2 COOL FOR SKOOL?

 CATHAL MacCOILLE, BROADCASTER

Where did you go to school?

Moyle Park College, Clondalkin, then Coláiste Mhuire, Parnell Square, Dublin.

Were you cool or were you one of the nerdy kids?

So nerdy I blush at the memory. Awkward, shy, bad hair - badly combed, an occasional swot (the worst kind), and so short-sighted I once headed a goal, in hurling.

Give us an extract of a school report

"Well capable of getting a pass in maths and science if he puts in the work." I never did. I passed, just.

Who was your favourite teacher in primary school? Why?

Brother Urban in Moyle Park. He taught us French (not on the curriculum then). He'd lived there, and had fascinating stories about crazy drivers, fast trains, bike racing, great bread . . . He turned most of us into keen Francophiles.

How about secondary school? Anyone who you liked/inspired you? Why?

Playwright Michael Judge, who taught English as brilliantly to us in 5B class as he did in 5A. Also in Coláiste Mhuire, Seán Ó Conchúir ("Buddha"), who treated us like adults. Not very common in the 1960s.

Did you have a nickname?

Charlie, what else? Right, or proper, was implied.

What was the first music album you bought?

Skara Brae (Mícheál, Mairéad and Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill, and Daithí Sproule). Sounds as good now as when I bought it in 1971.

What's on your iPod now?

Can I get back to you? One of these days.

Who would play you in a movie of your younger days?

Philip Seymour Hoffmann (The Savages).

What posters did you have on your bedroom wall?

The six-in-a-row Shamrock Rovers team that won the FAI Cup in 1969, with stars such as Liam Tuohy, Johnny Fullam, Mick Leech, and Frank O'Neill etc.

Who was your first crush?

She was a girl guide from Drimnagh, I was a boy scout from Clondalkin. She even spoke to me - once.

What did you study in college?

History, philosophy, French.

Regrets? Have you had a few?

Are you serious? Here's an easy one. Not learning to play a musical instrument. However, it's still on my list.