I started directing out of necessity, the first play I wrote in college because I didn't know anyone who could direct it.

I could not flourish in the Hollywood system because the first thing spoken about is "What genre is it?" and "Who's it for?" It's a very strange question to me; it's for human beings.

We're all ordinary in a way. We can all be hurt. We can all be unbalanced. We all have feelings. Life can treat us harshly, even shockingly sometimes.

The play is a very simple idea really; someone needs some support and consolation, and she finds a place where she gets it.

I guess Im attracted and repelled by isolation. It scares me. And its why I tend to write about older characters, too, because for them the stakes are somewhat higher.

Directing is such a crucial part of the writing process; you start directing and you see what does not work. "Oh, God, what was I thinking?" and then you can rearrange it.

I love stories that frame that: This is what life is about - you don't have a clue.

I think Catholicism took root very quickly in Ireland because it's a very superstitious religion, the holy ghost, the holy spirit, it has a goddess, very visual, the music.

We know so little of the why, what the universe is, what infinity is. The veil around us is very fragile.

I just want the actors to put their faith in the language. Just let the words do the work.

I have a theory about Ireland, being at the edge of Europe. For 1,000 years, people didnt know what was beyond. But we thought about it - a lot. And that beyond became internalized in our psyche.

Loving-kindness challenges those states that tend to arise when we think of ourselves as isolated from everyone else—fear, a sense of deficiency, alienation, loneliness.

If my goal is simply to survive the journey, then I’m not on the journey in the first place.

We're better off. But I don't know if the world's better off. I don't know if the two are the same thing.

We know that priorities are amiss in the world when a man gets a military medal of honor for killing another man and a dishonorable discharge for loving one.

We have to be that wedge that drives the question and asks the hard questions

Autobiographies are only useful as the lives you read about and analyze may suggest to you something that you may find useful in your own journey through life.

I think an education is beneficial, but whether it takes an education to be successful in the arts is a whole other question.

How can you say when you're attracted to something? It's not easy to articulate my tastes.

The greatest danger facing our nation isn't terrorism, global warming or the energy crisis. It is out-of-control, unbridled government spending.

It's not about the goal. It's about becoming the type of person that can accomplish the goal.