Beginner’s pluck: SHEILA MAHER

“My earliest memory was of my mother reading Roald Dahl to us in bed. I later read a lot of Enid Blighton. I took a break from reading in my teens, but rediscovered it in my late twenties.

“After college there were no jobs. So I worked in canteens, as a dishwasher for four years, then I went to Brussels and worked in the EU and then the UN. When I came back I worked in marketing in the Bank of Ireland for a year.

“Then I began teaching marketing in the Senior College, Dun Laoghaire. And I loved it. In 2008 we went to Boston for a year, and I began to contribute to Sunday Miscellany. I’ve done around two dozen recordings.”

Who is Sheila Maher ?

Date of birth: August 7, 1970.

Education: College of Catering, Cathal Brugha Street; Hotel and catering Management. Michael Smurfit Graduate School UCD; Masters in marketing.

Home: Goatstown, Dublin 14.

Family: Husband Diarmuid Ferriter. Three children aged seven, five-and-a-half and two-and-a-half.

The Day Job: On a career break from teaching. “I’ll be going back next year.”

Hobbies: Cooking and planning meals. Running.

Favourite Writers: Sebastian Barry. Anne Enright. “I love the Americans like Philip Roth too.”

Second Novel: “I’ve written a novel. I’m currently looking for a publisher.”

Top Writing Tip: “Every little time you have, use it. In 10 minutes you might change a sentence or get a new idea. The time adds up.”

Twitter: @sixatthetable

THE DEBUT

Six at the Table. Blackstaff Press: €8.99. Kindle: Not available.

An affectionate account of a family in the 70s, told through their mealtimes, picnics, and the mother’s eccentric diets. Soda streams feature; so do milk puddings, and the teatime express.

“On maternity leave I got fed up minding one child. I wanted to write a memoir about my happy childhood. And I decided to do that through food. The memories came pouring out.”

The Verdict: A perfect antidote to the misery memoir. Enchanting, and strangely compelling.