Keith Barry: I always made sure that I spend time with my kids, even though I'm a workaholic

With a new RTÉ series starting next weekend, and a new live tour stopping at Cork's Opera House in May, the Waterford mentalist is looking forward to getting back into his work

Keith Barry: reconnecting with audiences, with new live and television shows. Pic: Moya Nolan

Keith Barry is reading my mind over Zoom. “I want you to think of somebody that you know who has passed on,” says Ireland’s best-known magician (he prefers “brain hacker”). “Somebody you personally knew – not a famous person. And somebody who brings back a feel-good factor. I wouldn’t want you getting upset. Zone in on their initials. Just their initials.” 

Scrambling slightly, I think of a grandparent. Next, Barry scrawls methodically on a whiteboard, which he then holds to the camera. Incredibly, he has scribbled the initials of the person about whom I was thinking. The faintest chill pricks the back of my neck.