Walking The Dog with Emily Dean - Cecelia Ahern (Part One)

Episode Date: October 22, 2024

Join Emily and Raymond in London's Regent's Park for a walk with the international bestselling author Cecelia Ahern! Cecelia has a dog called Buddy, he's a standard poodle with a regal attitude, who is back at home in Dublin while Cecelia is in London working - but we think we need to plan a trip to Ireland because it sounds like he and Raymond would get on VERY well. Cecelia grew up in Malahide with her sister, mum and dad - before her parents divorced. It was an unusual childhood, because Cecelia's dad is Bertie Ahern - the high profile Irish politician who went on to become Taoiseach! We learn all about Cecelia's fascinating story - from when she attempted to get into Eurovision to writing her debut novel, PS I Love You at the age of 21 and the whirlwind experience of the book becoming a worldwide hit. Cecelia's new book - Into The Storm is available now! You can buy your copy here!Follow Cecelia on Instagram @official_ceceliaahernFollow Emily: Instagram - @emilyrebeccadeanX - @divine_miss_emWalking The Dog is produced by Faye LawrenceMusic: Rich Jarman Artwork: Alice LudlamPhotography: Karla Gowlett  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the 80s. There were no family discussions about navigating anything. You just got thrown in there and you navigated it yourself. Come on. This week on Walking the Dog, Ray and I went for a walk in London's Regents Park with best-selling author Cecilia Ahern, whose books, by the way, have now sold 25 million copies. Cecilia's poodle buddy was back home in Ireland, living his best life,

so Ray and I couldn't wait to hear all. all about him and talk about her incredible career. Her first novel, PS I Love You, which astonishingly she wrote when she was just 21 years old, of course went on to become a Hollywood movie starring Gerard Butler and Hillary Swank. And since then, she's not hung about. She's published 18 hugely popular novels, including Where Rainbow's End, which was adapted into the film, I Love Rosie, starring Lily Collins and Sam Claflin. She's also had to deal with quite a lot of scrutiny from a young age, because Cecilia's dad, Bertie Ahern, was the Irish Prime Minister, or Taoiseach, to give it its proper title. But she really strikes you as someone who's just been brought up in a very grounded, ungrounded way, with a really solid work ethic,

quite a mischievous sense of humour and a passion for dogs. So frankly, what's not to love? Cecilia and I also chatted about her latest novel Into the Storm, which is a very gripping, atmospheric page turner of a book, about this dramatic incident that takes place one night in a storm which changes the central character's life forever. It's beautifully written and you honestly won't put it down so I really recommend you give it a read yourself. I also really hope you enjoy my chat with Cecilia.

I'll stop talking now and hand over to the woman herself. Here's Cecilia and Ray Ray. Raymond, are you going to follow Cecilia? Raymond, you are the leader. We're following you. I mean, that's a worry, Cecilia. Following the leader. Oh, look at this. Oh dear.

No dogs. Dogs are not permitted to enter Queen Mary's Gardens. Which one's Queen Mary's Gardens? That one. I'm going to risk it. I don't see her around, so. I think we're good. She's not going to say anything.

I think I'm going to like you already, Cecilia O'Hern. So I'm with Raymond. I'm with the wonderful Cecilia O'Hern, best-selling. author, something of an idol of mine. Aw. And we've got Raymond with us. See a fan.

Well, we haven't got Cecilia's dog. No, my poor buddy. He'd love this. So talk me through your dog. So my dog is buddy. He is a standard poodle. So he's absolutely huge. He's like a horse.

And people never know what he is. People think he's a mix. They always think like a, I don't know, cock a poodle or whatever people say but he's actually a standard poodle he's got really long beautiful limbs and his his dad was a show dog and so I think he has this real like he poses he's kind of regal so when he's sitting out in the garden he's like this his legs to the side and the chin up and he's a beautiful dog he's really gentle and patient and i think he thinks he's human And he's not with us today just because you're obviously up in London working.

And I live in Dublin. And he's back in Dublin, living his best life. Yeah, he's a very busy schedule. He couldn't make it today. And tell me why poodles? Have you always loved poodles? No, so he's my first dog. We had a dog when I was younger, but I really have very little memory.

It was Blondie was his name and he was a Labrador. But he wasn't well trained and I think he was a bit of a nightmare for my mom. He used to dig up everything in the garden and he wasn't good at walking and you know he just wasn't and he snapped at my sister he bitter So he wasn't the the pet that we that she wanted He was troubled he was trouble and and then so he he he died when I was very little so I have very little memory I didn't grow up really knowing about pets or animals or dogs or anything So we got buddy about seven years ago and the reason we got a poodle is because my my husband and my daughter Robin are allergic.

Well they'd like Raymond because he's hypoallergenic. Is he? But we got one before that we were told was hypoallergenic. I can't remember. It was it. He was gorgeous. We called him Mr. Magoo, little Magoo. And he just, the very first day we got him,

he licked my husband's face and his eye nearly popped out of his head. So we couldn't keep Magoo. Oh, I missed that. That's nothing compared to buddies. So Celia is giving a race, poo, a review. I need a good few bags. But well done, Raymond. Well done. I'll find a bin soon. Do you ever find, as a dog owner, you'll feel my pain? When you end up wandering around on a walk and then you forget you're holding a poo. It's just the smell of the bag as well.

It doesn't matter how scented they are. You can still smell. I'm also carrying a coffee, so I must remind myself not to put it too close to it. Yeah, don't lift the wrong thing to your lips there. So the reason why we got my lovely little buddy is because my, yeah, my husband and daughter allergic and they're not allergic to him, he's perfect and he's got like a sheep's wool and he's like a big gorgeous teddy bear. And this is growing up in Ireland. Was this Malahide that you grew up in? Yes, yeah, it's a suburb in Dublin so it's kind of like a seaside town. It is a seaside town, not kind of. See, see? And it's a town. Should we go this way? As long as we're not going to St Mary's Garden now we'll be in trouble.

Then you can see Raymond run on the grass. Look at this, Cecil. I see there. I think you're going to really like this. Yay! Yay! Come on! He's the cutest thing. I like to think he has a quiet dignity. Oh, he's lovely.

He's very relaxing, is he? His company is very relaxing. He's kind of a calm. I find that about you. That's nice. I think my dog is, I call him Buda Buddy, because he's also very, like he loves to go outside when the sun is going down.

Yeah. Setting, Cecilia. The sun is setting and he sits there and he like, he lifts his chin to the world. He looks up with the sky and the stars and his hair is blowing in the wind and he's like this calm buddha dog. And he watches all, we've actually luckily, we moved to a new house recently and we've got quite a big garden and we've got rabbits and badgers and squirrels and foxes and he's so good he just sits and watches the rabbits playing. He goes, like he starts making noise to try and get out. And I thought I was worried that he's going to try and eat them, but he doesn't even go near them.

He just watches him. Oh, he's a really sweet nature dog. He is, but not if there's a squirrel. He'll go for that. Come on, Raymond. So, I want to go back a bit to your childhood. And this was growing up on island with your sister Georgina. Yes.

And your dad, Bertie, and mum Miriam. Correct. And your dad was, he went on to do a very high profile job because he was, I'm going to say this right. Go first. The T-shock. Perfect. The T-shock is the Irish Prime Minister, isn't it? Yes.

I want to know what your childhood was like because I imagine at that time when you were growing up, he was finance minister and various other things, wasn't he? Yeah. He did that, took up that huge role later. Yeah, but he was always in politics. So from a young age it was always in, you know, he went from Lord Mayor of Dublin to Minister for Labor and Minister for Finance. You know, he worked. So for me, he was always in politics and I don't know if the word high profile is the correct word, but a known politician. It was my life, you know. Everybody's life is just normal, I think. I have to say it was, he was a total workaholic. He loves his work, so passionate about it.

and every Sunday we would spend with him and we never knew where we were going that day like we would jump into the car and he'd take us off on these he'd be opening something or making a speech at something or having meetings with somebody and we were just brought along for the ride so it was a very interesting important way to see outside of our bubble you know we got to see what was actually happening in the world

and you would go to TV studios and things, wouldn't you? Yeah, I loved that. Because Sundays were always the politics, you know, the politics shows. So we would go to, well, it's RTE at home as our national broadcaster. And I just loved sitting in the studios watching the lights, the camera. I loved seeing how everything came to life because I was a massive fan of TV and film as kids. And books, of course.

And so seeing how it came to life was so special. The same as being watching radio. I loved being in the studio. I love being behind the scenes. kind of, I think that introduced me to the desire that I had to work in TV and film. When he was Minister for Finance, there would have been quite a lot of focus around the family and photographers, presumably, and did your parents ever talk to you about that and say, look, this is how we deal with it, or just give you an idea on how to navigate that as a kid?

No. This is the 80s. There were no family discussions about navigating anything. You just got thrown in. there and you navigated it yourself. Come on. Can I just say I love this is the 80s? It was the 80s. It was probably the 90s technically. But no, there was none of that. I don't think they even knew themselves, you know?

They're all doing it for the first time. But were you aware, Cecilia, because I always think writers, particularly ones who are as successful as you, I always think writers, there's something about them that's a little bit other. Yeah. Do you know what I mean?

Yeah, we're a quirky bunch. And what do you think your thing was? What did you feel you stood out in any way from your peers, for example? I think that I just felt different. And I think that I always felt like, not always. I was sociable and I had a great group of friends and I was, you know, all of that. But I did regularly have a feeling of being an outsider, you know, of watching everyone else and not always feeling like I fit in.

I think I was just an observer, almost like a narrator of my own life, you know, on the outside looking in. And I think it's just because I had a busy head. I would be analyzing everything and thinking about everything. And as a result, was writing diaries to try and figure out how I was feeling and what I was thinking. So that would be it. I think I just felt, even though I had best friends and I was part of the group, it was always a little part of me that felt.

was on the outside of it observing it. That's a writery thing, I think. Yeah. Yeah. And your parents, did they split up when you were? Yeah, it was young. I thought it was five until recently. They said another age, so I don't know.

I think it was probably seven or eight or something. So it was very young. And yeah, I lived at my mom and my sister. And then, as I said, I had Sundays with my dad. and they made it work really well like honestly we're such such a close family and we spend a lot of time together

and I suppose grandchildren do that you know just bring everyone together and they're great friends that's really nice it was quite a sort of conscious uncoupling I was very rare thing at the time like I was the only child in school who had

separated parents so it was a very odd thing particularly a man you know a politician to be separated because family was so important so they were quite the, they were so progressive. They were so cool. I've read, it's interesting, I've read a couple of really lovely articles about you and your dad.

And one was the relative values that you did for the Sunday Times. And he was talking about you and he said such lovely things. But he also said, I regret I wasn't as present as I would have liked to have been. But he also said how important it was having you and your. sister, Georgina, because just in that kind of world and the release and relief that presented calling you and... Yeah, that was nice. Isn't that lovely? Yeah, but you know, funny, it's nice for him to say that, but I mean, I think I always felt that we had so much valuable time with him because what, like, he did so much that wasn't done then. Like, we went on holidays with him on our own.

You know, there weren't many dads on their own with, with daughters. You know, he did that and we spent the entire Sunday together going to lots of different things. He was like, he was a dad alone with his girls. So, um, it was pretty, you know, lovely things come. Yeah. And it was and it was very rare at the time. Yes, that's the thing. I think you sometimes end up spending more quality time with the parent that doesn't live with you, don't you think. Yeah. Yeah. No, they made it work. I don't think I felt in any way sad about it. You know, it was just it was what it was. I had lived at home at mom and did that. I don't know. They made, they didn't. They didn't. They didn't made it work. They did well. It's tough. It's a tough thing. I get this sense of your mum being

quite quick-witted and fun and I think it was your dad actually that said I'm quite practical and logical and Cecilia's like, what? I'm quite practical and sort of logical and, you know, results focused or whatever and Cecilia's mum is just so just a fun person with a brilliant sense of humour. Do which... Yeah, but very logical and practical too. I mean, you know, it's funny. They're both. All of those things.

Which qualities do you think you get from your mum that you love? We've got a very similar wit. Very similar sense of humour. So we're fun and silly together. I mean, she's so interesting. I'm not saying that I am. But she just is very... She's got so many different theories.

She likes to look at the world differently. You know, is into the what if... Not necessarily what if, but like sends me constant messages about different parts of the world and the life and planet and, you know, that I'm not aware of. So she's, and she's studying at the moment herbal medicine and, you know, into herbal health. And like, she's just brilliant. Just one of those people who's very curious about the world. Very curious and has got very interesting opinions and they're always different and is not shy about saying it in a really polite, gentle way. You know, she's not ramming things down your throat.

Like if you're out and someone says something, I'd politely kind of let that person have that moment, but she's very, you know, very nicely would say, well, I heard or, you know, and she's just really nice. Do you know what really sells it to me as well? The Irish accent, you can get away with the lot. Really? I think so.

Because it's so kind of beautiful and lyrical. I think you could say something really insulting to me and I wouldn't, I'd think, oh, how lovely. Let's give it a go, shall we? So the interest in writing, Cecilia, did that start at a pretty young age? It did, yeah. Yeah. So I would say I was writing diaries.

Well, I was writing even when I couldn't write. I remember playing games or I was scribbling. But I started writing diaries 8, 9, 10. I would write every day before I went to bed, every evening. And I would write. It was never about what I was doing. It wasn't that kind of diary. It was how I felt.

and I recently got rid of all my diaries. I had them from the age of 10 all the way up to 20, whatever, until 21. I think I kind of stopped around the time I started writing professionally. Why did you get rid of your diaries? Yeah, because I always felt,

I knew they were in the house in a box all of these private secret feelings and I felt really uncomfortable about them being, there you know what if anyone found them and we were moving house and I went through them and I was like why am I even keeping them and what am I holding on to the joy was in writing them not in keeping them so I read them all went back over things which was amazing and then destroyed them and I felt so much better at

that because I'm not worried anymore about somebody finding these and releasing them and not that they'd be anything interesting about a 13 year old's private thoughts but they were my private thoughts So I felt better about them being gone, but felt better about right. I felt better when I wrote them. That's what the purpose was. It wasn't to keep them. That's really interesting to me because I think that that's quite a bold decision

because a lot of us cling on to those remnants of the past, don't we? And I think that tells me a lot about you that you're kind of, okay, I've done that, time to move on. Yeah, I kept them for long enough. I mean, that was 20 years of diaries there. What did you think of that girl looking back at those diaries? She hasn't changed. I haven't changed. It was amazing. I was always worrying about a wondering, not even worrying, wondering, wondering, looking ahead all the time to, I wonder what will happen when. I wonder what will, you know, if I was dancing. I wonder when I'll, if I'll get into this competition class. I wonder if it'll be next week or, you know, always looking ahead and wondering, worrying. So I'm making plans. I wonder if I'll be this. I wonder if I can ever do that. It was all of looking ahead. still I'm like that. Still wondering, but at least it's a job now.

I wonder for a job. You mentioned the dancing, and I want to touch on that briefly before we get into your career proper, because not that I'm dismissing your career as a dancer and singer. You can. I did. Everyone else did.

Why don't you? You were in a band called Shimmer. That's correct. And this was connected in some way to the Eurovision. It was a Euro-Song, wasn't it? It was, so we had a national song contest, which means that there were about, I don't know, eight or ten different acts that would compete live on Orte E. And then the public would choose, the public or a panel, I can't remember what it was, or maybe a mixture of both, the judges or something, would choose the person that would go forward to represent Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest. So we were Shima, we were put together, I was the first one chosen, so I had to sit on a judging panel.

a judging panel, like at that time, did you remember, like pop bands, which is everywhere? There was pop pop pop pop bands constantly, and particularly in Ireland. And Louis Walsh was responsible for lots of them. There were auditions all the time. And one of them is your brother-in-law? True, yes.

Is that right? Yeah, he's in Westlife. Is it Nicky? Nicky Byrne. Nicky Byrne. Of course, it wasn't out of the blue. I'd been around for years trying to do different things. So I was asked to be in this band

and help choose the rest of the band. And then we got a record deal. You must have been so exciting. We were so excited. I think that the team around us were really building us up, like, you know, when we get into the Eurovision, that would be the launch pad for our career. And didn't make it to Eurovision. But what was great about it was that the record company did drop us, which is super, because you don't want to be, there's scary things you can be tied into. and we were able to just go back about our lives.

And you had been studying journalism and media at college, so did you interrupt your degree to do this, your course? Or did you just manage to sloss it around the work? I can't remember. I think it was the same time, and I was working and studying at the same time. It's like flash dance. College student by day, member of shimmer by night. But I was doing it all throughout school.

So in school I was doing shows. I did pantomime at Christmas and that was in my final year. We call it the sixth year, which is the leaving cert year, which was not a smart time to do it. And that was a show every night and then two shows on the weekends. So that tells me that you must have been quite a sort of outgoing extrovert kid, or was that not the case? And this was just something where it gave you an outlet for your creativity, that performance.

This is where I confuse people, because I was just a little bit of both. I loved performing. I loved dancing, I loved music, I wasn't shy when I was performing. So I suppose I was what they call an introverted extrovert. You know, I just also, I was doing all that, but I was also writing. I was also having deep thoughts. I wonder if the writing as well, that allowed you to sort of decompress. I know people like that, and a lot of performers are like that, actually, aren't they,

where they're drawn to this and they sort of feel they need to do it, but then they find it a bit exhausting and they have to have time retreat and have time on their own. I was definitely always nervous. I wasn't one of those people that would be jumping out on the stage like, ta-da!

I was always very nervous beforehand. So, yeah, I don't know. I wasn't completely as comfortable as everybody else. And when I didn't get into your song, I mean, I did a little bit after that, like session singing, things like that. But I definitely put my head down after that and said I'm focusing on college,

that's the end of that. finished now and started concentrating on my future but it did take me out of being the performer and more the observer watching everybody else you have this extraordinary story

which is sort of like something out of a film itself which is you were 21 weren't you when PSI Love You was published yeah and most people hope particularly when they're 21 oh I hope my book does all right and I get, you know, end up getting a few royalties. And this book, it was crazy how successful it was.

This book just became this international bestseller. It was huge. Went on to be turned into a movie, as we all know, with Hillary Swank and Gerald Butler. What was that like, though, Cecilia, at 21? I mean, did you expect any of that? No, no. I mean, when I started writing the story, I was just writing it for myself. So I didn't even begin that going, I'm writing a novel.

going to try and get it published. It was just another story that I was writing for myself. However, it didn't just feel like any of the story I was writing for myself because I just connected with it so much. I felt like I was crying at the table, writing it, I was laughing, I was completely immersed in it and also coincided with the fact I had just completed my degree and it was time to, you know, I was looking at the next part of my life, like what am I going to do, who am I going to be? And there was this thing, this thing that that I wanted to share with people. So I took the chance and sent them to an agent,

Marianne O'Connor. And that's how they happened. Did you tell everyone, like, did you tell your parents and your sister and say, look? So were you sort of waiting by the phone, anxiously, or were you quite almost getting on with it in private in case it didn't work out? So my family knew, my mom knew,

because it was just me and her living at home. And she was seeing me, I was riding every night. So from 10 o'clock at night till about six in the morning. Yeah, so my mom knew and she knew what I was, how much I was giving it and what it was doing to me. Like this was how passionate I was about writing the story.

And then I would write till 6 in the morning and I would sleep till about 1 o'clock and then I'd get up and type up what I had written the night before. And this was before I had a deal. Like this was, I was just doing this for myself. So you were very driven. Yeah, but I think I've always,

if I've had a passion, it's like I have no choice but to pursue it. I can see that's the case with 21-year-olds. If this would happen with Shimmer, for example. Yes, I'm going to keep reminding you of Shimmer. Thank you. But let's be honest, writing takes, it's a long, hard slog. It's a different kind of work, isn't it?

And to have that level of dedication with no guaranteed result at the end when you're 21, I would argue is quite unusual. I just think it's a passion. Like, you see kids playing football, and if they love football, they'll have, they'll be kicking out football at all hours of the day. You know, we've got kids in Ireland walking around with hurls in their hands like it's another limb. I mean, it's just, if you love something, no matter what your age, you give it 100%. I appreciate the compliment.

But I do think that's what passion is. And I had it with dancing. You know, when I love something, I just want to give it 100%. This is different in that I was, I knew nothing about the publishing industry. I was entering a completely new environment, putting myself out there. But with that kind of, I don't know, maybe it's just the kind of innocence and naivety of being younger. Because if I was to try to do it now and have the knowledge of the industry, I'd be like, oh, you know, you'd be thinking in a very different way. Well, I think you're more inclined to think, why not me?

Whereas as you get older, you think, oh, that couldn't possibly be me. Who am I to do? Do you know what I mean, which is something you have to shape off, don't you? I think I don't have a fear of failure. And I didn't even know that was a thing until I met people who say, why did like how why I can't because and they tell me about the thing they want to do and I'm like why don't you try I'm not embarrassed really I mean I was embarrassed about shimmer when I failed I actually like but I didn't make me stop trying I was going to say that you picked yourself up from

that instead of thinking I can't do anything now I suppose you know failing doesn't you know not having a fear of failure doesn't mean that you're not going to be embarrassed but it does it doesn't stop you from trying again or it doesn't stop you from it you don't change how you live your life. So there's that and I think I continue to have that. I just, I like to challenge myself and sometimes. At older I get I think it's harder to do something new and challenging. Yeah. Because there are more fears but when I was younger even if it's doing TV or getting involved in film I was always out of my comfort zone but wasn't afraid of failing. I just thought I'll give this a try because what's like what's wrong with a no? There's nothing

wrong with a no. It's disappointing. And most times it's not personal. No, exactly. Because your dad was high profile, were you conscious, because obviously this was a very different time, and it was a time when women tended to be identified a lot more by the men connected to them, whether that be a husband or a relative.

Yeah. And I wonder if... It's nice that that's changed, isn't it? Because when you look back and look how it was, it's bizarre. Well, it was even in sort of like papers of record like the Times, it would be some, you know, a female MP or something would be Blah Blah's wife. And always women's ages after their name and they wouldn't feel the need to put men's in. It was always this idea that women were an adjunct.

He's so cute. Now I've got a man as an adjunct. That's what I always wanted to see, Leah. But I wondered, was that something you were aware of? Was there a lot of what we would now call sort of nepo baby reporting about you? Oh, of course there was, yeah. And I remember there was a lot of, are you glad now to be stepping out of your father's shadow?

I was like, I'm not, what do you mean? I'm like, I'm not in his shadow. I never felt like I was in his shadow. I was just his daughter and he's a politician. And I'm not trying to be a, maybe if I was trying to be a politician, that would be a difficult way to kind of carve your own path, if you've different views or conflicting beliefs. I don't know.

But not as an author. It's got absolutely nothing to do with what he does. So I didn't feel like I was trying to step out of any shadows. and finally be heard. Like there was none of that. So I found that funny. But yeah, there was an awful lot of questioning over how I got the deal and, you know, all that

and did my mom really secretly write the book? There's a lot of conspiracy theory that went around. But I did legitimately write the book myself. Yeah. I can confirm. Excuse it there for you. I really hope you love part one of this week's Walking the Dog. If you want to hear the second part of our chat,

it'll be out on Thursday. so whatever you do, don't miss it. And remember to subscribe so you can join us on our walks every week.