Shape I’m In: Blake Morrison, poet and author

BRITISH poet and author Blake Morrison has earned a strong international reputation for his work, wining a string of literary awards along the way.

He can even boast that A-list actor Colin Firth played him in the film version of his best-selling memoir, When Did You See My Father? But when we speak it’s not his latest project or indeed his impressive back list he dwells on, it’s his Irish mother, Dr Agnes O’Shea.

Born in Kilorglin, Co Kerry, she was one of 20 children. Seven of her siblings died in infancy or childhood.