Colm Tóibín: How an Irish boy with a stammer found his voice
Lives Less Ordinary
BBC
4.7 • 885 Ratings
🗓️ 2 February 2026
⏱️ 42 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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
Lives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the world. Each episode a guest shares their most dramatic, moving, personal story. Listen for unbelievable twists, mysteries uncovered, and inspiring journeys - spanning the entire human experience. Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected. Got a story to tell? Send an email to liveslessordinary@bbc.co.uk or message us via WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784 You can read our privacy notice here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5YD3hBqmw26B8WMHt6GkQxG/lives-less-ordinary-privacy-notice
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:07.6 | Resolutions, ideas of being different. |
| 0:10.3 | Can we create long-lasting change? |
| 0:12.2 | Doctors Chris and Zand Van Tulligan are on a mission to help us take better care of ourselves. |
| 0:17.1 | You tried, it didn't work, what could you put in place? |
| 0:20.2 | And chartered psychologist Kimberly Wilson is on hand to help make sense of mental health. |
| 0:25.2 | We are constantly being told what's wrong with us, but there's so much that's right with us. |
| 0:30.7 | Reset and recharge with what's up docs and complex with Kimberly Wilson. |
| 0:35.2 | Listen on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:39.9 | There's a separate entrance for people like me. |
| 0:43.2 | So you don't go down the red carpet, but... |
| 0:44.5 | I mean, there's a lino. |
| 0:46.3 | You know, there's an entrance with lino for novelists. |
| 0:48.9 | Is it red at least? |
| 0:49.8 | No, not even slightly worn. |
| 0:53.5 | Column Tobin had been invited to the Oscars because a film based on a novel he'd written |
| 0:58.4 | was up for several awards. Brooklyn was the name of the book and the movie. |
| 1:02.7 | But because he didn't write the screenplay, that was Nick Hornby. |
| 1:06.1 | He was there as a guest rather than a nominee who gets to walk the famous red carpet. |
| 1:11.8 | Column being column when he tells this story, it's not to share irritation, but utter delight. |
| 1:18.4 | There's a sort of fence between you and the stars. |
| 1:21.8 | So you can sort of vaguely see, I saw Sir Sharonin coming, I saw Nick Hornby coming, |
... |
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