Tell me about . . . The joy of being a grandmother

Alice Taylor explains why she’s celebrating nanas in her newly-launched book

Where did you get the idea for your new book ‘The Nana’? 

The idea was seeded many years ago at a book signing when chatting with people who had wonderful memories of summer holidays spent with their country grandmothers. It was often the only experience of country living that these children ever had. 

As a result these adults now felt a huge sense of gratitude to those grandmothers long gone but leaving behind a legacy of wonderful memories. A curiosity about the whole nana and grandchild relationship grew. I talked to family members and friends about their memories of their nanas and discovered a whole reservoir of memories waiting to be harvested. That’s what I have attempted to do in my book.

What’s your favourite thing about being a nana? 

I have six grandchildren and they reintroduce you to the little wonders of the ordinary world that you may have forgotten. 

Last week I went picking chestnuts with my six-year-old grandchild and was delighted to rediscover the joy of splitting open the prickly exterior casing revealing the deep rich glistening chestnut enshrined within. And with Christmas on the horizon grandchildren really open the door back into the joys of that season. They bring their sense of wonder into your world. 

What memories do you have of your own nanas?

My maternal grandmother lived back the road from us  to the grand old age of 98. We called her Nana Ballyduane, the title of the townland in which she lived. She had a huge influence on our lives. I never knew my paternal grandmother as she had died years before I was born. However hanging on the wall of our parlour was a large picture of her which kept her alive in our minds. We referred to her as Grandmother Taylor. These two women were the first generation to be born after the Great Famine so were reared in an Ireland still reeling from that terrible time. This resulted in strong women of great substance and endurance. 

They should be saluted and remembered. So in many ways the book is my attempt to acknowledge them and all the other nanas who came after them and have strongly influenced Irish life. 

• The Nana is published by O’Brien Press.