People look at me strangely when I say it, but I enjoyed my school days at Enniscorthy CBS, Co Wexford. I've always enjoyed finding out things. Nonetheless, I'm quite envious when I visit schools nowadays - they're much more exciting places than they used to be.

I love being able to send my son off to Lucan Educate Together School safe in the knowledge that nobody will hit him. In my day it was taken for granted that children were slapped. I knew Christian Brothers who used to hang people out the window by the ears. I'm glad history has caught up with this behaviour.

I went to UCD to study English but stayed only two years. I failed second year and there were no autumn repeats. I asked myself whether this was really what I wanted to do. I realised that I wasn't an academic and had gone to college simply because I hadn't known what else to do.

I got a job with Dublin Corporation's library department and found it much more interesting and more educational. I worked all over the city in Ballyfermot, Ringsend and lots of areas which some people regarded as unsalubrious.

I always enjoyed working with the public. The children in Ballyfermot were terrific and were always great fun - you never knew what was going to happen next. I found the lives of the people were much more like the lives of the people at home in Enniscorthy than those of the people I met at college for example.

Eventually, in my mid-twenties, I was offered promotion and had to decide whether I would knuckle down or make a change. I decided to give up the job and head for Greece. I'd nothing particular in mind - all I had ever wanted to d was write.

Then, by accident, I got a job managing a youth hostel in southern Crete. It was the happiest time of my life. I woke up every day and marvelled that I was living in the most interesting place in the world and being paid to do it.

After a year I realised that, though my life was wonderful, it was aimless and I returned to Dublin. When my son was born, my wife Ria and I - I had met her in Crete - agreed that I would stay at home and become a house husband, since it would give me time to write.

My first book, The Guns of Easter, was finally published in 1996 after four years when it was locked in to contractual difficulties. I compiled Big Pictures - a collection of short stories for children by major writers - for Lucan Educate Together School because I wanted to do something to help the school.

I've been so impressed by the commitment of the parents to the school and their hard work. The book is selling extremely well and should make a fivefigure sum for the school.

Gerard Whelan was in conversation with Yvonne Healy. All proceeds of Big Pictures (Lets £4.99) go to Lucan Educate Together School.