GENEVIEVE CARBERYspeaks to Feargal Quinn
What's your earliest holiday memory?Waterville, in Co Kerry, aged three and a half. I have memories of sailing paper boats across the lake. My parents opened Red Island holiday camp in Skerries, Co Dublin, when I was 10 years old, so every summer was a holiday – even if I was working as a shoeshine boy, a bingo caller or a photographer.
What was your worst holiday?I have never had a worst holiday. When things went wrong we were determined to make the best of it. I remember one visit to Leningrad, in Soviet times, which was potentially a disaster – shortage of food and so on – but we turned it into a joy and had great fun.
What was your best holiday?Other than our honeymoon – to a little fishing village called Torremolinos, which was glorious and £1 a night for the two of us – a visit to a hotel in the Algarve in 1972. We took part in all activities and became experts at volleyball. On my return I became involved with volleyball and was president of Volleyball Association of Ireland.
If budget or work were not a restriction, what would be your dream holiday?I'd love to visit Gondwanaland – look it up in the atlas and see why!
If you had your pick, who would you bring on holiday with you?My wife might not be too pleased, but I have just read a book about Napoleon Bonaparte's last five years on St Helena, and I'd be thrilled to have his company on holiday. But not on St Helena.
What's your favourite place in Ireland?Probably the Mourne Mountains, as they are full of mythology, history, romance and scenic beauty, with lots to do. My father was from that part of the world, so I go there a bit.
Your recommended holiday reading?The book I'd recommend is The Most Famous Irish People You've Never Heard Of, by Colin Murphy. It includes so many different people who are famous somewhere but we haven't heard of them. There are athletes who won Olympic medals, and a woman from Co Louth who pretended to be a man and served in the Union army in the American Civil War.
Where will you go to next?One place I want to visit but haven't booked yet is the Galapagos islands, off the coast of Ecuador. My son was there two years ago. I'd love to go there to celebrate the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin.
Feargal Quinn is an independent member of Seanad Éireann