Dr Deirdre Lundy is a GP and menopause specialist. She is the clinical lead for the complex menopause service at the National Maternity Hospital.
How agreeable are you? It depends on the day. I’m certainly 70 per cent. I do dig in sometimes, probably when I shouldn’t. And I’m probably more biddable on things I should really hold fast for. Less than I should be, is probably the kindest way to answer that question.
What’s your middle name and what do you think of it? Mary – and I love it. I’m a New Yorker, and my mother wanted to call me Deirdre after the pagan queen, and the parish priest was like “no bloody way. You’ve got to have a Catholic saint in there”. Her name’s Mary, so she stuck a Mary in there.
Where is your favourite place in Ireland? I go up the Wicklow hills every Thursday. I like to be high, high, high above the lakes of Glendalough. It’s so pretty and we’re so lucky to have it literally within a quick drive away.
Describe yourself in three words. Noisy. Naughty. Genuine.
When did you last get angry? This morning. A man on the phone wasn’t hearing my side of the story. I have a short attention span and a short fuse. My daughter has me diagnosed with ADHD – she’s probably right. I go from zero to a hundred way too quick. But I think I’m getting better, and if I just live another 60 years I might actually get there.
What have you lost that you would like to have back? I want babies again. I was such a good sexual health parent that I’ve got approaching-middle-aged children and not a grandchild. I miss having babies around the house. I don’t want mine. I don’t want that. I don’t want to do the work again. But I want little kids around. Society, with the way it is now – nobody can afford a home, and people’s careers. In certain socio-economic groups, we don’t become grandparents until we’re much, much older. When my mother was my age, she had about four or five grandkids. She enjoyed them so much more than she enjoyed us. And I was really looking forward to that. And here I am at 63 and there’s not a grandchild that I’m aware of. I’m like “Jesus Christ guys, what are we waiting for?” And now they’re mad at me for putting that on them!
What’s your strongest childhood memory? My parents were kind of oddish. They wouldn’t be typical of other people’s parents. And among their very many peculiarities is, every single night, when we would say grace, which we did before dinner every night, we had to guess what feast day was it? What saint’s day was it? And nobody cared and nobody knew. We thought the stupidest thing we ever heard of was St Blaise, because he was the patron saint of throats, which is a very specific body part that you wouldn’t think would require its own patron saint. We thought it was ridiculous, so every single night, 365 days in a row, me and my brother and sisters would all guess St Blaise, knowing that once a year, February 3rd, we would be correct. He’s like the patron saint of our family.
Where do you come in your family’s birth order, and has this defined you? I’m the oldest. It has totally defined me. I’ve been mom since I was six years old. And now my poor mom is in a nursing home and my dad is dead, so I really am kind of mom now.
What do you expect to happen when you die? I’m fearful that nothing will happen. I’m hopeful that I’ll get to see people I haven’t seen in a while.
When were you happiest? Now. Because I love my work. My family is in a good place. My kids are sorted, for the most part. So much of my time now is driven by what I would like to do, not what I have to do. And I anticipate, God willing, if my health holds out, that that should get even better.
Which actor would play you in a biopic about your life? Melissa McCarthy. I don’t know a lot about her. I haven’t really Googled her, but she comes across as having no filter and has a big Irish head on her.
What’s your biggest career/personal regret? I genuinely don’t have one. Any opportunity that I didn’t take or I didn’t get, I really do believe in a karmic thing. Stuff that I thought I needed to do, or didn’t achieve, it just works out.
Have you any psychological quirks? I am nothing but psychological quirks ... I’m mad as a hatter – self diagnosed.
