Who will be Ireland’s “first gentleman” and accompany his wife Independent candidate Catherine Connolly into Áras an Uachtaráin following the presidential ballot?
Brian McEnery’s life changed significantly in early 2013 when the active 60-year-old suffered a stroke while carrying out gardening work for the local residents’ association in the Claddagh area of Galway city.
McEnery, Catherine Connolly’s husband, spent three weeks in an acute stroke unit and 10 weeks at Merlin Park Hospital in Galway as part of his recovery.
The former schoolteacher went on to attend the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dublin for a further five weeks where he underwent intense speech and physical therapy.
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While the stroke had a big impact on his life, the Clare-born Galway resident did not let it define him.
He remains a dedicated community worker to this day, continuing to be active in the Claddagh area, even as his wife is contesting the presidential election.
The media-shy former woodwork teacher went so far as to attend the recent annual general meeting of the Claddagh residents’ association where fellow residents greeted him as the “first man”.
McEnery has been married to Connolly for 33 years and they have two adult sons: Brian – who works as a teacher in Galway – and Stephen.
The couple, who have been long-time residents of the Claddagh, keep their relationship private but McEnery occasionally accompanies his wife to public events. He was recently photographed with her attending the annual blessing of the boats and the bay in the Claddagh Basin in August.
A member of the area’s residents’ association, who did not want to be named, described McEnery as a man who enjoys being in the background and said he would bring a different style to the role than Sabina Higgins.
“Will he be like Sabina? Brian tends to be in the background, to be honest. He tends to have Catherine out in front and he supports her 100 per cent,” he said.
“He will get involved to a certain extent, but he generally lets her be the main person. He was at the most recent agm, and we slagged him about being the ‘first man’, or whatever he will be called.”
The residents’ association member described him as “a very modest person and very community-minded”.
“He will be supportive from the wings. Catherine was always a strong voice. They say that behind every strong man there is a strong woman – and vice versa.”
Born just outside Ennis in Co Clare, McEnery moved to Galway with his family in 1988. One of five children, he played football and hurling as a child and as an adult became a keen motorcyclist, driving a Harley-Davidson.
He spent 25 years teaching at Garbally College in Ballinasloe and a further nine years at St Joseph’s Patrician College, known as “the Bish”, in Galway city.
When he retired in 2009, he became active in community groups such as the local men’s shed and the residents’ association.
Before his stroke he also took part in four Dublin marathons and triathlons, and completed a number of long-distance cycling trips with his wife.
