How agreeable are you?
Some interviewees, if they’re politicians, might say I was less agreeable, but with noncontentious issues, I’d imagine people think I’m the opposite. I’m disagreeable if I feel I’m not getting to the truth. I hope I’m always respectful and an active listener, whether it’s in private or public, but I will keep going until I feel I’ve reached some sort of resolution. Some might say I’m a little bit relentless.
What’s your middle name and what do you think of it?
My middle name is Ann. When I was about four or five, somebody told me the Irish for Ann, so I thought Áine was incredibly glamorous and exotic. I kept going around telling everyone my name wasn’t Nuala Ann but Nuala Áine. And then at Confirmation, for my name, I picked Jean, which I thought was the height of sophistication.
Where is your favourite place in Ireland?
I’m a Dublin girl, so I love Dublin city; I suppose it’s in your blood and your bones. I was brought up on Griffith Avenue, which for me is so beautiful and evocative. I love the centre of Dublin, walking around the back of Powerscourt, Grogan’s, and Grafton Street, but we spend quite a bit of time in Wicklow, and I love the Wicklow Mountains. Every year on my birthday, I try and do the Glendalough Spinc walk, which provides amazing views of the Upper Lake.
Describe yourself in three words
Analytical, inquisitive, mellow – they’re different facets of my personality that make my job endlessly fascinating to me.
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When did you last get angry?
For an item on Woman’s Hour, I was listening to the BBC podcast Creation of a Teenage Satanist. It’s about teenage boys and young men who go online and target vulnerable girls. The boys are really messed up, and the whole thing was so dark and dystopian that I felt quite angry about it. I also felt quite angry reading Living with Men: Reflections on the Pelicot Trial, by the French feminist philosopher Manon Garcia.
What have you lost that you would like to have back?
Going dancing several times a week – that’s gone. Dancing is inherently silly, as well, so I love that juvenile delinquent aspect of it – the anticipation beforehand, getting together with friends, having such a laugh. From when I was a teenager, we’d go to places like the Grove, Saints out in Howth, and into town for Blooms Hotel, Rí-Rá, Pink Elephant, and Lillies. It’s so much more fun to keep fit that way than going to the feckin’ gym.
What is your strongest childhood memory?
My dad, James, who died a couple of years ago, had The Goblet pub in Artane, and he would collect me from what we then called “low babies”, and I’d hang out in the pub with him and the oul’ fellas. I was a bit of a chatterbox, so I’d entertain them and they’d entertain me. I have this really strong memory of holding a pint of Guinness in my two hands, feeling like it weighed tonnes, and carrying it across to someone. It was probably only a few feet from the bar to the table, but it felt like I was on an odyssey, carrying a pint and trying not to spill it.
Where do you come in your family’s birth order and has this defined you?
I’m a middle child, one of five. I was reading up about middle-child traits, and they’re supposed to be independent. I’d say yes to that, because I was very ready as a teenager to strike out; I was very into getting out there and seeing what the world had to offer. I probably would have left school earlier if I had been allowed. Another trait is mediator, so yes to that, too. And the other thing I read, which I hadn’t thought about before, was strong relationships outside the family. That is definitely true. A lot of my friendships are like family, people I’ve lived with for years, people that I go on holidays with.
[ Nuala McGovern: ‘Lunch in the BBC canteen can be so dismal’Opens in new window ]
What do you expect to happen when you die?
We do live on in the way people talk about us and our stories. You may have a legacy or have been an exceptional person who has contributed something to the world. More realistically, however, if you ask someone to recall the first name of their great-grandmother, they may not be able to. So, I don’t know how long we live on in that way, but I do feel we’re part of this universe, and when we die, we go back into it from where we came.
When were you happiest?
I’m content on a day-to-day basis. I’m happy when I’m out in nature in some way, whether that’s swimming in the sea or at the top of a mountain. I’m happy being surrounded by friends or family. I’m happy that I sometimes need a day or two to myself, and although it’s such a daily ritual, I’m very happy being in a radio studio. They’re all different types of happiness, aren’t they, from exuberant and social to introspective. Ultimately, you know when you’re unhappy, and I think if you’re not feeling unhappy, then you’re probably reasonably happy.
Which actor would play you in a biopic about your life?
I have decided it’s Amy Adams, even though that’s a bit aspirational. But look, she’s a great actress, she’s got long red hair, and I’m going to look as good as I’m ever going to look if she plays me.
What is your biggest career/personal regret?
I think as a young woman, I didn’t know my worth early enough. I’m a child of the 1970s, and I’m a child of Ireland, and sometimes you don’t want to get notions above your station. I sometimes think the Irish have a roundabout way of speaking, that we don’t get straight to the point. It took me a fair few years to have the confidence to ask for what I wanted or to go for what I wanted. I was probably happy to have a job. I mean, it all works out in the end, right? The fact that I said yes to so many things instead of using the power of no? Maybe in the long run it made me a better broadcaster, but, yes, I could have been a bit more forceful earlier in my career.
Have you any psychological quirks?
I think I’ve loads, but the one that comes to mind is that I live very much in the present, so I don’t think so much about the future or even that much about the past. Being fully present means I get completely engrossed in what’s in front of me, be it a film I’m watching, a book I’m reading, or talking with somebody. I’m the opposite of someone with attention deficit. When I’m in the zone, I really don’t like being interrupted or distracted.
In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea
Nuala McGovern presents Woman’s Hour from Monday to Wednesday at 10am on BBC Radio 4
