Cathy Seeney

Cathy Sweeney: ‘I spent so many years in a desperate struggle to do things right’

Teacher-turned-author on her debut short story collection and why she has given up on trying to be ‘normal’

Niamh Donnelly

Wed, Mar 11, 2020

“Oh, I’m really bad at this.” I’ve asked Cathy Sweeney to tell me about herself. We’re in Avoca Ballsbridge ahead of the release of her debut short story collection, Modern Times. We’ve never met, but it seems she’s done her research, because already she’s recounted a number of things she knows about me. Isn’t that my job? “I’m really nosy,” she tells me, later. But nosy isn’t quite the word. Curious, you might say – sensitive, perceptive. Like many writers, Sweeney seems more interested in seeing than being seen.