Mary Coughlan: I was surprised how quickly I accepted my gigs were just gone - until lockdown I didn't think I could work at home

It hasn't changed that much, actually - coffee, a quick glance at the Irish Times and then I head out for a walk.

Breakfast is usually porridge, but sometime I'll mix it up with poached eggs and a slice or two of salmon.

Some protein and a salad - simple.

Five out of seven evenings I'll cook and everything changes according to the weather. I love Mexican food, Thai, Italian and Indian dishes. I like cooking something different every time, or least trying to... Sometimes, my evening meal will be a more simple affair like a baked spud and butter - often, that is all I desire.

It's been very difficult and until the lockdown I never thought it was possible to work from home. I did manage to do some gigs from my garden with my band, which were hugely successful, but there is nothing that can replace live music with an audience.

I've tried them all - probably a curry. I make a lot of curries.

It's kinda hard to know when the weekend starts at the moment as every day has been pretty much the same. My kids and grandkids come over at the weekend and that's always a treat for me.

I have tried to walk every day but found that from January to April 2021, it was particularly difficult to motivate myself. I have started working on a new project, recreating an old Peggy Lee album called Mirrors, so that has been a great focus, mentally.

Walking.

I read, listen to music and of course I've been watching box sets. It has been good to get caught up with an awful lot of stuff I'd missed.

I don't drink alcohol - I went into rehab 28-and-a-half years ago and have been alcohol-free ever since. I am a coffee fanatic, though - coffee and water are my favourite 'tipples'.

False Witness by Karin Slaughter.

Grace and Frankie.

How quickly I accepted that every gig I'd planned were just gone. In recovery, one of the first things you learn is 'acceptance' so I had to accept that was just the way things were and there was absolutely nothing I can do about it. At the beginning, though, I was really, really, really upset because I had 35 gigs and festivals - including Glastonbury - all over Europe and Scandinavia and they were just cancelled, virtually overnight. And what was worse was the rescheduling - six times before they were cancelled again. I found the constant rescheduling even harder to deal with.

I've had my moments; 2020 was mostly okay, but I really struggled this year. Now, thankfully, I'm doing very well; the gigs have started up and summer should be good.

Seeing people, the spontaneity of going out to movies and gigs and, of course, travel. All my kids are close by, though, so that was great.

I don't know; three or four months ago I was wishing to be somewhere else, but that feeling too has passed. I'll be happy to travel for gigs and one day I'll get to the Caribbean...

Constant rabbiting on - I think all news sources have been doom and gloom merchants.

No, they are still the same - my priorities have been, and still are, family, work and music. During the pandemic, I realised the importance of my family more than ever. I have five children and six grandchildren and they are the most important thing in my life. I also realised that I don't work as hard as I did before this virus arrived - during 2018/19, I wrote a play, I rehearsed, I had concerts and was running all over the world; now when I look back, I really don't know how I did it. Last week I did one outdoor gig in Co Tipperary and afterwards I was knackered.

No, not really, but I did resurrect an old hobby - baking brown bread and making rhubarb and apple crumbles. I baked brown bread for everyone and made crumbles for the neighbours. It is therapeutic, baking, but it is upsetting afterwards when you stand on the scales.

I would like to see better services for people who are affected by abuse and violence - generally more available help for those who desperately need it.

No. If there is one thing we have always been sure of in this life, it is the certainty of leaving it some day, so that knowledge hasn't changed. I do worry about the planet more, though, and after watching David Attenborough's documentary, Our Planet, I think we all need to think more seriously about helping our world to survive.