School Daze: 'I was always going to be a performer' - actor Norma Sheahan

I’m from Whitechurch, Cork, and I attended Whitechurch National School and then went onto St Angela’s on Patrick’s Hill.

I always knew that I was going to be on stage. When I was seven, I wrote an essay about becoming an actor. It was all about how I would have to leave my family and go to America. It was all ‘I know it was difficult, I will be one of the lucky ones, when it happens’. Now, while I’m glad my dreams panned out, every second day I question it, and consider what I am doing.

My kids think what I do is ridiculous. I mean they think it’s ok, but don’t understand why you would want to do that to yourself. To be fair, I gave up theatre for 12 years because of having the children and I went back last year when they were 11 and nine. They were shocked to see me on stage at The Gaiety doing a Martin McDonagh play.

I’m doing my comedy thing at the moment with my show Heal Your Hole but they haven’t seen that — it’s a bit too naughty for them.

I would not have considered myself shy. From a young age, I would have had no problem getting up in a pub for a singsong; it was part of the culture. I always sang one of Johnny Logan’s hits. And I was in The Montfort’s from very young, so there’d always be something to pull out of the bag. When I got the lead in the pantomime at Cork Opera House at the age of 11 it was very exciting. I thought it was the be all and end all; in fairness they paid us a few hundred quid for the run. I couldn’t believe the fact that I was opening a bank account and putting in two hundred and something pounds — it was such a big deal.

I come from a family of five daughters and my parents are farmers so there wasn’t a lot of time to spare. We did a lot of thumbing lifts and finding our own way getting about. My mother didn’t have opportunities in life to do certain things, so she encouraged us all. My Dad was a horse trainer and we all had opportunities to do pony camps and stuff like that but never in a ‘oh look at me — fancypants’. It was more that we had to know how to ride so we could help on the farm.

I was big into basketball from primary school on. I loved school, and I was a straight A student up until the Junior Cert. I think then in fifth year I think the West Coast Coolers, rugby discos, and boys kicked in a bit. I was still a kind person but I was a useless student, and went to the dark side a bit. I don’t mean that I was getting up to lots of stuff, I was just really excited by discos and that was my focus. I remember not doing well in the mocks before my Leaving Cert and having a few weeks to pull up my socks and I did and I got my chosen course, commerce in UCD.

There are a number of teachers who come to mind when I think back on my school days. Maureen Prendergast from the Cork School of Music gave me individual drama lessons and she was tough but brilliant. Eileen Nolan who ran The Montfort’s was another teacher who was very inspiring to me along the way. There was a teacher called Mr Murphy at St Angela’s who taught us basketball and was a great guy. He was a very kind person.

In terms of friends I was very flexible. So, I had three or four different groups. I’d have the basketball gang, who I’d do my sport with. Now they mightn’t be into going to the same discos as my West Coast Cooler friends and then because I was a bogger in the city, I really connected with the boggers. St Angela’s is a free school, but it has a fantastic mix. The girl to your right might own a yacht, the girl to your left can barely pay for her lunch, and then I’d be in the middle as the farmer who had thumbed in from the country.

My school friends are still really important to me. In fact, my old school pals from Whitechurch and St Angela’s are unbelievably kind and are leading the charge for ticket sales for my show in Watergrasshill on March 13 and 14. I have met so many of the people I went to school with while doing this show and I have to say there hasn’t been one bad egg. Even the ones that I may not have hung out with every day, are just great. My Dad has this attitude about life and I think it applies really well to your school days and your whole life actually. People are people and we are all the same. If you’re on a good day, you could be on a bad day tomorrow. It is so important to be kind to everyone you meet. My Dad wouldn’t put the president over the guy sweeping the street, and I think if you can do that, then you’re onto a good thing.

Norma Sheahan is bringing her hilarious show Heal Your Hole to Watergrasshill First Fruits Arts Centre March 13 and 14. The performances are in aid of Make A Wish, which is Leonard O’Sullivan’s chosen charity for his London Marathon Campaign. You can find tickets on healyourhole.com or eventbrite.com