Cathy Kelly Joins Sean O’Rourke for a Deeply Personal Conversation on Insights
In the fourteenth episode of the current season of RTÉ’s acclaimed podcast Insights, broadcaster Sean O’Rourke sits down with best-selling author Cathy Kelly for an intimate and wide-ranging conversation.
Cathy Kelly is one of Ireland’s most beloved novelists, with a global readership and commercial success that once saw her outselling literary giants such as J.K. Rowling and Dan Brown. Before transitioning to fiction, Cathy had a distinguished career as a journalist—working as a feature writer, agony aunt, film critic, and columnist. She made her literary debut in 1997 with Woman to Woman, which quickly became a number-one bestseller. After publishing two more successful novels, she left journalism behind to become a full-time writer.
Nearly three decades and 23 novels later, Cathy remains as prolific as ever. Her latest novel, Sisterhood, was released in paperback earlier this year, marking a significant milestone in her career following a personally challenging period. In recent years, Cathy has faced a breast cancer diagnosis, a divorce, the sale of her family home, and a new chapter with a new partner. Despite these upheavals, her writing continues to resonate with readers around the world.
In this episode of Insights, Cathy opens up about the creative challenges, personal transformations, and emotional resilience that have shaped both her life and her work.
On Finding the Right Names for Characters
Cathy reflects on the practical challenges that come with a long writing career—particularly the difficulty of coming up with fresh character names after 23 novels.
“The problem is names because when you’ve written 23 books you’ve gone through all the names you love and adore. And then you get to the point ‘Una’, have I used that name before? So I sit there with baby name books looking for new ones and going, that’s interesting. And of course I love all the great Irish names but they are of course completely impossible for other people to say.” (1:54)
On Irish Names and International Readership
Recalling her debut novel, Cathy shares how cultural assumptions don’t always translate across borders.
“My very first book I had a character called Aisling and I thought that was bog standard, simple, but people couldn’t get that at all.” (2:19)
On the Struggle to Name Books
Naming books, Cathy reveals, is no easier than naming characters. While she’s responsible for many of her titles, it’s often a challenge.
“Titles are tricky. I’ve come up with probably about half of the titles. I came up with Woman to Woman, She’s the One… it is very tricky to get a good title.” (2:30)
On Growth and Experience as a Writer
Cathy speaks candidly about how her writing has matured with age and life experience, especially after becoming a mother.
“I think I’ve definitely developed because when my first book was published I was 30 and I’m now 58, so there’s a lot of life experience that goes into that… My first book actually had a woman with twins in it and I had no clue what it was like having twins at the time—so if I reread it, I dare say I’d see all the flaws.” (4:46)
On Coping with Her Cancer Diagnosis
Addressing her recent breast cancer diagnosis, Cathy explains how her instinct was to protect those around her rather than focus on her own fears.
“That’s a very long story and only my therapist would be interested in it, but I think some of us are just good at coping with difficult things—and I’m one of those people. So when I was diagnosed, really my first thought was taking care of all the people around me.” (13:45)
On Mental Health and Treatment Choices
In one of the episode’s most poignant moments, Cathy talks about the importance of mental wellbeing during treatment and the hard conversations she had with her medical team following her experience with suicidal ideation.
“I talked to PJ about it and I went into the oncologist and they said, ‘Yeah, there’s no point taking a drug to keep you alive that’s going to make you want to kill yourself.’ It rather balances itself out.” (22:19)
On Writing as a Lifelong Passion
When asked about the future, Cathy expresses unwavering love for the craft that has defined her career.
“I think I will [keep writing]. It’s just what I do and I love doing it. It’s a glorious thing to write and I’ve been so lucky.” (31:37)
*Please note this podcast includes a discussion around suicide and a link to the RTE webpage with relevant contacts will be included in the show notes.
ENDS
Notes to Editor:
Insights is a sit-down conversation between Sean O’Rourke and well-known individuals, offering listeners an insight into featured guests’ life, career and passions.
All episodes are available here: Insights with Sean O’Rourke – RTÉ Podcasts