Episode 51
January 8 , 2019
51. Sarah Breen and Emer McLysaght; Co Authors of the ‘Aisling’ books on the Irish Celtic Tiger, Crazy Nights in Berlin and Vegas and Creating the Irish Bridget Jones
A hungover conversation one day in Dublin between two best friends Sarah Breen and Emer McLysaght led to the creation of a loveable character called Aisling, who quickly became a Facebook phenomenon, then two best-selling books is now being made into a film by an Oscar winning production co. This episode explores the quirks of life in every small town, moving to the big city, the wild days of the Irish Celtic Tiger, crazy nights in Berlin, even crazier ones in Las Vegas and so much more.
On this episode we cover:
Oh My God What a complete Aisling
The Importance of Being Aisling
The phenomenon of their character’s success
Turning their friendship into a career
Living the dream
How a hungover idea became Aisling became Facebook phenomena
Who are the people who buy brown mascara
The people who buy boot cut jeans (from the first time round)
Wearing chokers
Free gifts from Brown Thomas in Dublin
Being approached by a publisher
Being approached by an Oscar winning film production company Element Pictures (who produced Room with Brie Larson)
Googling how to write a novel
Plotting the novel in the pub
Thinking no-one would ever read their book
How people have fallen in love with Aisling
Ireland’s being highly sought after as a tourism destination
Small towns the world over
Growing up where everyone knows everyone
The joys (expensive ones!) of Dublin
How tourism is off the charts in Dublin
AirBnB strangling renters and creating a shortage of properties
The insanity of the Celtic Tiger boom
Free drinks and money being splashed around
Why buy one house when you can also buy an apartment off-plan in Bulgaria
Ireland having the highest ownerships of helicopters in the world
Champagne quaffing tradesmen in Irish pubs
The travel magazine dedicated to first class travel
Decking and cocaine all over the country
Patio heaters and hot tubs
The aftermath of the post Celtic Tiger recession (slippy decking for a start)
The current housing shortage in Ireland compared with full AirBnB flats
Dublin being party central
Dodging vomit in Temple Bar on your way to work
Terrifying Dublin seagulls
Terrifying Brighton seagulls chasing babies
Seagull and rabbit myxomatosis
Tiny towns all over Ireland and getting stuck behind a tractor
The dodgy Irish infrastructure
‘The ancient East’ branded by the irish tourism board
The Blackstairs Mountains
How Sarah’s hometown of Borris has become the wedding capital of Ireland
The Borris Viaduct
Emer’s home in Killdare and producing Grand National winners
Wonderful Irish village pubs
Moving out of the village to Dublin
How the journey ‘down home’ in important to many Irish young people who’ve away
Aisling’s Group On travel deals, bringing tea bags to a hotel and the crime of missing the hotel breakfast
Stealing hotel toiletries and dental kits
The wonder of pancake machines and tiny pastries
Aishling’s crazy trip to Berlin – the Berlin Wall or Reichstag, techno clubs and ecstasy
Lisa’s trip to the Kit Kat Club (S&M in Berlin)
Irish gals in Las Vegas and thinking you’re Paris Hilton
How melon is the ultimate filler fruit in the 85 dollar Vegas fruit bowl
The rite of passage of camping in France in the pouring rain
Getting drunk with a box of wine at the campsite disco
What is more environmentally friendly – a box or a bottle of wine?
Their road trip from Phoenix in Arizona to San Diego
Losing a passport at the California border
Confessing to all sorts of crimes in guilt
A seal colony in the hotel lobby in San Diego
Constant emails about vaginal discharge (Sarah working at a teen magazine)
Living in Portland, Oregon. (and Portlandia of course)
Driving down the 101 through wine country and the redwoods
America’s great national parks (and the freedom to have a camp fire)
How America’s great and varied landscapes
Emer’s recent trip to New York
Travelling around Ireland to literary festivals in coastal towns or Cork and Kerry
Ireland’s terrible weather ‘the wild Atlantic way’ another tourist boardism
The emotional connection to Ireland
Ellis Island’s brilliant recreation of the immigrant experience
The Tenement Museum in New York
The great Irish exodus and how this must have felt
The huge wave of emigration from Ireland in the 80s and more
How Canada, Dubai and the Middle East have taken over America as a place for Irish to go to
What’s next for Aisling (the third book and film)
The Irish Bridget Jones – in the Guardian
Aisling’s books arriving in Germany, Serbia, Korea and more
Meeting Marian Keyes and other heroes
Being thrilled to be mentioned in the same breath as other successful Irish authors including Marian Keyes and Cecelia Ahern
Rill Rill and Florence and the Machine
