Well-known Letterkenny businesswoman Karen Gorman runs the Karen Gorman Academy of Speech & Drama and Casting Agency. Many of her students have featured in national television and radio adverts. This is her My Donegal!
What is your favourite place in Donegal and why?
Rosnowlagh beach for surfing or body boarding and smugglers creek restaurant afterwards. The view from there is unreal!
If you could change one thing about Donegal what would it be?
Have a train to Dublin!
Who is the one person that you look up to and why?
My incredible husband Garry for so many reasons. He has amazing drive and has achieved great things in his football career over the years. He has played in the Ulster Senior League, League of Ireland A Championship & currently for his beloved home team Kilmacrennan in the Donegal League. He never misses a training session even though he had a broken bone in his ankle recently! Garry has won leading goal scorer and player of the year on several occasions. He’s incredibly kind and funny and makes the best pancakes in the world!
What’s your happiest Christmas memory in Donegal?
Family Christmases growing up. My parents Deirdre & Dessie Shiels are the best in the world. I am the eldest of 9 children and had a very dreamy upbringing. All 9 of us gathered at the top of the stairs in excitement for Santa. Mammys dinners were unreal and I can still feel the excitement every Christmas. Were all very close and have adorable nieces & nephews now too! We are very lucky to have everyone living locally. Mammy and daddy’s house is the centre of the universe for us all. They have worked so hard all of their lives so we wanted for nothing and were & continue to be showered with love. I am a Speech and Drama teacher now because they provided classes for me as a child. I am so grateful to my family for so many reasons.
What has been Donegal’s proudest moment in recent years?
Star Wars filming in Donegal was phenomenal! For us, having clients cast in advertisements is very exciting every time! There is huge competition out there, especially with the likes of the famous stage schools in Dublin on the casting directors doorsteps. The fact that a multitude of them have chosen our students is surreal and a great credit to their endearing personalities and talents. Two little dotes Jessica Shiels & Lilah Hamilton were chosen as the faces of the Lidyl Christmas campaign 2 years ago, it was the cutest campaign ever! Cronan Scanlon has just been cast in a TV advertisement launching on New Year’s Day.
If you found a magic wand that allowed you to grant one wish, what
would it be?
To eradicate homelessness and poverty.
What is your favourite Donegal-made product?
Pro Fit Kits. Amazing car styling parts from Paul Green in Kerrykeel.
Who is Donegal’s greatest ambassador around the world and why?
Shay Given is getting a lot of TV work now in a very competitive game and is doing us all really proud!
What has been the biggest compliment you’ve ever received?
When parents send their children to my classes after getting a recommendation from another parent. It’s a great feeling! Also, being appointed as an Examiner with the Irish Board of Speech and Drama. It’s s position that cannot be applied for so it was a great honour when I received the letter of offer in the post.
Who is your favourite Donegal sportsperson of all time?
Seamus Coleman for his drive and ambition. He’s had a great effect on others as we seen when he broke his leg playing for Ireland. Ireland couldn’t reach the same levels as they did when he was in the team. Everton gave him a 5 year contract when his leg was broken because they hold him in such high regard.
What is your favourite Donegal restaurant?
There are many, we are spoiled for choice! Larkin’s of Newmills, The Lemon Tree, the Yellow Pepper, Castlegrove, the Brewery. We love going for lunch in the Sandwich Company for the lovely food & great buzz. It’s a special place, the girls spoil us & Siobhan gives us extra biscuits! My mother in law, Ann Gorman’s restaurant in Kilmacrennan was a special place. We had lovely family gatherings there. Her Turkey and Ham dinner was amazing, now we have to make do with it once a year only!
What is your favourite Donegal saying or expression?
That car has more hits than the beetles!!
What is the biggest challenge facing the people of Donegal today?
The lack of medical services & funding in Letterkenny hospital. I was sick recently and received phenomenal care from the staff. From the beds manager Andrea Kelly, the nurses & doctors. I had to be transferred to Galway by an amazing ambulance crew as there was no Renal services in Letterkenny. Also, it’s so upsetting to hear of people having to travel to Galway for Cancer treatment in this day and age. How this happening is impossible to understand. Patients and their families suffer so much and are put under incredible financial strain too.
What is your favourite food that you associate with Donegal?
My mother’s amazing home cooking
Is there anything that really annoys you about Donegal or its people?
Absolutely not!
Do you have a favourite local band?
In their Thousands
If you had a million euro to improve something in Donegal what would it be?
To provide the Kilmacrennan Development fund with much needed funds for their new sports facilities. The locals are working tirelessly fundraising.
Where’s the most unusual place you’ve logged on to Donegal Daily?
The Natural History Museum, New York on March 26th 2016. One of our young clients, Luka had just got a TV advertisement for 3 mobile sponsoring the Euro’s 2016 and Donegal Daily ran an article on it. It was huge for us! The production company needed a crowd for filming so Luka and his Dad were being flown to Kiev for filming at the Wales v’s Ukraine game on March 28th but he had no passport so the panic was on! We got it arranged just in time from the back of a yellow cab in Manhattan.
Is there anything about Donegal that you are very proud of?
(example: our culture/language)
Our beautiful scenery and our abundance of talented people. Skoda came to Donegal to film a TV advertisement with our father & son duo, Stephen & Scott Robb last year. The commercial was stunning on TV.
Five of our clients shot stunning advertisements for the Wild Atlantic Way. Currently Patricia and Gerry Duke are featuring in beautiful photos in a magazine. Patricia was a model for Ryanair also. Louisa Harley and Mark Forrester were selected to be on the front cover of a magazine with Fanad Lighthouse as the backdrop.
What is the most rewarding thing about what you do?
Seeing my Speech and Drama students happy and confident. It’s heartwarming and I never get used to it! A lot of students come to class to conquer their fears. Seeing their joy after performing would melt your heart. Just yesterday, a student told me after his Acting Performance Grade Exam with us that he couldn’t do a sporting Grade exam recently because of nerves but now felt “ready to conquer the world”. Confidence is more important than ever in today’s world. Happiness in my classes is always no. 1 and a joy to observe
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