“In the early nineties, I was a cub reporter on a city newspaper in Lim...” — Kevin Barry Quote

In the early nineties, I was a cub reporter on a city newspaper in Limerick, and assigned to the courthouse there. One day, an old detective sergeant came and whispered to me in the press pit. He pointed out a young offender, a teenager who was up for stealing a car or something relatively minor, and said, 'See this kid? He'll kill.'

When you wake up, instead of checking emails on your phone, or counting your retweets, pick up a pen and scratch a few sentences into a notebook.

I have always felt a special affinity with V. S. Pritchett. He worked from the ear, primarily, as I do, and he was an all-rounder, writing short stories, novels, memoir, travelogue, critical biography. He lived to be almost 100, and he never stopped, and his work is unified by a great generosity of spirit.

I think journalism is useful training for a writer in the way it takes the preciousness out of the pragmatic side of the craft.

Whether it's a car or boat or motorcycle, it's a dangerous item, so you have to show a level of competence and get a license before you're allowed to operate something that's dangerous. Guns are dangerous but you don't have to get a license to operate guns.

The relentless invisible storm of radio signals and electronic particles, the hustle and bustle, and the billions of petrol explosions in the engine blocks of trucks and cars seem to churn up the molecules of life and heaven so violently that the beautiful fogs are unable to hold together like they once did.

I imagine I'm a very unusual guy to date. You know, I've got toys on the shelves, and I've got the cars.

Cars' is such a great franchise of movies, and they've done such a great job connecting with young kids and building that. It's pretty incredible, very neat to be a part of it. When I saw the first one, I never thought I'd ever have a part in one. It's different. You definitely have to get out of your comfort zone to do it.