Question of Taste: Honor Heffernan on Bowie, Meryl Streep and Ella Fitzgerald

The singer also includes Brad Mehldau and Barry Keoghan in her selections

 Honor Heffernan is involved in the concert for Phil Ware at Triskel in Cork. 

Honor Heffernan is a singer from Stoneybatter in Dublin. She moved to Wexford in 2019, and for the past few years has been involved in promoting a show called The Whistling Girl, based on the writing and poetry of renowned American writer and activist, Dorothy Parker: “My partner, composer Trevor Knight, wrote the music and we have taken the show to New York, London, Belgrade and toured all over Ireland.” Heffernan is also involved in organising the benefit concert for jazz musician Phil Ware, who suffered a stroke last year. It takes place at Triskel in Cork, on Saturday, December 11. See https://triskelartscentre.ie/ 

Best recent book you've read: I have been a Palestinian supporter for many years and a member of the Irish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign and a group called Palfest (artists who run annual events to highlight the occupation of Palestine and raise awareness and support). I love cooking so when I saw a cookbook called Falestin had been published I had to buy it. Written by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley, with a foreword by Yotam Ottolenghi, it shares some wonderful recipes from local cooks and insights into the culture and resilience of the Palestinian people. As a vegan, many of the recipes are meat and dairy free and those that are not are easily amended.

Best recent film: The most recent film I have seen is The Killing of a Sacred Deer, starring Nicole Kidman, Colin Farrell and Barry Keoghan. I loved the style of it and the acting, particularly by Barry Keoghan, was astonishing!

Best recent gig you’ve seen: Keith Jarrett at the National Concert Hall in November 2015.

Best piece of music you’ve been listening to lately (new or old): David Bowie, Blackstar 

First ever piece of music that really moved you: I would probably have to say Doris Day singing ‘Secret Love’, in the movie Calamity Jane, which I saw when I was five-years-old. I realised that singing was what I wanted to do when I grew up. It was the strongest feeling and from that day on I was focused on singing and did so at every opportunity.

The best gig you've ever seen (if you had to pick one!): Brad Mehldau in Vicar Street. Probably 15 years ago or more. I think it was his Elegiac Cycle tour and it was breathtaking. It was as if the entire audience took a breath at the beginning of the concert and exhaled at the end. It was truly one of the best concerts I have ever seen.

Tell us about your TV viewing: I watch a lot of documentaries and love Scandi Noir. BBC Four would be my favourite channel. There is always something good to watch.

Radio listening and/or podcasts: I like talk radio and listen mainly to RTÉ 1. My favourite music programme is Bernard Clark’s Blue of the Night, on Lyric fm. Bernard plays a great selection of all music including featuring many Irish artists. His show is like a magical mystery tour of good music.

You're curating your dream festival – which three artists are on the bill, living or dead? Joni Mitchell, David Bowie and Ella Fitzgerald.

Your best celebrity encounter: Meryl Streep at a concert for Barretstown Castle many years ago where she came to find me to compliment me on my singing. It was a huge compliment. I also met Maureen O’Hara years ago and I was truly starstruck by her beauty and star quality. She was so lovely and a very strong woman.

You can portal back to any cultural event or music era – where, when, and why? I never got to see Ella Fitzgerald sing live and if I could have one wish it would be to be at one of her concerts. Any concert. To my mind she is the very best vocalist in the world, even to this day. She sang like she loved every moment and I can always feel that from her when I watch concerts by her. The freedom with which she sang was incredible it was just second nature to her. No matter how complicated the song she made it her own and sang from her heart. I just love that!

In your own life, have you been doing anything in particular in relation to climate change, biodiversity, etc? When we moved to Wexford we were very lucky to have a very big garden. We have left a lot of it wild and hope it encourages wildlife. We have many birds and feed them regularly. We are rewarded with birdsong and the beauty of a wide variety of birds including a woodpecker and resident pheasants. We recycle as much as we can and only use cleaning products, both household and personal, that are safe for the environment. I am trying to improve the way I live with the environment all the time.

As I mentioned earlier I am a vegan for ethical reasons. I don’t push it on people as I think it is a journey and decision we have to make for ourselves. I only became vegan 14 years ago but I am very happy with my decision and love that no creature has to suffer in my name.