This much I know: Sorcha Furlong

The nerves never leave you.

They are part of the gig.

Starting work on Fair City was nerve-wracking. I was walking in off the street knowing that suddenly 750,000 people would be watching me on TV. It didn’t help that I had a screen kiss on my first day, with Tony Tormey who plays Paul.

I grew up in a house full of music. The radio was constantly on and my parents were always singing. My dad’s family are great traditional musicians — my uncles played with The Chieftains and The Fureys.

I fell in love with singing when I was a kid but the acting took off first. Singing is something I’ve always done on the side. I’ve been gigging for 10 years and will be in a musical, Girls Night, next year.

I have mixed feelings about shows like X Factor. I think the winners get too much fame, too fast.

I had my voice trained and started drama when I was 11. I went to The Gaiety School of Acting in the evenings. After school, I had to choose between business and French in DCU or the Guildhall drama exams. My father wanted me to take the DCU option. I think we’re all glad now that I opted for acting.

My earliest memory is from about age three, hiding and crying in our kitchen because my sister was getting more attention than me.

My advice to anyone who wants to perform is to never give up. Try not to be too sensitive. Having said that, I’m probably far too sensitive myself. Remember that people like to work with nice people who don’t have big egos, do a good job, and then go home.

In the beginning it was hard to be the new girl in Fair City as the rest of the cast all knew each other so well. But I’ve been there for 11 years now and we are like family.

My life has changed radically since my daughter Stella came along 19 months ago. The conversations at work have changed from ‘where did you go last night’ to ‘did you get any sleep last night’?

I remember reading about how people ‘fell in love’ with their babies and thinking, how can one little person make such a difference? But I understand now.

My worst trait is being stubborn. I never know when to give up.

I’ve a lot to thank my maths teacher Maureen Collander for. She taught me in St Joseph’s in Lucan but also has her own theatre company, Tall Tales. She is the one who listened to my audition pieces and encouraged me.

I am not the most confident person in the world but I worked hard at it. I firmly believe that what’s for you will not pass you. I got a lot of knockbacks along the way but just kept on ploughing through. I know I’m blessed but I realise it’s my job, not who I am.

My latest passion is bingo in the local church hall in Nobber. I’m getting pretty good at it. If I get recognised they slag me off but other than that I’m just part of the furniture in Meath.

My guilty pleasure is gruesome crime and psychological thrillers.

I go to the gym and train for marathons all the time. If I’m working in RTÉ I do a 6am run before work. Everyone has their own way of starting the day.

I’m a big believer in angels and angel cards, which are a little like messages from angels. I got a gift of some cards years ago and enjoy doing them for myself. Quite a few of the Fair City cast are into them.

It’s great to be able to use whatever profile I have for a good cause. I got involved in Action Breast Cancer when I was asked to do so by an acquaintance. But of course when I thought about it my own family had been affected — my sister’s partner’s mother passed away from breast cancer and his sister from cervical cancer, while my own uncle is a survivor of throat cancer.

Sorcha Furlong plays Orla in RTÉ’s Fair City and is raising awareness of breast cancer this month for Action Breast Cancer.