On home, family, writing, success and bookshops …
Mike Finn is a playwright, screenwriter and actor and an Honorary Fellow of the University of Iowa. He holds an MA in Scriptwriting from the National Film School. He is a founder member of Island Theatre Company for whom he appeared in over 20 productions and wrote seven plays. His most recent play was Wreckquiem, starring Pat Shortt. He lives in Dublin.
ON HOME I’ve lived in Dublin for the last twelve years. I love Dublin, but my work is mostly in Limerick and my heart is too. It’s the inspiration for all my work, everything I’ve written has been set in Limerick and I still have family there.
ON FAMILY I am the middle child of three children. My older brother sadly passed away a few years ago. He really paved the way for me in so many things, including going into the arts. My sister is seven years younger than me and both of my parents have passed away too so she and her family are one of the main reasons I go back to Limerick regularly. Our family was always full of humour; we were a family of storytellers and messers. There were a lot of books around and we were taken to the theatre a lot. So I had a love of theatre from an early stage.
“What I always loved about my family was at no point did anybody ever suggest I get a real job.”
ON WRITING My interest in writing started in comedy. My brother used to be involved in Tops Of The Town in The Savoy in Limerick, which was a huge national competition where big companies would put on a variety show. I remember sitting there with my then girlfriend among 1,500 people laughing at jokes I had written. I found that really powerful. I then got involved in acting and set up a theatre company called Island Theatre Company but always had an idea at the back of my mind that I could write something. In 1999 I wrote a play called Pigtown, which was a breakthrough play. It was performed off-broadway in New York and I was invited to the international writing programme at the University of Iowa. You hear of writers who get up every morning at 6am and write for four hours a day. I would argue I’m writing all the time because I’m thinking about it all the time. Artists are like magpies, we’re finding things, picking bits, storing them away knowing it will be useful at some point, but the actual physical writing, I only do that when there’s a deadline approaching.
ON MY DESK It’s a mess! There are CDs, magazines, my camera, but I can write anywhere and I write a lot on the train up and down to Limerick. I turn off my phone and write for two hours uninterrupted.
ON SUCCESS I think success is when people enjoy the work that you’ve done. I try to find stories, particularly historical stories from Limerick, and I like to think I’m giving the city back to the citizens. People really respond to that. I enjoy when people come out of a play and are moved or amused. That to me is success.
ON BOOKSHOPS I love bookshops and I have far more books than I’ll ever read. One of my favourites is O’Mahony’s in Limerick. An Café Liteartha in Dingle, Charlie Byrne’s in Galway. The great thing about secondhand bookshops is you don’t know what you’re going to get. It’s an Aladdin’s Cave.
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