Colm Tóibín: How an Irish boy with a stammer found his voice

Colm Tóibín is a celebrated Irish writer, but as a child words didn't come easily. Navigating grief as a boy when his father died, he developed a stammer. Instead of talking, Colm watched and listened, collecting stories that wove their way into his novels. He's won a string of awards and been nominated for the prestigious Booker Prize three times. His novel Brooklyn was made into a movie starring Saoirse Ronan and was up for several Oscars. He finds it hilarious that although he was invited to the event he had to be ushered in through a back door – the red carpet is apparently not for novelists. Beyond his writing, Colm was a vocal campaigner for the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Ireland. He’s also breaking taboos by speaking openly about testicular cancer and highlighting some of the comedy moments from those bleak times.

His latest book is called A Long Winter.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen

Producer: Andrea Kennedy

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(Photo: Colm is looking straight in to the camera with a thoughtful expression. He's wearing a white, open-necked shirt. Credit: Emanuele Spina)