What's your earliest holiday memory? I'm 36, and when we were going on holidays we didn't do continental holidays. In the summers we would go to my granny's house in Clonfanlough, Co Offaly, for two or three weeks. I remember four or five of us barrelling down the road in a Ford Escort for an 80-mile journey which took four hours on the old road. Holidays were great – simple and straightforward
What was your worst holiday? In 1997 I went to Port El Kantaoui, in Tunisia, to stay in a magnificent five-star hotel. But, with my fair hair and skin, every time I went outside I got hassled and intimidated. I had an awful time and couldn't leave the complex, as it wasn't a very pleasant experience outside the hotel. Tunisia was a new tourist destination and spectacular as long as you were happy to stay in the hotel for two weeks. It was a nightmare, and after the first day outside I wanted to go home.
What was your best holiday? In Lanzarote in 2002 we treated ourselves to a villa in Playa Blanca. I had just returned from working at the World Cup in Japan for six weeks, and our daughter Hannah was a new baby, so a hotel complex would have meant buggies up and down the stairs. The villa was stunning, with our own swimming pool at the back door, and we had fantastic weather. We also rented a car and toured the island. It remains the best holiday – just perfect. We love Lanzarote for the history, the volcanic landscape. We have been back there eight times.
If budget or work were not a restriction, what would be your dream holiday? I'm lucky with my job that I get to go to fabulous places, but I usually end up there on my own. I was in Sydney, in Australia, for the Olympics in 2000, and I always said I'd love to go back. Flying long haul is so cramped, but if I could travel business class I'd love to bring my family to Australia and New Zealand.
What's your favourite place in Ireland? Clonfanlough, the area of my childhood summers. It's near Shannonbridge and Clonmacnoise, and family is there, so it is a special place. I go there at any chance, as it is completely away from city life and is peaceful and quiet.
Your recommended holiday reading? I have a quiet obsession about JFK and love reading about him. When I was away last year I read three books about JFK, Bobby, the Kennedy family and the Kennedy history with Ireland from cover to cover.
Where will you go to next? I've a busy summer ahead, with the Confederations Cup football and the GAA all through the summer. Hopefully we will go to Lanzarote or mainland Spain in October.
Darragh Maloney presents the Confederations Cup on RTÉ television from tomorrow until June 28th
In conversation with Genevieve Carbery