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John Quinn, who has died aged 84, was one of the great listeners of Irish broadcasting: a man whose life’s work was shaped by an attentiveness to language, memory and the quiet drama of ordinary lives. A Galway-based broadcaster and programme maker for more than a quarter of a century, he transformed radio into a space where curiosity, empathy and imagination could flourish, and where the voices of others were always placed at the centre.

One of Ireland’s most popular writers, Maeve Binchy, had ambitions to be a saint all through her childhood, adolescence, even into her twenties. And with the eternal optimism of youth was quite sure that if she applied herself sternly to the task, we would all be praying for her intercession with the Almighty today. Despite her best efforts, however, her human side tripped her up. In John Quinn’s book Beginnings,* he introduces us to a variety of people who set out to achieve their ambitions with a firm vision ahead and hope in their hearts, which sometimes came to fruition, but other times miss their target like a damp firework.