We have a certain bond that we don't have with anyone else on the planet. You just have that bond, that journey when you are in a band together.

For a while there, our writing got really edgy... I've always written about experiences, so when your life gets a bit crazy, you start to write songs that are a bit edgy.

There's always a party in my bus.

I hated singing, I hated being on stage; I hated being in the Cranberries. I was constantly crying. I was going insane. I wanted to be a shopkeeper, a hairdresser, anything. I was so desperate to have a reality, friends, a regular, boring life. I missed that.

When I got pregnant, I started singing again. It was my saving grace. I literally mean having this amazing human life, and our relationship in the sense of mother and child, redeemed my soul.

I missed a lot of family weddings and funerals because we were out on the road and had these big gigs, and you can't pull out of these gigs at the last minute because too many people are counting on it. It got to the point where I was consumed with that.

Each gig is brilliant and fun. When it becomes a routine, we'll take a break. There's no point in doing it if you don't enjoy it.

My parents were in the local church choir, and I used to go along and sing and play the organ at all the weddings and christenings.

It was great about the sizes of the audiences we were getting in America, but sometimes you feel like telling some of the men that you're not on stage to have your body looked at.

I write about what is getting to me at the time, about the things you need to talk about, but which would sound silly if you sat down and told them to your friend. I only write for myself, to get my emotions out. It's self-therapeutic.

I remember when MTV first put 'Linger' in heavy rotation, every time I walked into a diner or a hotel lobby, it was like, 'Jesus, man, here I am again.'

You get older and come to the conclusion that it's a great gig making music. Even if you turn into an old gnarly fart, no one cares what you look like if you write good songs - the only gig is to sing well and perform.

When you're on tour too much or on stage too much, you feel like you have to deliver and get this super-hyped vibe going.

The first album didn't become successful until the second was practically written.

We were never a frivolous band; we prided ourselves on having something to say, and I think that's what gives your songs longevity.

It's amazing to see anyone come out, let alone tell you they have been waiting so long. They are loyal people, our fans.

Luckily I don't have a sinful past, because there's nothing you can hide from your kids now.

I was at that point where my children needed more than going around the planet in the back of a bus. They needed stability, they needed to build their own lives and relationships, and I needed to put my life on hold. I made my choice - I chose my children.

I keep my children safe and protected from all my baggage. They get to have a normal childhood, and they're not affected by my life.

To me, life is a bit of everything. I have the band, I have my kids. Life is a big picture. It's not just your career.

The writing became a hobby in the background: it took a back seat to parenthood and being a person and being a human being.

As you get older, it's good to open up and acknowledge that everybody has their scary moments, their negative moments. And in order to move on and find comfort and hope, you have to stop running from the darkness and face it. And when you face it, it's not that scary at all, and sometimes it actually turns around and runs away.

I guess all bands get to that point where they run out of inspiration and just get bored with the chemistry.

I went very close to the edge, but it's nice to have been strong enough to get through it. I'm lucky I had family, a good husband, and my mom. People like that help balance you. When you're feeling down and bad, it's the people that love you who kind of sort your head out for you.

It's a great gig, really: getting on stage, playing the guitar, singing. For a living, it's super.

For me, you can't be a big fat pig up there, slovenly and singing croaky and whatnot. You have to work.

You want to be in control of a lot. You grow up. You sink or swim. I suppose I swam.

The things a young woman goes through between the ages of 18 and 20 are far different than what a young woman can go through between 20 and 22.

One day we were in Limerick... and then, a few weeks later, we were being flown around to play. When we started, it was just a hobby. It wasn't any big ambition.

I love performing, and I love the idea of people buying records. I don't particularly like the idea of people knowing me or thinking they do, but that's a part of what I choose. I choose not to go to college; I choose to be a singer.

It's pretty weird when you are just touring all the time and you don't have a normal life. You're out of touch with reality too much.

I got to a point where I referred to myself as Dolores of the Cranberries instead of myself because I alienated my real self from what I became so much.

I guess the way to keep a grip on reality is just to take breaks in between albums like most normal bands do. Go home and be a person and hang out with your friends. Do separate things and get back to earth and write songs and go out there again.

My mom always had a softer spot for boys, as a lot of Irish women do. If you were a girl, you'd have to sing or wear a pretty dress. But boys could just sit there and be brilliant for sitting there and being boys. It makes you that little bit more forward. Pushy. I was singing, always.

It was tough. We went right from being teenagers to musical superstars with money and fame and attention. All of us had a hard time adjusting to it, especially me.

We all got older, and we'd tell our children things like, 'Mommy used to be in a famous rock band,' but they didn't believe us. Part of the reason for our reunion was to show our children what we did to make the lives they have possible.

People often ask me why I sing with a strong Irish accent. I suppose when I was five years old, I spoke with a strong Irish accent, so I sang with one, too.

I didn't really know many girls, growing up, because there weren't many other people living around where I lived.

I enjoyed living in Canada, where my husband comes from, because I was treated like any ordinary person. I became a volunteer at my children's school; I went into the classroom. It was very grounding. I got sick of being famous.

People don't look at you singing. They go within themselves and listen. Music is about listening, not looking. That's why I wore these huge baggy dresses on stage with The Cranberries.

Everyone at school knew I wanted to be a singer. I'd always be banging on the piano playing my new song. The teacher would gather us round, and the whole class would listen.

I just block out the demons. I sing. I block them away. I put my pain into my music. I paint. I make my own videos. I direct myself. No one directs me anymore. I am in charge of my destiny.

People look at you and see a product. They don't see a soul. They see an empty hole.

You never find peace in this realm, but it's okay, because when my dad went to the other side, he looks after me now better than he did in life. He is with me all the time.

Not everybody wanted a female to be the front face of a big band, you know... You had to be three times better than a man had to be.

When the band were really big and we had massive hits, I was always stressed-out and insecure. I thought I wanted the band to be really popular, but when that happened, there was so much pressure to keep it going.

When you're pregnant or living with an infant, there's a kind of sacredness around your body that affects everything you do.

I was so famous that I couldn't leave the hotel room. I remember looking out of the window at all these fans but just feeling so isolated.

I thought the best thing to do to bring me back to reality would be to have a child, and by the time I had my first, Taylor, when I was 25, we'd sold 35 million records as a band, and I'd had enough; I knew my sanity was more important than success.

My kids mean more to me than anything I thought was important when I was younger.