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Sustainability advocate Fionnuala Moran on climate collapse, compulsive hair-pulling and her Jennifer Coolidge obsession
What’s your earliest memory?
Cycling down the very steep concrete steps in our garden in Bray on my tricycle. Needless to say, it didn’t end well.
When and where were you happiest?
Last summer was pure gold. I had just graduated from my MSc in Climate Change, I got engaged on Lake Maggiore’s spectacular Isola Bella, I was doing up my first home with my fiance, Rebel Phoenix, and I started presenting on 2FM.
What’s your least, and your most, attractive trait?
I’m a last-minute lady. My ADHD means anything less than a really imminent deadline — like going on air in an hour — doesn’t move me to action. I submitted my master’s thesis with 16 seconds to go until the deadline despite giving myself the whole summer to do it… I have form in this area. As for my best traits, I’m a great supporter. I’m naturally very optimistic and positive.
What trait do you deplore most in others?
Hyper-individualism. No one wins when people are exclusively out for themselves and it’s been a huge contributing factor to the problems we’re experiencing with our climate.
What’s the first thing you’d do if you were Taoiseach?
Ban vulture funds snapping up homes; make our derelict housing stock liveable again.
What’s your biggest insecurity?
For years it was my lack of eyelashes and eyebrows due to trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder) but some CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) really set me free from the shame. You’ll still rarely catch me out in the world without my eyeliner on.
Who would you most like to go for a pint with?
Mary Robinson. I have immense respect for her tireless climate work and the centring of climate justice.
What is your most treasured possession?
A ring with a blue stone set in an unusual gold band which belonged to my grandmother, Macroom’s Angela Flynn (nee Lynch), who died when I was just five.
What’s your guiltiest pleasure?
I love going to charity shops and bringing home pieces of furniture that I think I could turn into something spectacular, that are maybe a little less lovely than they could be at the time.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
“You can do anything but not everything” is one we keep coming back to in our home.
Who would play you in a film of your life?
Ideally Jennifer Coolidge. We don’t look anything alike but she’s a comedic superstar I adore. I even have my AirDrop name set to hers. If we’re going by similarities, perhaps Louise Duffy — a few colleagues in the radio building in RTÉ said “Hi Louise” to me when she started on Radio 1, and I was so complimented by that that I didn’t correct them.
What’s your favourite word?
Walkies. The unbridled joy and excitement it unleashes in the house is unparalleled. Even on the shortest winter days, a daylight dog walk with our two rescue Salukis, Farrah and Alfie, is a non-negotiable for me. I’m so grateful to My Lovely Horse Rescue for bringing them into our lives.
What’s the last TV show you binge-watched?
I’m flying through The Gentlemen on Netflix with my fiance. It’s deadly to see Kaya Scodelario back on screen, as I was a big fan of hers when she played Effy in Skins during my teenage years.
What advice would you give your 18-year-old self?
Trust that your talents are in fact talents.
If you could have a super power, what would it be?
Undo global warming. To avert the level of suffering, biodiversity loss and mass climate migration coming down the line would bring solace to so many in a time where peace is so precarious.
What’s the worst job you’ve ever done?
Nightclub hostess in a since-closed venue. The leering was next level — it was gross.
What song would you like played at your funeral?
Jorja Smith’s Goodbyes is beautiful. She’s such a talent. I’d like it to be a celebration of my life more than a very sad affair. I want to donate all my usable organs to people who need them, then nourish a tree or whatever the quickest route back into nature is by then.
Fionnuala will be judging the Fleetwood Paints Challenge at the PTSB Ideal Home Show at RDS Simmonscourt this weekend. idealhome.ie
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