That was the year that was

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Editorial

That was the year that was

As Christmas nears I look back on a year when I had more good times than bad. I laughed more than I cried. Who could ask for more?

Ellen Lynch

Saturday, 21 December 2013
10:00 AM GMT



I always feel a frisson of nervousness on New Year's Day, wondering what the year ahead will bring. What lies in store, I wonder? I usually follow up with a fervent prayer that it will be, at best kind, at worst benign, to me and those I love. For who knows what kind of joy, excitement and good news there's going to be during the 12 months to come? Or the upset, disappointment or sorrow that could also be mapped out for us.

This has been for me, I'm happy to relate, a good year. Some really great things happened. Nothing terribly bad happened though, certainly the year wasn't without some trials, tribulations and challenges.

Best of all, I think, is that, after years and years of hearing that old cliché 'sure there's always someone worse off than yourself' and exclaiming it myself many, many times over to others, I finally, truly got it. Conventional wisdom says the person most well off, is the one who appreciates what they have. This year I became one of the well off. It's a great feeling.

More tangibly, there were some exciting episodes. Enormously satisfying was seeing the book 'Too Many Tears' which I was ghost-writer for, being published by Penguin. In the last few weeks before the mid-April deadline, I worked furiously into the early hours and spent weekends getting it ready for submission. It was some learning curve. The official launch in Dublin was exciting. Before that myself and the woman whose story I told - Fiona Doyle - were guests on The Late Late Show. It was a memorable experience.

A car and driver were dispatched to take us to Dublin on a Friday afternoon. We were put up in the Radisson Blu St Helen's hotel near Montrose where the show's researcher came to meet us. We were given lunch and the show's make-up artist came to the hotel to do our make-up, a real thrill.

At the appointed time, a car was sent to the hotel to collect us and take us to RTE. It was raining heavily at the time. The driver stepped out and unfolded an umbrella to cover us, as he opened the door for us. "I could get used to this!" we both exclaimed in unison, then laughed all the way to the studios.

We were 'miked up' (it's amazing how quickly you can get used to the technical parlance!) and then the researcher and some other people involved with The Late Late Show came to see us. Then the door opened and Ryan Tubridy walked in. He really is a most personable guy, friendly and chatty. He told us what to expect and put us at our ease. For a number of reasons, including legal considerations, our interview was being taped for broadcast on the show later that evening. I was amazed at how seamlessly it was woven into the show later on, as if we were live.

We were taken out to the set and seated in the famous leather chairs. What seemed like just minutes later, it was done. We were given the choice of staying the night in the hotel, but we decided to return home to watch the show with our families. The driver was called to return us home. It was slow going, there was heavy rain and the roads were flooded. I was worried that I wouldn't get home in time to see the show as I had further to go, though I knew it was being taped.

I did make it home and that's how I came to have the surreal experience of seeing myself on a show which I usually watch from that same couch most Friday nights. The biggest show on RTE. After our interview was shown, my phone went mad as people rang and sent texts to tell me they'd seen me. I hadn't mentioned to many that I would be on.

Then there was the invitation to Aras an Uachtarain to meet the President. Fiona and I were invited along with a group of other women in celebration of International Women's Day. We met and had a photo taken with President Higgins and his wife Sabena. He does a fair old party, I'll tell you. The canapés were the best I've tasted anywhere, ever. Fair play, though I doubt he was toiling for hours in the kitchen whipping up the eats himself.

I'd been at the Aras before, when Mary McAleese was President, and invited a group from the media to attend a similar function. The biggest thrill for me during this year's visit was getting to meet so many influential Irish women. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Mrs Susan Denham was there. Appointed by the President in 2011, she is the first woman to hold the position and is the longest serving member of the court. We met Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly, Ministers Joan Burton and Frances Fitzgerald and other women to the forefront in Irish business, charities and from other agencies and sectors, including journalism.

Little did I know I was going to end up on the nine o'clock news that night. I wasn't aware of an RTE cameraman filming as we entered the Aras. He caught me on camera striding purposefully down the lavish hallway. I was glad he stopped filming me when he did because I was headed to the loo! In there I met the singer Eleanor McEvoy who went on to rock the Aras when she played after the speeches. Needless to say, the Aras loos are sumptuous. There is even a fireplace there and guess what? It had real turf burning in it! I joked with Eleanor about that, making it a bog in the true sense of the word and she laughed.

Another memorable function I got to attend because of Fiona and the book was the Rehab People of the Year Awards. It was held in Citywest and broadcast live on RTE. It was a great night, not least because Fiona was presented with an award for her courage in speaking out about her abuse. At our table were Mairead Farrell from Today FM and Damien from Fair City, whose real name is Maclean Burke. Both were very personable.

I met Brent Pope, a handsome man and Rob Kearney, equally so. We got to 'talk to Joe' Duffy. Various RTE broadcasters and a whole host of celebs were there.

Little did I know that I was going to end up on television again. The camera panned across our table as Fiona's name was announced for the award and there I was, whoopin' and clappin' and cheerin' for the country to see, and to my family's utter mortification! I ended up on television twice more this year - once as an audience member on The Late Late and in the audience of the show again in September, when 'Too Many Tears' came out. I've lost count of the number of times people have slagged me about it since. "Are ya never off the telly?" I'm asked all the time.

Events surrounding the publication of the book made for a busy autumn. It was an interesting experience.

Then came what was, without doubt, the biggest day of my year, the wedding of my oldest son. It was a wonderful, joyful, emotional day. I beamed with pride and happiness for so many hours that day my jaws ached! Seeing him and his gorgeous bride, an absolutely beautiful person so happy, made me so happy. It was also lovely to see so many members of my extended family that I hadn't seen for a while. We had a ball.

In my job I meet many different people. This year I came across people whose stories were heartbreaking, inspiring, moving, humorous and some downright weird in that truth-is-stranger-than-fiction way. It keeps life interesting and makes me humble, grateful, sometimes envious and often amazed.

As Christmas nears I look back on a year when I had more good times than bad. I laughed more than I cried. Who could ask for more?



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