Tastemaker

‘My idea of happiness? Drinking coffee with my wife in bed and talking nonsense’ – Sebastian Barry

The novelist, playwright and poet on how he ‘scraped through’ into Trinity College and believing that every day alive is a privilege

Sebastian Barry: the author wishes he could be better at socialising. ‘Just being at ease. Sounds so simple.’ Picture: Getty

Considered one of Ireland’s finest writers, Sebastian Barry, 67, has won two Costa Book of the Year awards and has twice been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.

Family plays a key role in the genesis of his stories, with the Dublin author often imagining fictionalised versions of long gone relatives. His 2008 novel The Secret Scripture, later adapted to film by Jim Sheridan, was inspired by his great uncle's first wife who was committed ...