More and more people are opting to switch professions in midlife. We talk to three people who have taken the plunge
Una Carmody, Al Higgins and Louise Kennedy have all gone through midlife career changes. Photographs: Ellius Grace/New York Times and Tom Honan
Have your say on honouring Irish women: Are there any Irish streets, buildings, places or structures that should be named, or renamed, after women?The 2 Johnnies – what you get if you feed Ant and Dec a Tayto sandwich after midnight – are taunting us now What did she like about cooking? “I never thought about another single thing except what I was doing, just the cooking I was doing,” she says. “To me that absorption is bliss. If you’re doing any kind of organisational job in the arts, you are actually thinking about 20 different things all at the same time. Cooking is complicated but straightforward. You’ve got one job to do. So I find that really enjoyable and relaxing. You’re feeling and tasting and looking and hearing.
What was it like? “The meeting was really excruciating because everyone else in the room seems to have been involved in some kind of creative practice, and I didn’t think that cooking counted. I do now. But when I went home that night and started to try and write a short story, I figured, ‘Okay, this is making me feel better on some level.’”
She also thinks that cooking made her highly sensitive to sensory input. “A kitchen is a highly sensory environment and you don’t just cook with taste and smell. It’s not all just about taste and smell. You know by touch whether a steak is ready. You know, if you’re plating some dishes, and there’s a change in sound on a pan behind you, you know that that needs attention. I think it probably helps with whatever descriptive abilities I have.
What’s his verdict on being a musician now? “You never really feel secure in your job,” he says. “It’s not like you get a pay cheque at the end of the month. There’s a lot of pressure and a lot of ups and downs. I really enjoyed it but I found the experience quite unsettling at times in that you’re constantly chasing something bigger and better. Being in a band is often just a series of let-downs with the occasional really significant moment that makes you think, ‘Oh, this is worth it.
Does his new work feel meaningful? It does, he says. “Every day is different. There are days where you can leave work thinking, ‘I didn’t handle that well’ but then other days, , ‘Wow, that was amazing, that that kid did that.’”
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