Brendan Keunelly (61), poet, is Professor of Modern Literature and Senior Fellow at Trinity College Dublin. Six months ago he had quadruple bypass heart surgery.
How much sleep do you need?
My ideal sleep would be from 11 p.m.-6 a.m. I believe in the old idea that an hour before midnight is worth two after. I like the really deep sleep where dreams can be remembered and not just haunting accusingly in your head the next morning.
Do you take much exercise?
I'm walking an hour every day, rediscovering areas of Dublin with names like James Clarence Mangan Road and it's like walking through history. I've always loved walking, but in the past few years I was always too stressed or too tired.
Are you an early morning person?
Definitely - my first collection was called Getting Up Early. I love the bounce of the sunlight on the streets and the sense of absolute renewal.
Are you careful about what you eat?
I have become more conscious. All my life I ate a lot of potatoes, meat, bread, veggies and all that. It used to be considered great to eat a lot and all through life I ate all of what was in front of me. Now I'm eating a lot of fruit and Bewley's wonderful brown bread without butter. I always loved Bewley's buns and cream and heavy cheese and chocolate. Now I have had to say no, for the second time in my life.
Do you drink or smoke too much?
Eleven years ago, in 1986, I said no to alcohol. It was as simple as that. I tried smoking once when I was a boy of 10 and nearly set fire to a hotel. I could never smoke since.
Have you ever been in hospital?
One Saturday morning, about six months ago, I was feeling more than usually tired. I rang Dr David Thomas (head of TCD health service) and that day he examined me and gave me an ECG and said there was a blip and a flip so I went to the Adelaide to Professor Ian Graham and we had long chats about O'Casey. He gave me an angiogram and I could see for myself the blocked arteries.
I went to Maurice Neligan (heart surgeon) in Blackrock, whose skill is equalled only by his humour, and he recited a long 18th century poem to me about Dublin that I had never heard before from Gilbert's History of Dublin. I feel warm gratitude to the nurses at the Adelaide, Blackrock Clinic, and Our Lady's Manor in Dalkey, where I was for a while after the operation. I've never met such kindness as in their care, with their mixture of professionalism with warmth.
Does your work make you stressed?
I think there's even worse stress in worrying about stress.