Book review: Little criticism or juicy gossip, but Miriam’s memoir still worth the wait

Miriam O’Callaghan’s 'Life, Work, Everything' can be read as a social and political history of Ireland

Miriam O'Callaghan: Over the years she has interviewed a huge range of people from the famous to those described as ‘ordinary’. Picture: Evan Doherty

• Miriam: Life, Work, Everything 
• Miriam O’Callaghan 
• Sandycove, €24.99 

Miriam O’Callaghan’s memoir is a very enjoyable read. However, any reader expecting criticism of colleagues or juicy gossip will be disappointed as she doesn’t have a bad word to write about anyone. One suspects that anyone she doesn’t like just isn’t mentioned.

On one level it can be read as a social and political history of Ireland, for example her memories of talking to Praveen Halappanavar, Savita’s widower, or Leo Varadkar coming out. 

Over the years she has interviewed a huge range of people from the famous to those described as ‘ordinary’. She has moderated election debates for decades. 

We learn about her experiences with Ian Paisley, Martin McGuinness, John Hume, and many others. 

Among the ‘ordinary’ people she writes about are three lonely older men, declaring those interviews for a Prime Time special her favourites. 

She also gives readers great insights into the work that goes on behind the scenes preparing for appearances on Prime Time and her radio show Sunday with Miriam.

She grew up in south Dublin, her father Paddy a civil servant and proud Kerryman and her mother Miriam (now 97) headmistress of a primary school. 

She had three sisters and a brother, Jim, who is currently the justice minister, but you will not learn which political party, if any, Miriam supports.

She sat the Leaving Cert at only 16 and wasn’t sure what to do next. She chose law because “it sounded OK” and she has never regretted her choice.

It was great training, and I use the discipline and logic I learned during my law studies almost every time I am broadcasting.

She spent some years in London; it was Eamonn Andrews who gave Miriam her first job in broadcasting as a researcher on This is Your Life.

What is surprising is that she lacked self-confidence as a teenager and young woman and suffered from an eating disorder which was not diagnosed until she had her first daughter in her twenties.

Now we look at one of the few people known to the nation by her first name on screen, and she is proof that you can overcome any personal struggles and succeed.

The most moving section of the book is her account of the loss of her beloved sister Anne, who was only 33 when she died of cancer. 

There’s a touching scene of broadcaster and journalist Vincent Browne appearing at the hospital just before she died. 

Only a few weeks later her beloved father died suddenly. It was what she describes as her annus horribilis. The effect on her was profound. She writes that she “changed completely”.

“You get only one life, and if you can possibly avoid it, you should not waste any of it being unhappy.” 

That was why she decided to separate from Tom McGurk, her first husband and father of her four daughters. They handled it well, without going to court, and “did a great job co-parenting”.

Apart from the account of her sister’s death, the most Miriam reveals about her private life is her relationship with second husband Steve Carson. 

They met when he was a producer with BBC’s Newsnight, sent to make a documentary on the 150th anniversary of the Great Famine.

 They’ve been married for 25 years and have four sons: “I love Steve more today than I ever did… after 30 years together, we are still so much in love… I feel very grateful and never take it for granted.”

Miriam is candid about mistakes and comes across as straightforward: “I survived by not bothering my brain with things it didn’t need to think about until strictly necessary.”

The question she is most frequently asked is how she brought up eight children. 

While thankful for all the help she received from her extended family, she also acknowledges that she has been in the fortunate position of being able to afford childcare and pays tribute to all those who helped.

It’s taken her 20 years to write her memoir, since first approached by publisher Penguin, and it is worth the wait.