A New Life: When Tess Maguire was out of work, she turned to her lifelong interest in theatre, writes Brian O'Connell
Almost as soon as I greet Tess Maguire in the lobby of the Metropole Hotel in Cork, she instinctively produces a notebook and begins taking notes.
"I just have a few questions before we start," she says, before carefully jotting my responses in her pad. For Maguire, almost two decades working as a PA means old habits die hard, and the instinct to record information had more to do with routine than any conscious attempt at role reversal on her part.
Born in Dublin, Maguire moved to New York when she was four years old and from an early age displayed an aptitude for both maths and science. A straight A student, her grades led her to study engineering at the prestigious Georgia Institute of Technology.
"I enjoyed some of the challenge of it and it was my first time away from home," she says, "but I think once I got there, I found I hadn't prepared myself for what being an engineering student involved.
"It was unusual at the time for a female to study the course. I think there was something like eight males for every female in the university. I couldn't handle the calculus; it just didn't gel in my head. After the first year I knew I was in trouble. I tried another year and decided it wasn't working and so I left."
Shortly after leaving college, Maguire fell in love and got married. She was 21 and began picking up work as a secretarial assistant. Over the next decade she would continue to work in administration, yet as she says herself, "I tended to move sideways instead of upwards."
Although not the world's fastest typist, Maguire began to develop strong people skills, and worked to a high level with companies such as the National Geographic and Ernst & Young.
"I loved working at National Geographic. It was in the New York office, in the early 1990s, and I was the secretary for the sales personnel.
"I also worked for the New York advertising manager. The role meant being her right hand essentially, from event planning to organising her diary."
Yet, after years of work, Maguire longed for a change of scenery, and given that she had an Irish passport she moved to Dublin, where she found similar work with various employment agencies.
The change in living standards took some adjusting, yet Maguire soon found her way to a high-profile PA position.
"When I first came to Ireland in 1997, I was coming from an upper west side Manhattan apartment, with a large sittingroom, bedroom and a big bathroom. When I got to Dublin, I moved into a 10-by-10 postage-size apartment, which if you changed your mind you probably had to open a door or window!
"Eventually one of my temp jobs took me to the National Blood Bank where I filled in as PA for the national medical director. When the job was advertised I applied for it and was lucky enough to get it."
The role involved running the office when the director was away, from arranging meetings, to typing, filing, speaking to reporters and fielding calls.
It was a highly pressurised environment, yet Maguire found the work rewarding and engaging.
After four years in Dublin, Maguire remarried, and when her husband was offered employment in Cork, she decided to leave her post and seek employment on Leeside.
Yet it was becoming more difficult for her to secure contracts and Maguire began to consider her options.
"After 2000 there seemed to be a lot of upheaval in the job market, I wasn't as successful finding regular positions. When you don't get interviews for permanent jobs, you start to feel that maybe your skill set needs to be examined.
"My husband was very supportive and told me to do whatever was going to make me happy.
"I was on social welfare for a while which I found very hard, given that I was used to getting up and keeping busy. I then began looking at educational opportunities."
Two years ago, Maguire decided to advance her lifelong interest in theatre to the next level and, through the help of a back-to-education scheme, enrolled for a theatre performance course at Coláiste Staiofáin Naofa in Cork.
"The course has been one good turn for me after another," says Maguire. "I'm now in my second year, which wasn't mandatory, but I felt I needed it. The staff have been more supportive than I could have hoped.
"Sometimes people have an odd view of arts but I treat it like any other job.
"If you put in the effort and are willing to learn and listen, then people will give you that next step or point out the next opportunity."
While the course doesn't finish until next June, already Maguire has experience working on a professional production under her belt.
For the moment though she is still enjoying the variances of her day, and intent on gaining as much experience as possible to help bolster her chances of employment.
"There is no such thing as a typical day! This morning I worked on an outline for a film script and then booked part of a show for children for Halloween. I spoke to some people about an upcoming play, and this evening I go to rehearsals. When I get home I'll work on an upcoming production. I have one or two other shows lined up, both working on the production side of things and as a performer. I always claim to be an actor. I also have found out I have a talent for producing and I'm not too bad at marketing. All in all I couldn't be more content right now."