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On Curracloe beach with my family in Wexford, circa 1980, after a swim.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 6 September 2014 source ↗
The question
What period or moment in your life brought you the most joy?Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
Asked in 52 of the 131 consecutive instalments of The Guardian's The Q&A harvested on 2026-08-29.
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Others on this question
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Mary J Blige
American singer and actress
When I was little kid, before I knew what worrying was about.
My first week in New York in 1978, when I was about to start as a writer at Time. And my first week in the south of France after retiring from my job of 25 years as editor of Vanity Fair.
Joan Jett
American singer, songwriter and guitarist
My teenage years in the Runaways: I was still naive enough to think good things about the world and life and people, and I was having fun playing rock’n’roll around the world, living the dream.
Edward Fox
British actor
Aside from family life, which is the ultimate happiness, when I see or hear a great artist.
More from Dermot O'Leary
View profile →My parents for the roots; my old parish priest, Father Arthur Barrow, for the fire and the reason; Richard Curtis for the drive and humanity; and, for living in the public eye with principles, George Clooney.
I had my heart broken a lot in my teens, but I'm not sure I'd change it.
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