What drives you and where did the creative ideas for your books come from?

I always like to have a project on the go and writing is something that has interested me all my life. My creativity is born of my own life experience. That old adage 'write about what you know' certainly applies in both of my books.

'Wuthering Heights' by Emily Brontë was on the curriculum for my Leaving Cert Exam. Thanks in part to the enthusiasm of my English teacher, this book thoroughly gripped my teenage imagination with its powerful and dramatic story of Cathy and Heathcliff and I began to realise I too was surrounded by a wealth of writing material in my own little world. Less dramatic material perhaps, but worthy nonetheless.

I was reared in a single-parent household in an era when that family dynamic was the exception rather than the rule. Certainly in those days, non-widowed single parenting was 'unfashionable', viewed with an undeniable level of disdain and never seen as a positive force.

This upbringing of mine is what has always driven me. On paper, my chances in life probably didn't look great to the 'powers that be' of that time. I was a very average student and I missed a lot of school due to various ailments; not quite a delicate child, but certainly susceptible to illnesses. Try as I might, I wasn't sporty or musical, but I always had a way with words and if you were to believe my mother (who wasn't biased in any way!) I was very practical and had a lot of common sense.

I started writing verse in my teenage years. Anytime a special occasion arose I would compose and recite a piece especially for it. But I always felt there was a book in me.

Then in 1997, soon after the death of my bachelor uncle (Tom Cleary, former Munster rugby captain & member of the Irish touring party to South Africa and Rhodesia in 1961), we found a suitcase full of his of rugby memorabilia and the seed of my first book 'Suitcase Number Seven-a rugby story with a difference' was planted. To my delight, it was very well received a few years later when I launched it, even featuring as Rugby World Magazine's book of the month.

One review in particular was very encouraging.  'There must be another book in her - but don't miss this one," it read, little knowing that life would intervene and it would take almost 20 years for that prediction to come true.

Your recent book 'Snappin Twine' is a nostalgic collection of verses and vignettes about the women/neighbours that impacted you as a child growing up. Tell us why you wanted to write this book?

Snappin' Twine had been twirling around in my head for quite some time when I decided to stop procrastinating & just jump in and write it!

Through all of my young life, I was surrounded by wonderfully resilient female role models. I wanted to record the stories of their vibrancy and pay tribute to their lives before they became forgotten altogether. These run-of-the-mill women were feminists in their own way...  but not in an organised fashion. Pre-feminists on the cusp of change if you like.

Even though they lived within the social constraints of the day, they were quite ingenious in how they continuously stretched the margins of their world and in many ways they were 'influencers' (to use a modern word!) in the social and legal progress that began for women in the early 1970s. They were all so ALIVE with interest, energy and inventive ideas.

"It's a book of memories ... about powerful emotional connections and what it was like living through those times. The simplicity of it ... but also its dynamism. While the stories are local, the themes are universal, for example, love, self-determination, autonomy, inclusion, coming-of-age and change ... all life experiences relatable to a wide audience"

The title was inspired by my own shopkeeper mother's ability to snap twine with her bare hands. As a child growing up, the raw power of it amazed me.

Independent female role models have certainly come a long way from the 1960s. Who do you think is making an impact now in the world?

There are so many modern female role models to choose from it's difficult to single someone out. If I were to opt for an older person, Mary Kenny, journalist, playwright and broadcaster, would be up near the top of my list. As a founding member of the Irish Women's Liberation Movement, she was one of the country's first and foremost feminists, and I think she continues to talk a lot of sense.

My choice for a young international female role model would have to be Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani female education activist and 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. She has become a voice for education and equality around the world.

In Ireland, I am full of admiration for Jillian McNulty, a woman who's not afraid to stand up and be counted, someone who's won three awards for her advocacy in the area of cystic fibrosis care.

If you had a magic wand, what would you change for future generations of women?

My magic wand of change for future generations of women would be to develop an effective strategy to stop the scourge of domestic violence. From my youngest years, I remember my mother giving non-judgmental, temporary shelter and assistance to women and children in need.

She offered invaluable support and encouragement and taught us kids to listen, and more importantly, to believe the stories these families told us. She helped many women and their children by being their backup and giving them a temporary safety plan and it's something I never forgot.

The current statistics regarding this blight on society are absolutely frightening. Last year, Garda responded to 65,000 cases of domestic abuse, and in 74 per cent of cases in which women were the victims, the perpetrator was a man.

Are there any words of wisdom you were given throughout your life that still resonate with you?

"This day will never come again."

I was left feeling utterly rudderless and without purpose when I was widowed suddenly at 43 years. My husband, Hugh, had always been an advocate of 'this day will never come again,' and it is advice that I've tried to live my life by since. I very slowly gathered myself and, taking baby steps initially, I learned how to live again... albeit differently. I now know how to grasp an opportunity and live in the moment. It works most of the time. And on the rare occasions when I start to slide, I hear his encouraging voice whispering those words in my inner ear.

Website - www.ukcafferty.com

Facebook - Ursula Kane Cafferty

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