Kieran and his younger brother Declan were raised in Cavan by their late parents, Teresa and Aidan. Having studied for the priesthood for a couple of years, Kieran left and went to study law, followed by stints in journalism and publishing. He is director of publishing at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland.

Terry and Kieran recently came together to write This Business of Writing, a book that aims to help people write essays, articles, academic papers, speeches, presentations, reports and summaries.

Kieran on Terry I first came across Terry when I was interviewing her for a magazine I was editing called IQ. I was waiting for her in the offices of Carr Communications, and this gorgeous, striking woman came out, and I just thought, 'Wow!'

We just hit it off straight away and started talking and didn't stop all afternoon. I took a career break to write a book and then my mother became ill, so I ended up being out of work for three or four years. After my mother died, I was absolutely grief-stricken, and felt I was over the hill career-wise because I was over 40. I got a phone call out of the blue one day, asking me to come up and meet Terry for lunch. She asked me what had happened in my life, so I told her and she talked to me and said that she and Carr Communications would do anything to help me get my life back on track. It was so touching and made me feel that there was hope and goodness in the world, and it was a turning point for me because it made me put a value on myself again.

I think when you've lost members of your immediate family, you become very careful and sensitive about the people you get very close to. Terry has become a real friend to me, and I don't think anyone else knows as much about what I've gone through in my life as she does. She's extremely generous, and I know that I'm not the only one she has offered to help in getting their life back on track. She doesn't realise the impact she has on people though, because she's very unassuming. She has an amazing career, but her family always comes first, and Tom and Anton are top of the list. Mind you, I think I'm a little bit in love with her myself.

I wanted to put together a book to help people to write, and Terry was the obvious person to do it with because she's an amazing writer.She's very insightful and inquisitive, and while she can be ironic, there isn't a hint of cynicism in her writing.

I love her wit, and think she's incredibly loyal and wonderfully smart and funny.

Terry and I like to go out for lunch or dinner, but neither of us eats in case we'd gain an ounce . . . we're both as bad as each other. She's really disciplined, and I've never seen anything more than lettuce pass her lips. I'm going to drag her down to visit me in Cavan, and I'll cook for her and we WILL eat something.

Terry on Kieran When I first met Kieran, something magical happened, and although he was there to interview me, he got enough in the first few minutes to write his piece, and then we just talked about everything . . .

books, relationships. I suspect I talked a lot about my husband Tom, because I'm obsessed with him. Kieran made a real impression on me, and every now and again afterwards, I thought I'd love to meet him again and wondered what had happened to him. I knew he wasn't with the magazine any more, but I decided to find him, because I knew I didn't want to lose this person from my life, which I have to say would be a very rare thing for me.

The relationship that I have with Kieran is the exception, because how can I put thisf I don't like people. I don't socialise, don't go to parties, and don't go out to dinners . . . I never do anything like that. Our conversations were different from the norm, and I had a great sense of being able to trust Kieran immediately. I knew he had made an impression when I found myself going back and telling Tom lots of things about him.

I was delighted when Kieran approached me about doing this book with him, and when we wrote, it was so seamless that I can't tell now which bits were his and which are mine. This is my 20th book, and I have to say that it was the most fun by a mile, thanks to Kieran. We communicated a lot by email, which I find safer because I have brain damage after a car crash, and can forget quite important things that people say. If I was having a bad morning, an email from Kieran that would lift my spirits would often suddenly pop in.

What I like about him is that he's very funny, and is relentlessly positive towards other people. I could be sitting there hating everyone and thinking that I'm a complete old bag, but Kieran would give me the impression that I was the youngest, most beautiful, sexiest thing that ever drew breath.

Kieran is gentle and not bitchy, and I can't recall a single occasion where he would have been witty at the expense of someone else. He would ask me about things that are bothering me, but never pries about things that he knows I wouldn't want to discuss. We've both been through difficult times in our lives, which adds a layer of depth to our relationship. I've found myself telling Kieran things and discussing personal things with him, without feeling like a fool afterwards, as can sometimes happen when you're very honest with someone.