Presidential candidate Prof Mary McAleese yesterday described the Presidency as a "sacrifice" that would mean having to give up a lot of good things in her life. "I have always felt that whatever abilities I have, whatever energy I have, that none of these things are for me alone," she told Pat Kenny on RTE radio.
It had been planted deeply in her by her parents, that no matter how well you do in life, "you still have to give something back".
"Not just something that doesn't cost you, but something that does cost you," she said. She agreed with Mother Theresa that you should "give until it hurts".
Asked whether the Presidency was something of a sacrifice, Prof McAleese answered it was, "in the sense that I certainly will be giving up a lot of things that are currently good in my life".
Also in the interview, the Government candidate spoke of the pain she felt before she knew she was able to have children.
In the wake of criticism over her involvement in a video which portrayed a negative view of IVF treatment, she said she had an open mind on the subject.
"I waited for seven years for my daughter to be born, we had lost two children before that, so more than a lot of people I know exactly that pain of worrying and wondering," she said.
She added that if she did not now have her three children she would have been very glad to avail of the treatment. But it was complex, not something you would "just lift off the shelf".
Asked about the recent MRBI survey showing she had the support of only 51 per cent of Fianna Fail voters, she said it was something she had to address.
"Two weeks ago, my name wasn't even mentioned," she said. "Now all of a sudden they find themselves dealing with this Mary McAleese. . .I have to get out around the country so people can get the measure of me as a person."
Prof McAleese spoke of her support from unionists in response to criticism of her ability to reach out to unionists, given her nationalist background.
"I have been astounded by the level of support from many people in the unionist community. They have written to me, they have phoned me, they have sent me faxes to tell me how delighted they are," she said.
One Ulster Unionist councillor she had never met had phoned to wish her luck. "He said blood is thicker than water and you are one of our own. For the many, many unionists who know me there is a renewed sense that they have a friend."
On the issue of divorce in Ireland, she said the kind of divorce law that had been introduced here had been a "very cautious, careful law that is probably fairly compatible with my own view".
Her religion was an entirely private matter, she stressed. As President she would be not be entitled to ram her religious view down people's throats.
She saw Ireland as a place that had embraced a lot of change in a short space of time.
"We are looking forward to a time when please goodness we will have actual peace in the North as opposed to just an absence of violence.
"I would love to be there in a position of leadership" as Ireland becomes increasingly comfortable with its "new modern energetic youthful self", she said.
She wanted to give hope to people who did not yet enjoy the benefits of this Ireland.
She remembered periods in her own life when she was very despondent and despairing. It took another person to say "what you have done is valuable, keep on doing it, keep on trying because there is a good day coming". How wonderful it was that a president could say to those people "you are valued".