Kneecap, I couldn't believe their energy ...They have been a force for good for the Irish language

PRESIDENTIAL candidate Catherine Connolly has admitted she finds it difficult to speak about her childhood - which was rocked by the death of her mother.

- BY CIARA O'LOUGHLIN Political Correspondent

With the country deciding on Friday, the independent yesterday gave a wide-ranging interview to the Irish Daily Star.

She talked about bopping to Kneecap at Electric Picnic and holding hands with Enoch Burke, dismissed rumours of a falling-out with current President Michael D Higgins, and reflected on how she never sought out to become a politician.

The Galway TD lifted the lid on her personal life but admitted it's not something that comes easily to her.

Her eyes lit up as she spoke about her father, who was a carpenter and shipbuilder.

But other parts of Ms Connolly's early life don't bring as much joy.

Growing up in Shantalla in Galway city, she didn't come from a political family but from a young age she and her 13 siblings were "infused with politics". She said: "But in a sense of social justice we didn't use those words.

"We knew from a very early age that there was a world outside of ourselves, notwithstanding the joy and tragedy that occur in everyone's life.

"We knew from a very early age about equality, about hypocrisy.

"[My father] loved making boats, traditional ones. That's where he was most relaxed, with one hand on the tiller and the other with a cigarette.

And we'd have a cup of tea on board.

"That was where my dad was most relaxed, most at ease, away from all the worries he had to carry with all of us and my mother dead."

ILLUSION

The Áras hopeful is the sixth youngest out of her 14 siblings and was just nine when her mother died.

It had a profound impact on her and all of their lives and Ms Connolly found it difficult to thrive in school while her sister stayed at home to keep the household running.

She recalled: "Everybody copes differently and I sort of coped by saying I didn't have someone to control me.