‘Oh, Mam, that’s awful!’ Keelin burst into fresh tears. ‘Poor Dad! And that unfortunate young man. And poor you!’

‘It was very hard for them. Ireland then was a far more harsh and intolerant place than it is now. When I saw them kissing . . . well, to tell the truth, I felt sick. I was horrified. Disgusted. In turmoil. I didn’t understand it.’ Imelda’s eyes darkened at the memory of that unspeakable time. ‘Gay men and boys in those days got badly beaten up and chased out of villages and towns for “dropping the hand”, as they called it. Homosexuality was a jailing offence then. And of course the Church’s preachings about it were vile and so condemnatory. There was none of God’s love for you if you were a gay man or woman, which was another reason I turned my back on that lot of Pharisees and why I didn’t want you becoming a nun for them.’ She shook her head as memories flooded back. Imelda reached out and took her daughter’s hand. ‘I didn’t handle it well a lot of the time and that was why I often lashed out. I was worried that the boys would be gay – not because I was against it anymore, I came to understand it, believe it or not – but I didn’t want them to go through the hardships their father and other gay young men went through in this country.’

‘No wonder you were so anti-religion, so anti-Church. I never understood why,’ Keelin said slowly. She was in total shock at what her mother had disclosed. It explained so much of Imelda’s behaviour.

‘Thank God that has changed,’ Imelda sighed. ‘How I wished Larry had been alive for the same-sex marriage referendum. When I made my mark against the “Yes” box, I whispered, “This is for you, Larry.” Because I felt very guilty too, about marrying him. He knew I didn’t love him when we stood at the altar.’

Imelda gave another sigh that came from the depths of her. ‘Even if your father wasn’t gay, Keelin, I should never have married him. I married for all the wrong reasons. I thought I was in love with Johnny Larkin, but Brigid was right’ – she flashed a glance at her sister – ‘it was first love and a teenage crush. I thought I’d never fall in love with anyone else, so I took the first escape route that was offered, and that was with your father. And he was looking for someone to marry, too. To conform to what was “normal” in those days and pretend he was someone other than who he was. He denied who he was to himself, until the day I walked in on him with Fran. After that, there was no denying it. No going back. And believe it or not, it was a liberation of sorts for him.