John Banville: ‘I’m counting on an aneurysm. I don’t want to be in the old folks’ home’

John Banville lives in a spacious, terraced house on a steep street in Howth village. There is art on the walls; several pieces by Irish artist Stephen Lawlor, gallery photography, and photos of a more personal nature taken by Madeline McGahern, wife of the late John McGahern.