Culture That Made Me: Minister for Culture Patrick O'Donovan picks his touchstones
Patrick O'Donovan, Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, was born in Newcastle West.
Patrick O’Donovan is the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport. Born in 1977, he grew up in Newcastle West, Co Limerick. He studied chemistry at University College Cork and later obtained a graduate diploma in education from Mary Immaculate College, Limerick. After teaching for a while as a primary school teacher, he was elected as a Fine Gael candidate to Dáil Éireann in 2011. He was appointed Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science last year and to his current ministerial post in January.
My older brother listened to Madness all the time in the room we shared growing up. I couldn’t help but enjoy the catchy ska rhythms and the horn section. There’s something about it that always brings back memories of growing up and fighting for control of the record player. I never even realised that is a cover version, but it’s safe to say Madness’s version is seminal. I have to admit, I haven’t been exposed to their newer stuff. But you might still catch me putting on or at home.
I bought Snow Patrol’s fourth album, when it came out in 2006. I think I may have burnt out the CD I played it that often. and brought the band some international recognition at the time, which was well-deserved. They’re a stellar band. Gary Lightbody is a talented lyricist, and I love the track they did with Martha Wainwright on the album.
by Harper Lee is a book that sticks with me from my schooldays. It’s very accessible for young readers, but the subject matter and the way it’s dealt with is impactful. Atticus Finch, with his sense of justice, is the standout character. Slavery is the greatest evil mankind has ever known, and the novel deals with the impacts of slavery in the American Deep South several generations later. It has always stuck with me, for its portrayal of what black people in that culture have had to face, and how we can’t let such an evil rear its ugly head again.
I love the books of Cork University Press, especially the great atlases. They make for fabulous coffee table books and great gifts. I rarely have the time to bury myself in a book these days, with a young family and such a busy brief, so I really enjoy being able to dip in and out of factual books like the and find interesting snippets of history or even connections to family members or places I know well.
Myself and a friend of mine, John Mulcahy, took off from Newcastle West to go to R.E.M. at Slane Castle in 1995. I think my mother was petrified but it was an amazing gig. R.E.M. were class, as we hoped they would be. The support acts included Sharon Shannon and Luka Bloom, and a young English band called Oasis, who were on the cusp of releasing Safe to say they’ve gone on to a bit of success since then.
I remember there was a lot of talk in the run up to the gig that it might not go ahead, as two of R.E.M.’s band members had been sick and they’d cancelled a rake of gigs earlier in the year. But they played, and it was unreal. There must have been 70,000 people there. I think the encore was Absolutely brilliant.
I loved seeing Ed Sheeran with all my siblings in Cork recently. He’s a global superstar, so the concert had all the fanfare and special effects you would expect. He also has a deep love and affection for Ireland, and that’s what really came through in his singing. Páirc Uí Chaoimh is a great venue, in a great city for music.
is a great movie. It tells the true story of one of the first African-American regiments in the Union Army in the American Civil War. I love historical films, especially war movies or movies that deal with social or religious history, and this is a particular favourite. It has an all-star cast, with Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington and Matthew Broderick. It got Denzel Washington the Oscar. As well as dealing with racism and injustice, the film is a moving portrayal of the futility of war, and how the common soldier ends up paying the price in the end. A great watch.
I don’t get to see many films of late, but I really enjoyed Conclave. I’m a big fan of movies and books about religious history, so this was right up my street. It’s a solid political thriller, and the cast is amazing.
My favourite play is John B Keane’s A masterpiece of theatre. The film gets a lot of attention, and rightly so given Richard Harris’s performance, but the play is superb. There’s a scene in it, where the bishop is reading the riot act from the pulpit, and it still sends shivers down my spine. I am a big fan of the Irish amateur dramatic tradition, and I enjoy seeing plays like by Irish playwrights, performed locally.
I really admire Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman, to name two favourite actors. I mentioned as my favourite film, and both men were incredible in it, as Private Trip and Sergeant Major Rawlins. They have had superb careers, from quite humble beginnings in both cases, and I enjoy almost everything they’ve done.
We’re really in a golden age of television. I binge-watched the whole of when I was in hospital and recovering at home. What a show. It had me hooked from the word go. Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook are all amazing in it, and the writing was so sharp, so witty.
Another TV series I loved was It’s an anthology of sorts, so you get sucked into storylines instead of following characters across series. It’s very well-presented and a great watch.
The television series was great. I loved the episode on the Bank of Ireland at College Green. Given that the building was the site of Grattan’s parliament, any politician would be interested, but I love history, especially when we can still see our heritage around us. When you look back at the likes of Ardnacrusha, too, as a public project, you can’t help but think of the scale of ambition required for that. I also loved their episodes on railways, as all my family are railway people. There have been some great documentaries on Irish television about the history of our rail networks.
