This much I know: Deirdre Donnelly, actor

I was hell bent on acting, even though my parents were worried about my career choice.

My father was a bus driver, but he had a very dramatic turn of phrase. He took us to the pantomime at The Royal every Christmas and that might have planted the seed. My interest in acting began in earnest in my teens, when I got involved with musical and dramatic societies.

When I was 17 I went to the Brendan Smith Academy of Acting. My sister Terry also became an actress. We were both in The Abbey School of Acting for two years, she was one year above me. We were a bit competitive, there was a slight edge. But luckily we didn’t look that alike and I was taller than she was.

I have been fortunate in my career. I never had to wait tables along the way — although I did my time working in an office to pay for my training. I sometimes teach other actors and I’ve been lucky enough to get a lot of voiceover work.

My earliest memory is standing up in a cot with wooden bars and listening to my father talking to me.

As one gets older, one values time much more. I try to have balance in my life and to have a life outside the theatre. When you are in a production your whole day is based around getting yourself ready for five o’clock so although you’re free to clean the house and potter about, you can’t really relax. You have to preserve your energy and always have it in your mind that you will be on stage that night.

I find nature very therapeutic. A walk in the fields or down on Shankill beach is the best therapy.

My idea of misery is working in an office. I’d hate the predictability.

The best advice I ever got was from my mother who used to say ‘sure it’s only an aul play’ whenever I’d get terribly nervous or very upset.

I believe that acting talent is something you are either born with, or you aren’t. If you are, training can help to finesse that talent. You can spot those coming up who have or have not got it. I think it has to do with emotional intelligence. They have an ease about the process of acting.

I can be grumpy. Sometimes with younger actresses who aren’t showing consideration towards others. I’m sure we were just as arrogant but in Brendan Smith and The Abbey they taught us to have respect for other people and their work.

If you never got nervous in this game, that would be worrying. Nerves are essential to a degree to get your adrenaline going. But you have got to learn how to control them so that they don’t cripple you.

I’ve been working on my family tree for a few years. It is time-consuming but I love going to the National Library to do research. My interest started because my grandfather was a gardener for Pádraig Pearse in St Enda’s. He joined the volunteers and fought in the GPO. We lived the first ten years of my life in Cullenswood House in Ranelagh (where St Enda’s was located) so I always knew a certain amount of the story.

So far life has taught me that the most important things are to be kind, to respect others and to appreciate your family.

I believe Irish theatre is in a healthy place. There are wonderfully talented actors like Dearbhla Crotty and Declan Conlon to name but a few — and of course the amazing Stephen Brennan.

We’re working together in Michael West’s play Conservatory. It’s lovely to get a play like this which challenges your craft. I am finding that it demands a lot and calls on all my acting experience.

* Deirdre Donnelly is appearing in Michael West’s new play ‘Conservatory’ until April 12 on the Peacock stage at The Abbey Theatre