Mad Hatter Q&A - Alan Corcoran: "I'd go nuts if I couldnt' get out and about"

Who would be the last person you would invite to your birthday party?

Theresa May. She seems like minus craic.

Who would be the first person you would invite to your birthday party?

Oprah Winfrey, so I could twist her arm into making my new Unsinkable book an instant bestseller, by including it in ‘Oprah’s Book Club’.

Favourite saying?

“Like herding cats” or “doesn’t know his arse from his elbow.”

Favourite record?

Usain Bolt. 100 metres. 9.58 seconds.

Favourite book?

Full Tilt by Dervla Murphy.

Favourite film?

Cool Runnings with stiff competition from Eddie The Eagle.

Favourite author?

Malcolm Gladwell (nonfiction) and Jo Nesbø (fiction).

Favourite actor / actress?

Tom Hanks.

Favourite musician?

Bob Marley.

Most embarrassing moment of your life?

Sprinting off a stage made of desks to puke while playing the donkey in my primary school’s nativity play.

Favourite food/drink/stimulant?

My mam’s shepherd’s pie with a heap of butter all mashed up like a dog’s dinner.

TV programme?

Ted Lasso.

Favourite TV personality?

Bill Burr.

Favourite item of clothing?

My dad’s Man Utd watch. It’s my only sentimental belonging.

Most desirable date?

Some place with great desserts.

Favourite method of relaxation?

A jog in the woods on a dirt trail.

If you weren’t pursuing your present career, what other career might you have chosen?

Personal trainer.

Biggest thrill?

Cold plunges.

Biggest disappointment?

When my support boat sank and I failed at my first attempt to swim the length of Ireland.

Your concept of heaven?

A warm shower, a hot meal, and my toasty bed after a testing outdoor adventure. Home is great, but home after type 2 fun is heaven.

Your concept of hell?

Being bedridden. I’d go nuts if I couldn’t get out and about.

What would be your dying words?

“Jaysus, that was some craic.”

Greatest ambition?

To inspire others.

Period of history you’d most like to have lived in and why?

The Stone Age. I think I’d have made a decent caveman.

If you weren’t a human being, which animal would you have chosen to be?

My adopted pet cat, Teddy. He has the Life of Reilly that fella.

If you were told that the world was ending tomorrow morning, how would you react/what would you do?

Panic!

Your nominee for the world’s best-dressed person?

Lewis Capaldi – brought Y fronts back in 2022. Iconic.

Favourite term of abuse?

Gobshite.

Biggest fear?

Being an auld fella and thinking I didn’t make the most of my life.

Humanity’s most useful invention?

The printing press.

Humanity’s most useless invention?

The lobotomy.

• Unsinkable is available to watch via the RTÉ Player and Alan Corcoran’s new memoir is out now.