Who are you, where are you from and what do you do?
My name is Kathleen Woumans I manage the post office in Leap.
I was born in Belgium and came to live in Ireland as a child, County Kerry at first where I went to school in Tralee.
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I moved to West Cork in 1996 and have been calling Leap my home for the last 25 years or so.
I guess you could say I was born in Belgium, bred in Kerry and buttered in West Cork.
What was the most unexpected gift you’ve ever received for Christmas?
About 30 years ago I received a full set of Le Creuset pots and pans from a nice guy, I had been dating for about a month, needless to say the man did not last very long after that but the pots are still going strong.
What is your favourite childhood memory of Christmas?
All my favourite Christmas memories are of time spent in both my respective grandparent’s houses with all the uncles, aunts and cousins, my paternal grandparents lived in a very old theatre where myself and the cousins roamed around the dressing rooms (like a giant dress up box with real swords and all) we even discovered the old stables once.
In my maternal grandparent’s house, we used to have to sing a song before opening a present, with such a big family it went on for hours with many chats, laughs and cheers in between, it was brilliant.
Santa does not come to the children in Belgium, so there was never any scramble for presents in the morning.
We do have Sinterklaas who come on the 6th of December.
Name two celebrity guests, alive or dead, that you would invite to your Christmas party, and why?
No celebrities at our Christmas party thank you very much, (especially dead ones! That would just be creepy) unless they are close friends or family.
Something that’s not a Christmas tradition, but it should be - what is it?
To sing a song or recite a poem before opening gifts.
What is your favourite thing about a West Cork Christmas?
To be honest, I tend to head back to Kerry for Christmas where I spend it with my oldest and dearest friends and their kids.
But I do love the run up to Christmas in West Cork because there are so many brilliant markets where incredibly talented people showcase and sell their wares.
If Santa could give talents as gifts, what one would you like and why?
I have always wanted to be able to play the wooden flute as I love the sound of it, or write a book about my family’s life as it is an extraordinary story.
If I could wake on Christmas morning with the ability to do either I would be over the moon, however, I reckon both just need practice and patience so I would also be happy with a bit more of that.
What was the best thing about 2025?
Surely that has to be living in West Cork during the summer of 2025.
Health, wealth and wellbeing aside, what are your hopes for 2026?
I know it sounds like a cliché but please can we stop the wars, the killing, and starvation of so many innocent people all over the world?
If Santa could give many of the world leaders a bit of common sense and decency, I would forgo any Christmas present for the rest of my life.
