Georgian LimerickLimerick has changed more in the last five years than it did in the previous 30. The centre of the city is transformed, but what's very attractive is how the city has turned around to face the river. When I was growing up, it seemed that the city was turning its back on the river. But the glory of Limerick for me is its Georgian architecture, coming up towards the Crescent; those beautiful side streets; Barrington Street; Pery Square; the corner of Mallow Street on a sunny day. It's glorious.

Tom Collins' PubI live in Mayo, and to be honest I don't get down to Limerick as often as I'd like. I try and bring my kids, Clara and Oscar, down to see their granny as often as I can. In terms of work, it could be three of four months before I get down. When I am around, my favourite pubs would be Tom Collins's, the White House and Nancy Blake's. It's a holy trinity of sorts.

Having an artistic upbringingMy mother dragged myself and my brother Myles to everything when we were young. Every time the Vienna Boy's Choir was at the Cecilian Hall I was down there. The Quarry Players, the College Players, all the local music societies; we were brought along to everything. As a nine-year-old boy it's the last thing you want to do, but it rubbed off. All that stuff goes into your subconscious and you never where and when it's going to come out.

Alone It StandsIt's the kind of thing you dream of. I never imagined that something like that would happen to me. It's a once in a lifetime thing, and unfortunately it was my first play, so it's a hard act to follow! For something to be truly universal it has to be very specific, and Alone It Stands is very specific to Limerick sport and Limerick culture. We rehearsed it in Limerick; Rhys Ellison taught the actors the Haka; the actors hung out in local bars, listening to the accents; I based all the characters on guys who used to come into my dad's pub. It was a real labour of love; a celebration of what life can be.

Terry Devlin and Mike FinnTerry helped me a lot at the start of my career. I owe a lot to him and Mike Finn, and my brother Myles as well. But Terry and Mike set up Island Theatre Company, and did it when there was very little profit in it for them. Coming from graduating at UCD and working with the Abbey in Dublin, I joined Island back in the late 80s and I worked as Terry's assistant director for about two or three years. I always kept in connection with Island, and on the back of that, I got a job in Mayo in 1999. Actually, the first play I did with Yew Tree Theatre was Alone It Stands, and Island actually put some money into that. The saw it was a local guy and a local story and was the sort of thing they should support. I'd have huge loyalty to Island and have to say I'm very sorry that it's no longer with us.

Giving theatre new dimensionsA kind of intimacy between the actors and the audience breaks the fourth wall. We won the best production award at Unfringed for The Magic Boy, a play which has a lot of interaction to it. Every time I write something I'm always looking for a way to do something new with theatre. With this, we've magic tricks and a very special effect where a boy levitates on stage. There's a lot of competition out there, and it's hard to get people into the theatre. I like to think that if you offer them something new and exciting, people will find it attractive.

The creative heart of the cityThere's a great phrase: "a crisis is a terrible thing to waste". I suppose that Limerick has an opportunity to reinvent itself. Even if one theatre company goes, you've got the art college, the college of music, Daghdha Dance company. There's still a vibrant cultural heart in Limerick City. Resources may be in short supply, but we ran Island on a shoe string for 10 years and did great work. You can throw €200 million at a movie and have a dinosaur walk across screen, but all you need for good theatre is good actors and good writing, and there's no shortage of that in Limerick.

Discovering the countyI was a rugby guy and played for Garryowen and my school St Enda's. But in the summer, if you'd a bicycle, you could go to the Clare Glens, Curragh Chase - Limerick was a wonderful place to grow up. Have bicycle, will travel, and in my memory it was always sunny! Limerick is so close to some fantastic natural amenities. Of course there's Kilkee just down the road, and like the rest of Limerick I loved de-camping there every summer.