ALEX WHITE on his holidays
What's your earliest holiday memory?Childhood holidays in Co Sligo on the farm where my mother grew up on the shores of Lough Arrow. I have cherished memories of long sunny days in the meadows, bringing in the cows from the field as evening fell.
What was your worst holiday?Cyprus in 2002. Nothing seemed to work, aside from the sun, which burned us all alive. We had a dodgy apartment, the food was mediocre and the place seemed full of cranky kids (not ours, of course!).
What was your best holiday?The Outer Banks on the North Carolina coast about 12 years ago. Myself and my three US resident brothers took a beach house for a week – there were about 20 people in total, including kids. It was late spring, so not too hot. The food was amazing and the fish was to die for.
If budget or work were not a restriction, what would be your dream holiday?There are loads of places I can't wait to visit – but as the years tick by you don't get around to half the places on your list. My wife is not a great traveller and not as interested in it as I am, so in reality I tend not to travel as often as others do. I've never been to South America and would love to see the Amazon.
If you had your pick, who would you bring on holiday with you? I’d bring my wife because we get on so well. Otherwise, my youngest brother Seamus as he’s a fantastic traveller and travelling is what he seems to do.
What's your favourite place in Ireland?I'm very fond of the Burren where I went cycling recently. It's a truly stunning place at this time of year and you don't need the sun to shine to enjoy it.
Your recommended holiday reading?Since I read Colm Tóibín's The MasterI am completely turned on to Henry James. I haven't read The Portrait of a Ladyor The Wings of the Doveyet. I don't tend to relax on holiday with a novel but tend to read non-fiction instead.
- Alex White is a barrister and Labour senator and prospective candidate for the Dublin South byelection.
- In conversation with Genevieve Carbery