Quotes from Dervla Kirwan

Because I don't live there anymore, I've fallen in love with London again.

There's still, dare I say it, a cultural propaganda against the Irish, that we are, as women, 'feisty.' I hate that word.

I was a product of the late '70s and early '80s, so when we think of how we're so protective of our kids now, it's sad in a way. I guess what I'm trying to say is that we limit the development of our kids in a way.

Getting pregnant proved to be a hell of a shock but it's really exciting.

I really want to get into feature films.

I don't want to be known as 'oh, Dervla, when she's on stage she's very good but she's terribly dreary', or 'another heavy night with Kirwan.'

The thing that strikes a chord with me... as a mother... is to think of my 17-year-old son fighting would be just terrifying.

I actually thought it was quite nice to feel that I could legitimately take up extra space and not have to apologise for doing so. It goes with the territory and I think you have to embrace your pregnancy otherwise you risk having a terrible time.

I know that people in the public eye are always being chipped away at by very cynical attitudes in the press.

My favourite designers are Stella McCartney, Balenciaga, Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel and Givenchy, but I wish I had loads of money to spend on them.

Now it comes to this stage of my career when I get to play the wicked witch all the time. You know you start off with Cinderella and then you end up playing the stepmothers.

My mother was a woman of the '50s who had a family in the '70s while finding her political and feminist voice. She could make marvellous three-course meals after teaching all day but hated it. Because of that legacy, it took me a long time to realise the delights of the family table.

I just really wish I'd met my grandfather.

It does annoy me when I walk into a room and there are six men over the age of 40 with, let's just say, a major gut problem, and they're saying 'hang on there Dervla, don't eat your chocolate cake at dessert.'

I want to interact creatively with the directors I work with - it's a thrilling way to work.

I mean, the human race wouldn't continue if anyone told you how hard it is having kids, would it?

I'm not a religious person at all.

I'm not a football fan, and not remotely interested in it.

I am concerned that there's a cavalier attitude to the Irish Peace Process. What poor memories some have; I remember only too well the bag searches, the bomb scares and deaths. As they say, history doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes.

I moved to London when I was 18 to develop my acting career, but I still love going home to Ireland to recharge my batteries.

My Irish identity is important as it's a part of who I am.

Yoga is great for easing my back pain. It also helps me keep stress at bay, which is something I can suffer from.

I'm obviously slightly ill, because there is a burning desire to be perfect in me. It's probably the Catholic, or the ex-Catholic in me.

When I look at a magazine and I see Kate Winslet, I will buy it because Kate lends it a sense of achievement: she is brilliant, sexy, a mother.