Holly Ryan is from Waterford and is playing Belle in the Cork Opera House panto, Beauty and the Beast. She is 18 and living in Cork (and away from home) for the first time to work on the production.

EOIN Colfer is on sabbatical in Dublin with his family. They moved from Wexford town to Monkstown a few months ago and, from cafes to theatres, are loving life in the big city.

WHEN I was 15-years-old or so I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to go on a school trip to Barcelona.

His acknowledgement that such celebrations would be premature is still accurate despite his team moving out of the relegation zone with a hard-earned point.