RTE children's TV presenter Emma has just written a children's book 'The Misadventures of Max' the proceeds from which go to charity
I'm an awful home bird. I'm in Limerick whenever there is an opportunity. I'm working this Saturday but I always try and get home whenever I can because I have a house in Limerick with my boyfriend. In Dublin I mainly miss my family - you're home is your home and that's where my family are.
I am feeling terribly sorry for an awful lot of people at the moment. The flooding is horrific, especially at Christmas, because that's when people become very house proud- visitors are calling around, and people are hoping to put up their Christmas tree and the lights. Unfortunately, a lot of people aren't going to get to do anything like that this Christmas. More so than anything I feel very, very sorry for the people who have lived in their - I won't say houses because it's their homes - for 40 years or 50 years. I'm not saying that I want it to happen to me because if it happened to me in the morning I would be devastated, but you would cope and you would move on and start again. But for somebody who has been in their home for 40 or 50 years all your memories are washed away. What are you going to do? You can't recreate all that.
I am a city girl and I like being a city girl. A lot of people say 'oh where do you go out in Dublin - the big smoke?'. I don't go out a lot in Dublin - I don't hugely enjoy it to be honest. I miss the general social scene in Limerick because it's really good. It's not that there is anything wrong with it in Dublin - it's just that I prefer going out in Limerick. I prefer the craic, the people are better craic. I love live music. Limerick is brilliant for live music. There is loads of it available in Limerick and that's one of the big things I miss is the real live scene of music - there is nothing like it.
I wrote my first book when I was 11 or 12. It was a story book called My Amazing Journey. It was like an Alice in Wonderland story. I wrote it in school. The teacher at the time Sr Ita encouraged us to do it during out Christmas holidays. When I was in first year, I was about 13, I wrote another book of poetry - there was about 25 poems in it. I wrote a poem about Limerick in it - The Beauty of Limerick it was called. My music teacher put music to it and I sang for all the Americans in Adare Manor.
It was great to get it on the Toy Show. That's really what opened all the doors for us to get the book into all the nationwide stores. The Toy Show is one of the biggest plugs of the year. I had set myself the task during the summer of literally writing it - getting it done, tweaking it, editing it. There are eleven poems in The Misadventures of Max all together - such as Max the Musician, Max the Magician, Max the teacher, Max the tennis player and Max the tv presenter. The money goes towards the Baby Max Wings of Love Fund. It's a 100 per cent donation from all involved and I want to thank everyone who has supported it.
I get up at about a quarter to seven in the mornings at the latest, and I would be in RTE for about quarter to eight. I am on camera from nine o'clock until around one o'clock. It depends on the recording. If it goes out live you would be on longer, like I was on air today until about two. It just depends on the schedule. Coming up to Christmas you have to record a bit more to get ahead and then after Christmas, we do a lot of live stuff. It's basically so people can take Christmas holidays.
An ambition which is in the back of my head is - I would love to be in an Irish film. I really would love that. Something like the Showbands where you could record all the music.
Limerick people are so positive. They push you forward so much. Like all the messages I have got on Facebook over the last week since the book came out. All my friends in school as well as people I would have never have met in my life have left messages on Facebook saying that their little boy or little girl have written the book down on their list for Santa. It's so nice.
You can't be in children's television long-term - there is a lifespan. The natural progression, I suppose is to go to a slightly older age category eventually. I'm perfectly happy at the moment. I'm really enjoying working on the younger children's section. This year they have changed it whereby Socky goes to school half way through the show so that in the second half of the show I am by myself so there is a lot of focus on writing. I'm writing songs every week.
Interview: Áine Fitzgerald
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