The Big Interview: Rally legend Rosemary Smith on a life of thrills and spills on and off road

A living legend of Irish and world motorsport, Rosemary Smith enjoyed huge success as a public figure but endured a series of devastating blows in her private life. Having just published her autobiography, at the age of 81, she recalls how she came through it all and is now the happiest she has ever been.

YOU are 13 years old and home alone with your mother when, with her hands wet from doing the dishes, she goes to unplug the electric fire and is promptly knocked unconscious by the shock. What do you do?