Yes, but also one of the problems for a novelist in Ireland is the fact that there are no formal manners. I mean some people have beautiful manners but there's no kind of agreed form of manners.

Quote by John McGahern

Topics: John McGahern Quotes

We absolutely believed in Heaven and Hell, Purgatory, and even Limbo. I mean, they were...

We absolutely believed in Heaven and Hell, Purgatory, and even Limbo. I mean, they were...

Amongst Women concentrated on the family, and the new book concentrates on a small community....

Amongst Women concentrated on the family, and the new book concentrates on a small community....

I read all the time. I was reading a book I admire very much by...

I read all the time. I was reading a book I admire very much by...

Ireland is a peculiar society in the sense that it was a nineteenth century society...

Ireland is a peculiar society in the sense that it was a nineteenth century society...

Yes, though I have nothing but gratitude for my upbringing in the church.

Yes, though I have nothing but gratitude for my upbringing in the church.

For example, it's only about 20 years ago the people in that community would have...

For example, it's only about 20 years ago the people in that community would have...

The rosary was said every evening. I always liked that sentence about the medieval Churches,...

The rosary was said every evening. I always liked that sentence about the medieval Churches,...

When I was in my 20s it did occur to me that there was something...

When I was in my 20s it did occur to me that there was something...

I've never written anything that hasn't been in my mind for a long time -...

I've never written anything that hasn't been in my mind for a long time -...

When I start to write, words have become physical presence. It was to see if...

When I start to write, words have become physical presence. It was to see if...

When you're in danger of losing a thing it becomes precious and when it's around...

When you're in danger of losing a thing it becomes precious and when it's around...

I think there's a great difference in consciousness in that same way in that when...

I think there's a great difference in consciousness in that same way in that when...

I belong to the middle class that grew up very influenced by the Catholic church....

I belong to the middle class that grew up very influenced by the Catholic church....

Everything that we inherit, the rain, the skies, the speech, and anybody who works in...

Everything that we inherit, the rain, the skies, the speech, and anybody who works in...

I love the description of Gothic churches before the printed word, that they were the...

I love the description of Gothic churches before the printed word, that they were the...

I think it's linked to the realisation that we're not going to live forever and...

I think it's linked to the realisation that we're not going to live forever and...

My father was very outwardly religious.

My father was very outwardly religious.

But that private world, once it's dramatised, doesn't live again until it finds a reader.

But that private world, once it's dramatised, doesn't live again until it finds a reader.

I think fiction is a very serious thing, that while it is fiction, it is...

I think fiction is a very serious thing, that while it is fiction, it is...

I think that each of us inhabits a private world that others cannot see. The...

I think that each of us inhabits a private world that others cannot see. The...