Irish Examiner view: Sally Rooney makes a stand over 'hell of fame'

Author shares robust views on celebrity status

Sally Rooney: Everyone needs space to themselves.

Ireland has a particularly rich crop of young talented writers and authors at present and few have commanded more column inches in the past three years than Sally Rooney, the Mayo-born and raised self-declared Marxist who writes stories that have captured the spirit of the times.

Rooney, whose new novel Beautiful World, Where Are You? is officially published on Tuesday, has been doing the customary round of interviews and has robust opinions to share on celebrity.

The “hell” of fame, she says, requires people enduring “variably serious invasions of their privacy from the media, from obsessive fans, and from people motivated by obsessive hatred”.

To have a bright talent talking thoughtfully about the constraints and inhibitions of success is welcome and should be cherished. 

When you become a shining star, everyone wants a piece of the action.

Her interviews remind us that everyone needs space to be themselves and to flourish. As such they are a valuable contribution to our common health.