What a Difference a Day Makes with Geoff Gould: ‘I had a row with Dad before he died — it took a while to get over’

Former artistic director of The Everyman Geoff Gould didn’t always have the most peaceful relationship with his dad, John. He tells Helen O’Callaghan about the night he learned his father had died, about the impact on him, and how for a long time he underestimated his dad’s massive influence on him.

Faith Healer by Brian Friel is directed by Geoff Gould. Picture Dan Linehan

The night I found out my dad died, September 4, 1984, I was out for a pint with friends in the Phoenix Bar, Cork, a bar I’d never been in before — normally I’d be in Clancy’s.

I felt there was something not right, I said to the lads, ‘I don’t feel well, I’m going home.’ They were looking at me — anybody who knows me knows I’d never leave a pub!