My Weekend: I love work creeping in... because those are usually the best nights!

Tell us a little bit about yourself:

My name is Claire O’Leary. I am from Ballybrowney, Rathcormac, in Cork. I am from a family of nine. I’m the third-youngest of four girls and three boys. My dad, Donal, owns a haulage company in Little Island and my mom, Valerie, is an actress and drama teacher. That might be how I fell into the arts from a young age: I was no good at driving trucks!

I went to school in Loreto Convent, in Fermoy, and when I reached transition year, I realised that most subjects weren’t for me (maths and science, specifically) and I found myself looking forward to the after-school rehearsals, dance, drama, and singing lessons in Cork. I looked into studying drama and theatre studies and musical theatre in a sixth-form college in London, where I very luckily got to spend my final two years, studying my A Levels in arts-educational schools in London. 

I was both nervous and excited and, at the age of 15, I hadn’t a clue how to use a washing machine properly, but my eldest sister, Sally, was studying in London at the same time, so I had her on the other end of the phone instructing me whenever I was in a small crisis! 

After those two years, I received a scholarship to continue my studies on the BA degree course in musical theatre at ArtsEd.

After graduating from my degree, I was cast in Les Misérables at The Sondheim Theatre on the West End, where I was in the ensemble and played the role of Cosette until 2022. Since then, I’ve performed in workshops for new musicals and just recently finished in The Wizard Of Oz at The London Palladium. Performing at The Palladium was definitely a bucket-list theatre for me. Especially in such a special show: I used to watch Judy Garland on repeat in The Wizard Of Oz when I was a little girl.

Being home for the Cork Proms is so special to me.

What is your ideal way to spend a Friday night?

I do love a night out, and a night on the dancefloor with my friends. If I had to choose, Friday nights are a cinema night for me, I live near a great independent cinema, called The Castle Cinema. They always have both classics and new films showing, so I’m spoiled for choice on a Friday night. Maybe a nice dinner beforehand, happily full and ready to be entertained with a good film.

Lie-ins or up with the lark... which is it for you?

Growing up, I was never an early bird, my dad would have to drag me out of bed in the morning and I would very slowly, and crankily, make my way down the stairs. But since getting older and having a morning routine I enjoy, getting up doing some exercise first thing, and enjoying a walk with a nice coffee, sets up a good and productive day for me.

Does work creep into your weekend at all?

With auditions during the week, with music and scripts to learn and work on, I find the best time to do that is the weekend. There’s never really a clock-off point, especially when I’m in a show. 

The weekend loses all meaning when you spend Fridays, Saturdays, and sometimes Sundays at the theatre, and they sort of merge into one. 

Mondays become your new Saturdays. But there’s also no better feeling than a Saturday night at the theatre, so I love the work creeping into the weekend.

If money was no object, where would you head to on a weekend city break? And who would you bring with you?

Ooh, I love this question! My dad’s a big country music fan, so I would head straight to Nashville with him. We got him a trip there for his 60th, with my mom, and they had the time of their lives. So I’d have all nine O’Learys on a flight to Nashville for some country music for sure!!

Closer to home, is there some place you like to head to recharge the batteries?

Definitely Ballybrowney, where my family home is. It’s always the perfect place for recharging batteries. Time never really seems to exist there, so having lovely chats with my mom, slow mornings, cooking, taking my dog Holly for a walk, is idyllic. There’s a little river about a 15-minute walk from my house... it is extremely peaceful and calming. Oh! And my mom’s cooking is definitely a recharge.

Do you like to catch up with family/friends at the weekend?

I love it! Luckily, my sister Sally and brother-in-law, Sav, live in London, so we are usually on the hunt for a good pub roast on a Sunday. My Aunt Geniveve and Uncle Paddy live here, too, so whether it’s a pub lunch or a home-cooked roast, we always have a great gang of us together that makes up the perfect Sunday. I also live with my two best friends, Liadán and Martha, so living with them can feel like a constant sleepover with your best friends.

Do you get to indulge any hobbies? Even as a spectator?

I am a big cinema-goer! Maybe three times a week. I like ticking off a list of all the films out at the moment and with all the incredible Irish cinema that’s being created, I am usually never stuck for choice. 

I’ve signed up to the Hackney Half, too, this year, so running has become a hobby whilst training for that. 

And I always love a good podcast, saving an episode of I’m Grand Mam and cooking my favourite meal. Both therapeutic.

Entertain or be entertained? Do you have a signature dish?

Can I say a bit of both? My sister Sally is a great cook, so when I go over to her, she is usually cooking up a storm. But I like being the entertainer sometimes. I like treating people and I’ve grown up with my mom always being a wonderful host and filling the table with gorgeous food. A signature dish I love making for friends and family is a linguine with garlic and chilli prawns with some homemade garlic bread. Someone else would have to bring dessert, though, because I cannot bake.

We have so many places to eat out in Cork — where are your go-to spots?

Anytime I’m home, I’ll always stop off in Cork Coffee Roasters. Great coffee! The Bookshelf. I often think about the Westcork Rotisserie Chicken from SpitJack! I love Market Lane. I love the Italian Rossini’s. Myself and my boyfriend Chris have devoured many a pizza from The Franciscan Well.

Sunday night comes around too fast.. how do you spend it?

After being full from a lovely roast, a big Sunday walk, Sunday evenings consist of getting ready for the week ahead, to-do-list, comfy clothes, nice shower, record on, film on the TV, and chilling out. It sometimes consists of chaotic last-minute line learning.

What time does your alarm clock go off on Monday morning?

Kickstarting the week always feels good with an early rise. 7:15/7:30am.

• Clare stars in ‘There’s No Place Like Home - A Musical Theatre Revue’, as part of The Cork Proms at Cork Opera House on June 19-20. Bookings on www.corkoperahouse.ie.