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I rang up this publisher and they asked me what I was doing at the time. I told them I was a house-painter, so first of all they had me come round and paint the place. Only later did they consider my work and Banished Misfortune was published.

— Dermot Healy John O'Mahony (2000)

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Source: John O'Mahony (2000). Let the west of the world go by, The Guardian (3 June 2000)
Work: John O'Mahony, 2000
Source quality: Precise citation Points to a specific work with a page, chapter, date or similar locator, so you can look it up.

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I know writing is what I do but I still don't see myself as one.

I like the idea of stopping mid-sentence, like Graham Greene.

I'm no good at dinner parties. I feel very uneasy at them.

I'm always fascinated by etymology.

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I often find poems hand written in old abandoned notebooks.

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The Bible has entered much of my work as have Latin and Greek mythology and verse.

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There isn't any distinction between a reader and a writer – reading is so much a part of it.

Without the reader there would be no writer.

It is a costly thing living here to fight the erosion. The sea is constantly threatening to cut into the coastline and sweep all this away. Every year we have to haul stones up here to repair the damage and plug the holes. It's a full-time job.

John O'Mahony (2000)

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Dermot Healy (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.