There’s a few big loves in Louise Duffy’s life; first and foremost, and it goes without saying, is her family. Her husband, former Kerry GAA man turned Dunnes designer Paul Galvin and their two gorgeous girls, Esme (5) and Elin (2). Her next love is music, and that grá began when she was a child herself, listening to her dad’s old record player, bopping around the house to the tunes of Rod Stewart and Dolly Parton.
A passion which she’s gone on to build a career around, with both tv and radio gigs, but most recently taking up home in RTE studios to present her daily show to over 200,000 keen listeners. Lastly, is fashion and this Mayo lady loves any opportunity to get dressed up – as we found out first-hand on this photoshoot. Chatting away in the beautiful College Green Hotel, Dublin, her eyes lit up as she spied the clothing rail in the corner of our suite.
“I just love this, it’s always so fun – it’s like being a child again, playing dress up in someone else’s wardrobe,” she said with a smile, toying with a pair of printed tights in her hands. “I’m always up for trying something new, something bold, something different and if it doesn’t work, so what, who cares?! It’s not hurting anyone else, and at least I gave it a go.”
And that’s the attitude we want to carry through our lives, in every single aspect.
Louise, how are you keeping?
I’m so good! This shoot was such fun. I loved it.
You seemed to have a lot of fun playing dress up today with our lovely stylist Fiona!
Absolutely, I did! The power of fashion is quite underestimated, in my opinion. There’s real benefits to dressing up and feeling good. There’s a confidence which comes with that, and there’s a fun side too. Fashion to me is important and something I enjoy so much, so a day with you guys, was thrilling.
Is it true that a love of clothes brought you and Paul together initially, well, a Balmain jacket?!
Yes and no. It was talk of a Balmain jacket which brought us together, but sadly I wasn’t wearing one! I don’t know what it was I was wearing, but it wasn’t Balmain! It was the structure of something very similar and the keen eye of my now husband spotted that and found his in for a conversation!
Have you always loved fashion? What’s your earliest fashionable memory?!
I remember at Christmas and Easter, being brought to buy my nice outfit. My mum has sisters and it would have been something we all did together. It was something that I enjoyed and as I grew up with three brothers, I guess I embraced the femininity of fashion. It was always something that I leaned towards.
Do your own girls, Esme and Elin, share your grá for it? Do they play dress up with mam?
I’m relishing in the fact that they’ll still wear what I put them in. I haven’t had any push back yet! Esme has more of an eye for the sparkles. She’s drawn to sequin and bright colours. But that said, they still come home covered in markers and crayons so I’m just letting them be. I’m all for it.
And how are the girls getting on?
They’re great. They’re two and five now, so civilisation is slowly restoring itself! We’re getting sleep and having fun. Elin is coming out of herself and her little personality is developing, and it’s a joy to watch. They’re really good fun at the moment.
Being so close in age, are they thick as thieves or do they bicker?
Esme is endlessly kind to her little sister. That was something we were worried about when having the second child, if she’d feel jealous or pushed out, and it couldn’t have been more opposite. We’re so proud of her. And now that Elin is getting a bit older, we can see a friendship beginning to form and it’s lovely to see.
With their little personalities forming, can you see them taking after you or Paul, or going in their own direction completely?
I’d see similarities of my personality in Esme, and I’d see very distinct similarities between Elin and Paul, and then looks wise we flip that and Paul gets all the credit for Esme and people say Elin looks like my side of the family. It’s fascinating to watch kids who are reared the same, in the same home, given everything the same, but their personalities are distinctly their own. We can present the same things to the children and they’ll react differently. It’s funny and fascinating.
Has Paul been bringing them down to the field to play some GAA yet?
Not yet actually, but we’re big into play dates, dancing, ballet and singing at the moment!
Before retiring, it was a massive part of his life for 17 years. He must miss it, does he?
Ah yeah, for anyone involved in sports, it’s very hard to leave it behind. I don’t know if many really do entirely, in the sense you’ll still be a fan, you’ll be a coach or get into management, there’s many ways for it to develop. That has to be the trickiest part of sport for any athlete. A musician never has to hang up their guitar, they can keep doing that forever so it’s hard to have to stop something you enjoy a lot. I think he, like all sports people, will always miss that part of his life.
He’s flying now with everything else he’s got gong on, particularly with his work with Dunnes. You’re a very fashionable pair, aren’t ya?!
Oh you wouldn’t say that if you saw us on a random Tuesday morning. That would set a very different scene! [laughs].
Do you get involved with it at all, throw in your two cents, when it comes to designs?
The last year has been quite hectic for me, getting into a rhythm with the show. We’ve been quite separate work wise and that’s healthy for us, because we can then come home and talk about our different jobs. For us, work is work and home is an entirely different space.
On that topic of work, how’s everything going with the radio show, have you found your flow?
Oh I love it. I feel very lucky. The show has really found its place. It’s one year now since I started and it took some time to get to know the listeners, what they want and need at that time of the day, and it feels very comfortable now. There’s always something to learn, new music to find, old music to discover, so it’s such an exciting position for me to have. I adore it. I’m thrilled that it’s work, that it’s my job.
Music is such a release for people, does it impact you the same way too?
100 per cent. It’s been a very difficult year on so many levels and more than ever, this little place between 12-1pm was necessary to take a break, a pause and switch off for an hour. The news feed has been quite relentless over the last year. I was quite conscious at some points that I wasn’t acknowledging what was happening in the world, but I was playing music which was an escape for people. I think that it has a very important purpose, music. You can play a song which reflects what’s going on in the world.
It obviously resonated with listeners because the JNLR figures last year saw you sit strong with over 210,000 people tuning in.
I was delighted, and relieved. Ronan Collins had this show for so long and it became such an important part of people’s day and I didn’t want to shake that up or change the purpose of the show in any way. Obviously a new presenter will always bring a new tone and a new personality, but what people needed was music during that time and it’s what they need now, so I was happy and relieved that listeners gave me a chance and stuck with me. I’m very lucky. I’ve done jobs which haven’t suited, and I’ve been on radio shows which haven’t worked for me either, so it’s great to find a place that feels right.
Your name was bandied around a lot when it came to the Late Late Show last year before Patrick Kielty got it, but would returning to telly in some capacity be of interest?
Absolutely! I presented the Ballycotton Sessions which was a joy, and the foundation of that was music so if something was a good fit and complimented what I do in my day job, which is this radio show, absolutely it’s something I’d love to do and hopefully this year
could bring something like that.
Tell us Louise, what inspired you to get into this career in the first place?
We have a very musical family. My dad, my brother and my extended family are all very musical. I used to play piano, accordion and sing quite a bit but never in any way that could be considered professional at all. Musical appreciation is where I fit in best and broadcasting was something I was always drawn to.
Who do you have that appreciation for?
It’s funny, for Christmas just gone I got my dad a record player and I used to listen to so many songs growing up on his old one, wherever that is now. There was a lot of Queen, Rod Stewart, Dolly Parton, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan. They played on a loop. That’s where it started and then my older brothers were listening to Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crowe and Green Day. It was always so varied!
It sounds like the foundations of core childhood memories.
Of course, yeah! And it’s still music I’d listen to all the time.
Is that what you want for your girls too, to have this appreciation for their own passions?
Yeah I just want them to be happy, to do something that fulfils them. To help these girls navigate the world, it’s going to be a lot trickier than how it was for me growing up. Parenting is a lot of work, you have to think long and hard about how you help them approach different things. Of course we want them to find something they enjoy, but most of all it comes down to happiness, not the competition of the world, which is a tough thing for teenagers and young adults so that’s the next thing we’ll have to focus on.
