Mary Lou McDonald has urged people going through tough times to make sure they “lean” on others. 

The past year has been a difficult one for the Sinn Féin President, with both herself and her husband having suffered from health problems. 

As well as that, her father died last month. 

On Lunchtime Live, the Dublin Central TD spoke about how she has coped. 

“I manage it by managing it,” she said. 

“Nobody lives a life where you don’t meet challenges where things can go wrong and in some cases catastrophically wrong for families - all of your listeners will know this.

“In my case, it’s just a whole succession of things happened all at once.” 

My father has died. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam. My family is grieving. A million thanks for all the love and support for us. We appreciate it greatly.

— Mary Lou McDonald (@MaryLouMcDonald) August 4, 2024

In June last year, Deputy McDonald took time off work after she underwent a hysterectomy. 

A year on, she described herself as “doing great”. 

“Then all of a sudden, my husband got very sick very suddenly and then, of course, my father died this summer,” she said. 

“So, it all happened kind of at once and it’s like anything - you manage by just managing. 

“You get up in the morning, put one foot in front of the other, you turn up for work.” 

Mary Lou LcDonald casts her vote at a polling station for the local and European elections. Photograph: Sasko Lazarov / © RollingNews.ie

This summer, Deputy McDonald jetted off to the continent to and had the “best of craic” with her friends out there. 

Her husband came over later and they had a “brilliant time”. 

It was only  on their last day that Ms McDonald realised that something was terribly wrong with her husband. 

“Between packing our cases and getting to Biarritz Airport, Martin’s health literally disintegrated quickly,” she said. 

“I now know what was going on but at the time I couldn’t figure out what the hell it was. 

“I now know what had happened and I’m just fortunate that my own instinct and [for] the intervention of the most lovely woman in that airport - an Irish woman, a nurse, she was flying I think back to London and she came and said to him, ‘Mary Lou’s right, you cannot get on that flight.’” 

Looking back, Deputy McDonald is clear that staff at the local hospital “saved my husband’s life” and they will be “forever in their debt”. 

She said her husband is “great now” and “in the best of good from”. 

Advice

For those who are going through similar tough times, Deputy McDonald urged people to make sure they “lean” on other people. 

“One thing I will say is, you don’t walk any of these journeys alone,” she said. 

“My God, you learn a real appreciation for your family, your friends and for how good people are and how kind and supportive people are.” 

If you are in need of emotional support, you can contact the Samaritans on 116 123.

Main image: Mary Lou McDonald and Andrea Gilligan. Image by: Newstalk