Author Cathy Kelly reckons Cape Cod is a cracker

Bestselling author Cathy Kelly reveals her favourite holiday destinations.

“My mum came from the west of Ireland and as a kid our family holidays would always be going down to stay with her mum.

“It was a tiny farm in Sligo and I was put in charge of the hens. There was no beach, just the rocky Atlantic coastline but that’s where I learned to swim. It was idyllic but we had to work.

“If I wanted to read my book I’d have to run away from grandmother and hide.

“City kids might have thought you pulled cows’ tails and milk came out but my brother Francis and I knew all about rural life. It was the best of both worlds.

“I was friends with the girl next door and when I was 14 they took me to America with them. They certainly had more money than us and having never left the country before it was a massive thrill.

“We went to Cape Cod and the whole American lifestyle was so exciting. My grandmother had a picture of John F. Kennedy above the fireplace so I remember we went to see where the Kennedy clan came from.

“In my 20s, I went to Greece quite a lot and it’s that magical recall you have when you’re younger of life being simpler.

“I’d be up in the hills of these little Greek towns, sitting having coffee and watching a lifestyle you felt hadn’t changed much.

“Funnily enough, despite the title of the book, John and I hadn’t been in Paris since we had the kids.

“So we decided to take them to the Eiffel Tower, which is on the front cover. It was August, so the place was mental with tourists.

“But there was something lovely about taking the boys to the Louvre and just walking round such amazing history.

“When I was a teenager I was obsessed by French books and I persevered with my schoolgirl French in the cafes. But the west of Ireland is still so close to my heart.

“I love Connemara and when the kids were very young we took a house down there for a couple of years through the summer. It’s remote and beautiful, with the stone walls stretching up into the mountains.

“John’s from Waterford and we also go to a place called Ardmore that has pagan springs. There’s something so mystical and beautiful about that part of the world.”