Maura’s life Lessons: After a difficult year, RTÉ star Maura Derrane speaks about the death of her beloved sister Rita, finding her feet on radio, and why we all need to take control of our own health and happiness
As a child growing up in Inis Mór, Maura Derrane was the quiet one, and whenever she had to get up and read, her heart would race, her palms would sweat and she would develop a stammer. Over the years Maura learned to conquer her fear of public speaking through performing on stage with amateur drama groups and continually stepping outside of her comfort zone in her broadcasting career.
Another time we had Patrick McKeown, a breath expert on, who explained that we should breathe through our noses, not our mouths, to take in more oxygen and calm the body. Mouth breathing can cause issues like sleep apnoea. That interview has had 2.8 million views on RTÉ’s social media. There have been so many highlights. We also did a piece on Prannie Rhatigan, who is a medical doctor and author of the Irish Seaweed Kitchen. Her knowledge is incredible.
To overcome my nerves, I joined the Taibhdhearc theatre group in Galway. It’s a famous theatre, where Siobhán McKenna and many others started. I auditioned for a play and got the lead role. My fear was always of people looking at me, even more so than the barrel of a camera. Performing on stage was even more daunting, but working with other actors in amateur drama forced me to face my fear and eventually overcome it.
I wake up like a Duracell Bunny with naturally good energy. I’m now a bouncy, talkative person, but as a child, I would hide when people came into the house. I believe it is a journey to becoming who you are in life, you don’t necessarily stay the way you were born, but you evolve. My personality only started to form in my teenage years.
Your dad got very ill when you were young which left him struggling, was that difficult to live with as a child?
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