I was honoured to be asked by Film Network Ireland to lead a podcast in tribute to a wonderful actress, and my dear friend of fifteen years, Nika McGuigan.

Nika died in 2019 aged just 33, while her final film, the moving and impassioned Wildfire, was in post production. In this podcast I speak to directors who worked with Nika, Wiebke Von Carolsfeld and Imogen Murphy, as well as Nika and I's former voice teacher from our wide eyed drama school days at the Gaiety School of Acting circa 2004-2006, Cathal J. Quinn. There are also a few anecdotal memories from former GSA classmates, remembering Nika's formidable talent, work ethic, kindness and quirky humour. 

I was so happy to be able to be involved with this piece and to remember Nika with others who loved and admired her brilliance and fierceness, as I did, and still do.

To listen to the podcast, go HERE.

This podcast also marks my first outing as a Film Network Ireland Wrapchat podcast host. More to come on that front in 2021...

Well, after a questionable year, this was very nice news.

I may not have made any end of year book lists, not that I had a book out, but somehow not making an end of year list when one doesn't have a book out is all the more jarring. Neither did I have it in me to submit anything to anywhere.

BUT I've been named one of the top Voquent voices in the world, as voted by them and their clients. And, I was the only Irish voice to make the list - both in Europe and globally! It's very nice indeed, and lovely to feel like all the hard work of this year, which required a rapid rethink of how I work, a rush build of a home studio in the first global lockdown when equipment suppliers had shut up shop and postal services were considerably delayed, followed by a crash course in sound engineering, paid off. 

My work day looks very different now to the way it did this time last year - and I am actually pretty happy about that. Having a home studio has opened me up to opportunities and avenues of work I wouldn't have known of were I still following the old model of only waiting for my agent to call. I still wait for my agent to call, of course - and I love my agent - but the truth is that the world has changed, and if I were to wait by the phone for news indefinitely, I'd starve. The new way is one of multiplicity, and greater personal agency, and I am here for it.

The Voquent Year in Review is a fascinating read, delving into the lives of voiceovers all across the world, what they worked on, what they hope to work on next and how they go about their days. We're global now, baby! 

If ever there was a year that taught us that, it was this one.
​
Read more here!

Over the last year of lockdown in some form or another, I've been spending a lot of time in my studio recording things - either for other people or myself. 
As well as narrating my own writings and becoming the AI voice of Microsoft, I also wore a few different hats when it came to the type of voiceover work I put my voice to. 
​
​Exhibit A:
​

In this project for new tech device Scandit, I not only brought up the cheese, I left it sitting out in the sun for a bit. At the end of recording this (video above a short snippet of longer work), my smile was plastered to my face and I had jaw ache. Thankfully, the wind didn't change, so I was able to move onto to something like this:
​

The opposite to cheese, and yet possibly a wonderful pairing, this is more of a silky and decadent rich red wine, which I might be able to term my usual: a soft, sensual and whispery read that has become my trademark sound over the years. Based on this article I wrote for Voquent about the vocal vibe, I suppose you could call this my 'unique signature.' And honestly, these are my favourite ones to do.

So, just in case I was putting out the signals that I was a bit of a one trick pony, I wanted to tell the world* that I can do at least two things. Not just wine, but cheese too. Two things that are better together.

Also, if you haven't had a chance to hear the audiobook versions of my short stories, here's one for you. Compost, it's called, first published by The Irish Times in 2018.
​

Maybe I can do as many as three impossible things? But only once I've had a good breakfast.


*my own website blog