Even today, Ireland is a great country to live in – and an even better country to die in – we are a fantastic nation for the glowing tribute, provided you have popped your clogs. I’m delighted to tell you Olivia O’Leary, featured here, is alive and well and today I’d like to pay tribute to her. She is best known for the essays she writes and delivers on radio. On RTE1 Drivetime her reports are so interesting and insightful that they will often have you glued to the seat. But her work on BBC is also brilliant.

During the week on Between Ourselves on BBC 4 she was interviewing two men, with Aspergers. After an introduction where she spoke about the symptoms she asked one of her interviewees her first question was along the lines of “What was it like to live with the condition?” He answered that no matter where he went he always felt like a tourist. After a very short laugh Olivia O’Leary asked “and are you enjoying your holiday?” Everybody relaxed and so followed a very interesting interview on Aspergers. People with Aspergers find it difficult to hold eye contact because they can take so much information from the other person that it can actually be be painful. You can listen to the podcast HERE I recently bought an Internet Radio – why didn’t someone tell me how good they are?