Saturday with Wild Youth's Conor O'Donohoe: I love Nashville and New York but my ideal Saturday would be in Dublin

Conor O'Donohoe is a member of Wild Youth, an A&R executive with Universal Publishing and a Music Manager. He is also an ambassador for Brain Tumour Ireland having lost his own mother to a brain tumour at the age of just 17.

08.00

It’s nice to wake up early, get some work done and go for a walk. Then I feel like I’ve the whole day to do whatever I want with. 

I’ll go through my emails, hop in the shower and then go for a walk on Hampstead Heath. 

One of the guys I live with might come with me and afterwards we’ll go for a coffee.

11.00

I’m not really big into breakfast or brunch so I’ll hold off for lunch when I might meet a friend or my brother and go to a sandwich shop.

12.30

I’ll go to a match or meet up with friends in a pub to watch a match.

Tottenham, Chelsea, Brentford… growing up in Dublin, the Premier League seems a whole world away but in London these games could be just 20 minutes from home. 

I might play a game of golf or PadeL. I also play five-a-side football during the week for fun.

I like to be busy and active — I think exercise is so important for clearing your mind and giving you a much better outlook on life. 

I’m OK at sports and I’ve always enjoyed it. I’ve always been good enough to join in a game and not let people down but I’m not sure I’m getting Man of the Match.

For young people, especially, I think sport instils a good routine — you’re getting up early to go training, you’re conscious of your diet, and, if your mates are out drinking at the weekends, you’re staying in because you have a match — it’s about structure.

16.00

A lot of my friends are in the entertainment industry but I also have a core group of friends from Ireland living in London. 

Sometimes it’s nice to hang out and talk about things that don’tinvolve the music industry.

I love to be around people all the time, even if I’m sitting in silence. Even if I’m walking or driving I’ll be on the phone to someone.

My mother passed away from a brain tumour when I was 17. She was the one person that I wanted to make most proud — everything I did I’d want her to be the first person to know.

There’s nothing like being able to talk to your mum if you’re having a bad day or going through a break-up. 

Losing her early on, I found I buried things which led to anxiety and panic attacks in the years that followed. 

But… you adapt and figure out how to handle things… I have really bad ADHD and sitting around is not really an option for me. I would never have thought I’d get through the pandemic — but you just learn to deal with certain things.

18.00

I won’t cook — I’m an absolutely terrible cook and I’ve never wished to be a better one. I find it stressful.

I always try to do something on a Saturday evening because it’s the one evening that I have to myself to decide what it is I’d really like to do.

When it comes to food there is so much choice in London. I love Ida, Bone Daddies, Meekhun Thai and La Famiglia. I’m also not against going to Wagamama.

Recently I’ve become friendly with Oisín Rogers owner of The Devonshire in Soho. You can have a fabulous meal and the pub has the best Guinness in London. Sometimes musicians will get up and have a session.

19.00

I manage acts now so I have to be on top of things if they have gigs on. I’m working with Aaron Rowe at the moment — he is one of the most talented people I’ve ever met. Elle Coves from Cork is super-talented too.

I’m a big Chappell Roan fan, I went to see Bleachers and Maggie Rogers recently and there’s a guy called Mk.Gee playing in London at the end of the month — I’m looking forward to that.

If I’m at home I might watch a thriller or a crime movie. I need something that really grips me because if I get distracted I’ll be completely lost.

I love Nashville and New York but my ideal Saturday would be spent in Dublin. I’d spend the day with my brothers and their kids and the night with my dad. 

We’d go to one of his favourite restaurants and then to somewhere like O’Donoghue’s for a trad session.

24.00

If there’s a good crew of people around me I can stay out late no problem. If I feel like it’s a bit of a dead night I’ll happily go home at 12pm.

Getting to sleep is quite difficult for me. I’m not a brilliant sleeper — even when I was younger I used to wake my parents up at 5 or 6am. 

I know friends who can sleep until midday if they’ve been out the night before but I’ll still wake up at 6 or 7am.

• Conor O’Donohoe is a member of Wild Youth, an A&R executive with Universal Publishing and a music manager. 
• He is an ambassador for Brain Tumour Ireland which is hosting a free webinar ‘Who cares for me? Challenging the carer to care for themselves too’ as part of National Brain Tumour Awareness Week, on Tuesday, October 22, at 6pm. To register, visit braintumourireland.com