadthat I was on and that kind of
happened by accident.
A lot of things seem to havehappened to me, kind of that I
(01:52):
didn't really choose in thebeginning, so kind of.
Rather than go back on that, Ikind of start where I started
writing.
Really, I think, kind of I comefrom a small village that it
was a drama festival and therewas also a drama group and I
wasn't one of these that gotinvolved in sports or anything
(02:13):
like that, but I got a part inthe local drama festival and
that kind of set me on a road of, I think, a bit of a love of
words and a love of plays andwe're really lucky because we
had a small village with allthese great plays coming to us
and you know.
So that was a brilliant thingto have in rural Ireland.
(02:35):
And fast forward then kind ofmany, many years later, when I
was married and had children,and just before that, a few
years before that I was, I'dmoved to Kilkenny City in the
Midlands and I was part of theWatergate Theatre Group there
(02:55):
and I suppose.
Then different things happenedand I kind of stopped that and I
came to a crossroads in my lifeof where I was working and
everything else.
And I came to a crossroads inmy life of where I was working
and everything else and Idecided, right, I would try
something else.
And there was a course going onat the time, um, creative
writing through Manus, and partof it was being held in Kilkenny
(03:17):
City and it seemed like youknow, it was literally an email
you know that I sent off would Ibe accepted?
And I was accepted.
And that was really where Ibegan.
And that is going back to I'mhopeless with numbers I think it
was about would be about 10, 11years ago.
So that's where I kind ofstarted.
But I really very much wanted to.
(03:38):
You know, I had had a businessand I had closed that and I
really needed a career.
I thought this is it, I'm goingto be a writer now, you know.
So I really went in thinkingI'm going to do this and, um, I
think if somebody had told mehow difficult it was, I might
have thought twice about it, tobe quite honest with you, aileen
, but I'm so glad I did do it.
(04:00):
But, um, I decided to write anovel.
Then, um, for the market,something I would highly not
recommend anybody to do but Idid that and, um, it was kind of
a few years later that I wrotemy I was, I was lucky, I got an
agent and which is, you're told,extremely hard, yes, but I was
(04:21):
very lucky.
Different things happened and Igot an agent, in America
actually, and I got a book dealand it was her then that
actually, um, you know, she kindof just said to me what do you
really want to write?
And and that's when I think, Ireally started to write what I
really wanted to write.
And that was my foot was alwaysin the past a little bit, and
(04:43):
that's kind of, I suppose, whereI really, I feel, started to
write what I really wanted towrite.
Aideen Ni Riada (04:48):
How did you ever get a, an agent in America,
of all things?
Sheila Forsey (04:54):
It was actually again a funny little story that
I had read a book how Do you GetPublished, and it was written
by Terry Pr prone, and at theback of the book I said I wonder
who actually published her book?
And it was an agent in america.
And shortly after that I wentto a book launch and I sent my
(05:18):
first three chapters, as you do,over to this agent in america
and she actually replied andreally liked it and said she was
coming to America or coming toIreland to meet one of her
clients who happened to be fromWexford.
So isn't it a very small world?
Wow.
So she actually became my agentthen.
(05:41):
It wasn't quite as easy as that.
It took a little bit of timeand I sent her the rest of the
book and then she did sign withme.
But that was actually how Icame across her.
I was literally reading thatbook and I looked at the back
and saw that that was her agent.
I've never spoken to TerryBrown.
(06:01):
I don't know anything about her, but that was actually my first
of how I actually found her,because a lot of people
recommend the artist's yearbookfor finding a lot of agents and
stuff and there's a small amountof them in Ireland, but what I
have found is that Irish orAmerican agents and UK agents
(06:22):
really do like Irish writers, sothat's a big plus for us that's
a great tip as well for anyonelistening, and thanks to Terry
Prone, obviously.
Aideen Ni Riada (06:31):
And I have a great belief that each of us
needs to put ourselves forwardin the ways we want to put
ourselves forward, because thatinspires others.
And look how that book inspiredyou to uh check what you could
do with it.
And there's also the wholething of you know.
You were willing to, almostlike a cold call, contact
(06:55):
someone who you had no idea ifthey'd be interested in you at
all and and that was something Iwould not have been very good
at in the beginning and sendingstuff out.
Sheila Forsey (07:07):
And I remember sending out my first ever short
story to a competition and Ihalf expected, you know, the
postman to return with like thereward, like a few weeks later,
you know, and I remember gettinga rejection and thinking, oh my
God, maybe I'm not meant to dothis at all.
I must be really bad, Like Iwasn't even shortlisted,
longlisted, nothing.
(07:28):
Oh my goodness, how many timeshave I repeated that story to
give encouragement, because lotsmore rejections, you know,
arrive through your door.
As a writer, you know somethings you just get and some
things you don't.
And you just learn, like, Isuppose, in any art form, to
stop taking it, try to stoptaking it personal.
But we're sensitive souls, Ithink anybody that is in into
(07:51):
any type of art form.
So it always has a little bitof a like, a cut, but it's not
as deep as it used to be.
Aideen Ni Riada (07:59):
I'm glad to hear that a little bit, a little
bit.
Sheila Forsey (08:01):
I don't know if you get a tougher skin, but you
definitely handle it better, youknow.
Aideen Ni Riada (08:07):
Yeah, yeah, Tell me.
You have a specific theme thatruns through your books and even
your new play, Teddy.
That's related to America andrelated to separation, that
longing for home and immigration, home and immigration.
(08:31):
So what drew you to that as asubject matter.
Sheila Forsey (08:33):
What was it about it that called to you?
Yeah, the first book that Ifeel I really put my heart into
was Kilbride House and it wasabout a Protestant and a
Catholic and I really wanted toexplore that whole relationship
in Ireland and I had fell inlove with Dingle many years ago
and especially the peninsula, sothat was kind of my my area to
(08:56):
begin.
But when I look back now I knowthat my childhood, like
everybody's childhood, has had ahuge part to play and my father
used to recite what we say do arecitation, and he would do
these recitations at any sort ofyou know kind of gathering, and
there was lots of them.
I grew up in one of thosehouses where there was seems to
(09:18):
be gatherings all the time, andhe did one particular one called
Moriarity, and it was quite aheartbreaking recitation about
somebody who had went to Londonas an immigrant but had never
found the path home and who'dkind of got lost in no man's
(09:39):
land, I suppose almost in London.
And he used to say this andeven as as a child I knew all
the words, but you know I stillused to kind of get sad that
Moriarty never got home, youknow and and it stayed with me,
that story, and then he had alsohad another one and it was
about a Protestant and aCatholic and it was called the
(10:00):
Papish on the Prod, and know heused to say this and he had a
great way of saying theserecitations and I think they had
a profound effect on me.
To be quite honest with you,aideen, because even today I
still hear them in my head.
My dad's dead, you know, over20 years, but you know they're
still alive and well with me andthey definitely have played a
(10:23):
huge part in my writing, and sothat theme is has been there
from childhood.
And also their own brothers andsisters, you know, especially my
mother's all emigrated toAmerica and most of they all
came back with great stories youknow of, you know times that
they had, but I also heard thestories of what I now know as
(10:44):
the forgotten Irish, and it was,it was those people that really
interested me, the people whodidn't get home and the people
who left for another wereanother and many didn't want to
leave.
They left, of course,especially in the 50s.
So many went and they were, youknow.
They gave so much to Ireland.
They sent back so much moneybetween sending money for in to
(11:07):
their families and to theirparishes and so many envelopes
came home with money whenIreland was possibly on its
knees but and they really didhelp.
But some of them got lost and Isaw a documentary maybe about
12 years ago on RCE and it wasabout this hostel in London
(11:28):
where some of these men wereactually still living and some
of them were in their 80s nowand they had left at maybe 15
and 16 from a lot from the westof Ireland and they had never
got home.
So they really stayed with meand I kind of wanted to find
their voice and see.
So so they very much are in alot of my, my writing.
Teddy is different.
(11:50):
Teddy is a little bit differentto that.
I had never written about the80s and growing up as a teenager
.
I was born in 1970, so the 80swere really, you know, my, my
years as a teenager and so that,like every teenager, they had a
profound effect on me, and so Ireally wanted to explore that
(12:10):
time in Ireland as well, becausethere was different things that
happened in it, that that Iremember really, really well and
and for me they did influenceTeddy in a strange sort of way.
Aideen Ni Riada (12:23):
So what's different about Teddy?
And I mean, first of all, I wasreally curious what prompted
you to write a play, because youobviously have been doing the
historical fiction novels for alittle while.
First, was Teddy one of thefirst plays that you'd written?
Sheila Forsey (12:42):
It actually was.
Yeah, it was, it was, it was,it was written.
It's funny, my publisher for mybook, when she read I think it
was my second book she said,sheila, you write um, like the
curtain is going across and it'salmost like a play.
(13:02):
And and I thought about it andI said, but sure, that's what I
knew.
Really that's what I knew Ibrought.
I was brought up with drama, youknow, from going to festivals
and and seeing festivals andseeing plays and John B Keane
and all those kind of plays andand then when I lived in
Kilkenny I was, as I said, verymuch part of the Watergate
Theatre Group.
So you know, I suppose that wasmy first kind of love.
(13:26):
So, even though I'm new toplaywriting, I feel I've kind of
gone back really full circle,because I kind of started there
really with a love of words.
I don't think I was braveenough to write a play before,
because theatre for me, you know, is really powerful.
I feel like I think I had moreroom in a novel to maybe find my
(13:51):
voice, where, when you'rewatching a play, I mean it's so
alive and it's so real To beblack and white about it.
If it's not good, I mean it'sit's, there's no room for it.
You know, it's it's over whereI I think I was.
(14:12):
I didn't feel confident enoughto write a play until the time
was right that I felt that, okay, maybe I can explore this.
And then the WexfordPlaywrights Studio set up and I
was accepted into that as partof a group of emerging
playwrights starting, and we gota lot of encouragement there
(14:33):
and the mentorship was reallyreally good.
So that really was part of howI started, even though I had
kind of dabbled in it when I haddone creative writing in
Maynooth.
I had never said I am going towrite a play.
It was just I wasn't going togo there because I did not want
to write something.
I was a play.
I think I was too um, I Ididn't feel I would be able to
(14:57):
write a play, I think.
Aideen Ni Riada (14:59):
And it's only now, I feel, I have the
confidence.
Yeah, it's a more of avulnerable position because
you're being judged moment bymoment.
I mean, if you sat in thataudience you could feel whether
there was a response or not.
So you're so much closer to thelistener, to the person that
you're speaking to, thatcommunication is more intimate,
(15:24):
um, more raw.
Sheila Forsey (15:24):
Yeah, and, and I I'm one of those in a play that
are, when I'm in the audience ofa play, I find and I've only
realized this myself from fromgoing to to plays that you know
I will be the one that will.
You know I cry if it's sad andI laugh.
You know you will hear melaughing and but I will also cry
.
So you know I and I'll also bebored if it's not any good, you
(15:47):
know.
So I was going to be my ownworst critic.
You know I'm I'm quitedistracted as a person anyway,
so I will be the first person tothink, oh my god, will this
ever be over?
So I knew I was going to be oneof my my own worst critic when
I was writing a play.
Where it's like with writing,you know, I've just started a
(16:07):
new group of writers and adultwriters and they, they always go
.
I'll write a short story.
You know a short story is easy.
Where you know anyone that'swriting those.
A short story is actually quitea difficult thing to do.
It's a craft by itself.
Where a novel you have moreroom.
With theater I think you haveno room it.
You know you've got to.
(16:28):
You've got to get this right,you know.
But what I didn't realize wasthat it is such a collaborative
thing really, you know, it's notjust you writing a play and and
I.
That has been the great processthat I have learned throughout,
from the beginning, from whenit was with Wexford Playwrights
and then when it was with Eric,who has given me so much, you
(16:51):
know, guidance in redrafting andredrafting and even though you
work with an editor with a book,you have to get it to a certain
degree before you get that kindof help.
You know, and I am somebody wholoves learning.
You know I'm not that writerwho will go my, my writing is
great and you know, I hopeeveryone else thinks it's great
(17:13):
as well.
I, I will be the person whowill.
I I'm just starving for youknow, I love.
I love somebody to collaboratewith and and helping me with
something, and that you wereboth learning.
So I love the process, butdidn't realize that I would love
it, I suppose.
Aideen Ni Riada (17:30):
And Eric Fraser Hayes is a.
He's renowned as a director fordirecting Eugene O'Neill plays.
When you started working withhim, did you feel that
experience was there?
What?
What was it that you got fromhim that helped you to see the
play from a different angle?
Sheila Forsey (17:54):
Working with Eric was has really changed my, I
suppose, belief in myself as aplaywright I think as well,
playwright, I think as well.
I think he's such a fantasticdirector and mentor.
But he's so gentle with us.
(18:14):
You know, everything was aguide suggestion.
You know it was.
You know, would you like tomaybe perhaps try it from?
Look at this, whatever, and hegave me so much room.
You know, would you like tomaybe perhaps try it from?
Look at this, whatever, and hegave me so much room.
You know that that reallyreally helped.
So it was a huge learningprocess for me and you know I'm
(18:36):
really really grateful for thatand I know that now I can take
that kind of with me as well.
But so, working with him, Ifelt, you know, for a minute, I
think that there is this personwith so much experience that I
don't really have of, of, of, ofwriting, of, of the position
that he was in.
But yes, he was just one ofthose people that kind of met
(19:00):
you at your own level and he wasjust just wonderful to work
with, Absolutely, and I justfelt I've learned so much from
him.
Aideen Ni Riada (19:07):
Because the thing about a play is when you
hand it over to a director.
It'd be like getting one ofyour books made into a film.
It's like they could createsomething completely different
from your vision.
So having the right director, adirector that is sensitive to
what the writer may have wanted,allows him then to go.
(19:32):
His interpretation is thenguided by your wishes, but then
each actor has their owninterpretation of the, the
characters as well, and acertain look or a certain way of
moving can actually completelychange how they, how the words
themselves, are interpreted,because there's so many layers.
Words are all you know.
They really are guided by theintention behind the words, and
(19:52):
sometimes that's harder to readin a novel and it can be very,
you know, more obvious in a play.
Was there anything within Teddythat evolved dramatically
through Eric's interpretationand through the actor's
interpretations?
Sheila Forsey (20:12):
Oh gosh, there was a couple of things really, I
suppose from the first readingor the first I did have a
professional reading before itwent to Eric and the actors,
especially the female who playedthe mother yeah, her insight
was really significant for meand that changed really in the
(20:37):
next draft quite, quitedramatically for me.
It's strange what you write downfirst sometimes is a is so key
to what comes out at the end, tothe end product, and yet as you
go through so many, many draftsbut it's strange, but by some
(21:01):
coincidence, one of my earlierdrafts went to Eric first and
there was something in that thatwe had got, we had removed
completely, but it was thatthing that actually drew Eric to
the play.
Wow.
So, which was really strange,but that has come back in and
(21:21):
that was when I look at it now.
It was actually that it was thesoul of the play and without it
it didn't have the soul.
So it was a strange thing that,you know, he saw that and he
reminded me of why I wrote theplay and that was a really
(21:44):
personal thing.
I think that I'd almostforgotten of why I had written
the play and then I went oh,that's actually the whole reason
behind this entire play, and ifthat was gone, the re, as I
said, the real soul of itwouldn't have been there.
So it was.
It was just a really strangething that happened, um,
(22:05):
throughout it, um, so there'sthere's been lots of little
things like that, but that wasprobably the biggest thing that
happened for me, wow, and areyou going to reveal what that I
can't really because it would bea it would be a spoiler for the
playyeah, I feel I will actually,
because there's, yeah, there issomething that kind of runs
(22:27):
through the entire play.
That, um, that um, growing upin County Wexford, um, and I
won't say too much and, andenniscarthy being my local town
there was, yeah, there was,there was something there that,
yeah, really kind of me is.
Uh, just personally, as a child, I was quite I suppose haunted
(22:49):
is the word um, I would use, butI can't really say too much
more or I'll give away the story.
Aideen Ni Riada (22:54):
You're making everyone so curious.
Now this is going to boostsales of the tickets.
No end, I don't know.
It's okay not to say it.
They can put the two together.
Sheila Forsey (23:04):
Yes, they can put the two together, even when
you're looking at the play.
What was she even talking about?
Aideen Ni Riada (23:10):
But yeah, so there was definitely a reason.
Will you tell us a little bitabout the play?
You know the basic things aboutthe play just in case someone
hasn't heard much about it yet.
Sheila Forsey (23:26):
Yeah, yeah, so it's set in 1980s Ireland and
it's just in my own head it'sset in 1987.
And it is really, I suppose,even though it's called Teddy
and Teddy is such an importantcharacter in the play, rose is
living in America and Rosereturns home to her home for
(23:46):
Christmas.
Rose is doing really well inAmerica.
She was very lucky because shehas an aunt and an uncle there,
so she got her green card andwhatever.
Very lucky because she has anaunt and an uncle there, so she
got her green card and whatever.
And she's um, she's actuallywent back to school and she's
designing her own clothes.
So this is, you know, quite anunusual thing in 80s Ireland.
So she's, she's doing really,really well, but she did child
(24:09):
when she was 16 and he is livingat home with her parents and
it's christmas and even thoughrose's life is going really well
in america, teddy, her son, isstill living in ireland and
being lovingly reared by herparents.
(24:32):
So so you know, rose comes homefor Christmas, but there is
straight away a kind ofattention that is there more to
Rose's visit than meets the eye.
Is she just coming home forChristmas or, you know, does she
want to spend more time withTeddy and what will that mean
for the family?
And I suppose nothing like thathappens without a lot of family
(24:57):
drama, that she had this childand she left and she went to
London first and then she wentto America.
But also Teddy is challengeddevelopmentally and he's
approaching 18.
So this kind of changes thingsa little bit and that's really
(25:18):
where we kind of meet the family.
And there's also a brother inthe play who has a very
important role because he's kindof I think he's keeping
everyone together.
Aideen Ni Riada (25:29):
And he's played by Sean O'Brien, I believe
Bobby is the character right?
Sheila Forsey (25:32):
Yes, bobby, yes, he is, and Lily is the man.
And Lily has lived, you know,quite a normal country life.
I think you know from where shecame from and they're quite a
well-to-do family.
They're not like you know,they're quite a well-to-do
farming family.
They're you know the son'requite a well-to-do farming
(25:53):
family.
They're.
They're you know the the son,bobby, he has horses.
They go to the point to pointit's, it's it's you know they're
doing well for 1980s, irelandand um.
So.
So things should be really,really good within the family
and they are.
And she's coming home and shehas presents and it opens, you
know, with a lot of family cheerbecause she's, she's home for
(26:16):
Christmas, beautiful.
So, without telling too muchabout the play, yeah, um.
So there's a lot of differentthemes explored within it.
And family, of course, um is isa huge theme and I suppose
responsibility and um control aswell, I think in a strange way.
(26:36):
And religion, because it is1980s, ireland, religion is
still very, very strong withinIreland, and not just religion
of 1980s, but I think thestrains of religion of the
decades before as well, becausehe was born in 1970, teddy was,
(26:57):
so he was born even at adifferent time now and and it
would have been a very religiousireland- so interesting?
Aideen Ni Riada (27:04):
yeah, so, and I know that the eugene o'neill
festival is is known forbringing together actors, uh,
from both America and Ireland.
You have playing Lily, margaretRoster, who's well known in New
Ross as an actor and director,sean O'Brien, who is a leader in
(27:28):
the theatre scene in New Rossas well, and the rest of the
actors I know some of them arefrom America.
Isabel Serguza is the Americanlead actor, and was there
anything about working with themix of cultures that made it
(27:49):
easier or harder for you, sheila, going into it?
Sheila Forsey (28:00):
Well, andy Doyle actually, who's a Wexford actor
and so well known and so wellrespected in um.
Not just I, I'm proud ofWexford as well.
Aideen Ni Riada (28:06):
Um, he's actually playing um the father,
so um was there um, and TeddyPhelan is playing Teddy himself.
Yeah, he is indeed.
Sheila Forsey (28:25):
Meeting Isabel has really given another layer
to the story, because I think ifyou were living in America for
that length of time, you wouldbecome quite Americanized as
well, and I think Rose wanted tobecome more Americanized.
So it was really lovely toactually explore that.
And also, isabel has a lot ofIrish connections as well, so
(28:45):
it's a kind of a strange one.
It's kind of coming a littlebit full circle for us all a
little bit.
You know so, because she has alot of Irish connections and
that has given her, I think, andmyself, that connection that we
have together, because whohasn't got Irish relations and
Irish emigrants and everythingelse?
(29:05):
But you forget about the peoplein America that they have the
stories as well.
You know, they have the storiesfrom Ireland and we talk so
much about the people that wentaway, but the people that are
away, they have their ownstories and they hand them down
to the next generation and thenext generation.
And that is where Isabel is.
So she brings a lot to the rolethat I hadn't really thought
(29:30):
about.
You know that about those, youknow, if you were to put the
play into the future of ofperhaps another generation, of
how they would feel about this,so.
So she's brought lots ofdifferent layers to it.
So it and it is.
It's lovely to have the mix ofthe of the Irish and American
(29:51):
actors.
Aideen Ni Riada (29:52):
Yeah, well, we're very excited that your
world premiere of Teddy ishappening in the humble town of
New Ross County, wexford, and wewish you very well with the
rest of the rehearsals andeverything that's going on.
Are you working on anothernovel as well at the moment?
Sheila Forsey (30:12):
I have completed a novel at the moment yay, that
has taken me, yeah, like quite along time, a couple of years
and um, it's a new, it's abiofiction, so it's a
biographical story of somebody'slife, so it's a way nesting in
(30:34):
different publishers at themoment, so hoping that it'll all
come to fruition at some stage.
Aideen Ni Riada (30:40):
And um, is this a famous Irish?
Sheila Forsey (30:43):
person it is well , she's quite forgotten, okay.
So you see, I like theforgotten, I like I'm, I suppose
, in bringing light to theforgotten.
So I came across this story andI'm not allowed to say who she
is just at the moment A lot ofmystery.
But I can say she was reallyfamous in her day and but
(31:11):
amazingly she has been forgotten.
So I'm hoping the book willgive light and I'm hoping she
will be happy that her story hasbeen brought back.
She's actually she died about20 years ago Fascinating, yeah.
Aideen Ni Riada (31:27):
Yeah, and just finally, I'm kind of feeling
into this idea that you reallylove.
Finally, I'm kind of feelinginto this idea that you really
love.
It's like honoring ancestors inone regard as well, that you
have a great compassion forthose who have gone before us,
people who suffered through lifeto give us a better life, and
our lives are completely builton the lives of those who have
(31:50):
gone before us.
But, like you say, they're soforgotten, and I know that their
souls will be happy to beremembered in whatever ways we
can, and I'm very grateful foryou for coming on the podcast
today.
Is there anything you'd like tosay to the listeners, perhaps
any listeners who are buddingauthors or who have a creative
(32:11):
outlet that they are not fullyexploring yet, or who have a
creative outlet that they arenot fully exploring yet?
Sheila Forsey (32:18):
Well, I can.
A few weeks ago I actuallystarted doing an art class, and
now I know why people have alittle bit of fear of taking up
a new art form or maybe evenstarting one if they've never
kind of tried it before.
Maybe even starting one ifthey've never kind of tried it
before Feel the fear.
I suppose that's a cliche,isn't it?
(32:40):
But it's something you kind ofhave to do.
And the one thing that I hear alot of oh, I'm kind of going to
wait till I have a bit of timeand then I'll start to write, or
, you know, maybe when I retire,or you know, maybe if I could
get away for a week or whatever.
You know, if there's somethingthat you want to write about, or
(33:00):
if you have a story that youwant to write or you feel needs
to be told, just start it today,just write it.
Write the first line, start withone word and just begin because
there is no right time.
There's no right time at alland we have a lot of regrets in
life.
Who doesn't?
(33:20):
Well, I do, anyway, and I thinkany.
Anyone that I know reallyreally well.
You know, everybody has a fewregrets, so don't allow the
untold stories to be a regret.
If there's a story that needsto be told, you're the one to
tell us, and and we all have ourown unique stories to tell.
So just don't wait, just go anddo it thank you so much, sheila
(33:43):
.
Aideen Ni Riada (33:43):
It's absolute pleasure to have you on the
resonate podcast today.
Thank you to everyone listening.
We're very honored that you'vetaken the time to listen in.
If you've got somethingcreative that you're waiting to
do, please take Sheila's adviceDon't wait.
Don't wait, start today.
And thank you so much, sheila,for being here.
(34:04):
That's it for today's episodeof the Resonate podcast.
Bye-bye.
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