Have you ever heard a song and wondered how it came about? I have and my curiosity about some of Ireland’s best-known songs has led to the publication of a new book, to be published on September 1st.

I recently began writing songs with former Eurovision winner Charlie McGettigan and in the course of conversation, he told me that his own composition, ‘Feet of a Dancer’, was actually inspired by the tragic Anne Lovette case in Granard, County Longford.

Subsequently, the songwriter Brendan Graham revealed that his Eurovision winner ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Kids’ was first written on the back of a ticket stub at a Fats Domino concert! I thought that the origin of these songs was fascinating and quickly realised that there must be a pool of interesting stories about each and every song and who better to divulge those stories than the singers themselves?

And so I set out to find those writers and uncover those stories. In some cases I found songs born out of love, songs born out of jealously, loss and humour but in all the recipients I found an eagerness to participate in the project and a genuine passion for music and for the role it plays in their lives.

Dubliners feature strongly in this collection, with Patsy Watchorn, Don Baker, Damien Dempsey and Finbar Furey, while the remainder represent a fair cross section from all over, with Charlie McGettigan, Christy Moore, Brian Kennedy, Rebecca Storm, Diarmuid O’Leary, Mick Hanly, Eleanor Shanley, John Spillane, Liam Clancy, Paul Brady, Jack L, Mary Coughlan, Kieran Goss, Christie Hennessy, Leslie Dowdall and Phil Coulter to name but a few.

As well as my own keen interest in music and more recently in songwriting, I had another strong motive for writing this book. I am donating half the royalties from the sale of the publication to Brainwave, the Irish Epilepsy Association, as I have had epilepsy since I acquired a brain tumour when I was twelve years of age.

Over the years Brainwave has been a wonderful and constant source of both practical and emotional support in the management of my condition. Recently a close friend of mine sadly passed away following a seizure and I wanted to do something in her memory.

When I first developed the condition I admit that I had never even heard the word before and after dealing with the practical side of it, and being prescribed medication, my next port of call was learning to accept it as a part of me and that’s where Brainwave came into their own. Both the organisation and what they stand for are focused on what you can do rather than what you can’t.

The consequences of living with epilepsy are as individual as those who have it and like many others I am on daily medication and try to avoid situations whereby I might be more susceptible to a seizure i.e. late nights, too much computer work, stress and alcohol.

Brainwave offers support not only to those with epilepsy, but also to concerned parents, teachers and guardians, and to frightened teenagers on the brink of adulthood who may see the condition as an obstacle to their journey towards independent adulthood.

They help people deal with the practical implications one might face as a result of the condition, providing invaluable advice on issues relating to basic first aid, what to do in the event of a seizure, triggers factors, getting a driving licence, employment issues, insurance, entitlements, as well as providing specialist aids and appliances such as safety pillows and identity bracelets which may well prove to be a lifeline when someone has a seizure.

I personally believe that epilepsy is a condition that still, wrongly, has a stigma attached to it. Approximately 40,000 people in Ireland have epilepsy and because of the way it manifests itself, it is not talked about as openly as illnesses such as asthma or diabetes.

Ironically, people with epilepsy are dependant on such openness. If I have a seizure it is in my interests that the person next to me knows just what to do and if it is never talked about, how will we ever overcome these obstacles?

‘The Singer and The Song’ will be published on September 1st 2006 by Hodder Headline.
Brainwave can be contacted at 01 455 7500, email:info@epilepsy.ie, website: www.epilepsy.ie