'If you put your mind to it, you can do anything': Nina Carberry seeks to inspire young people

“Oh, it was incredible," she said. "After such a long campaign, it was just nice to come out the other side and become an MEP."

What Ms Carberry lacks in experience, she makes up for in enthusiasm, likening her win to having a full stadium of supporters rooting for her.

“It’s an honour and a privilege to represent my country and my constituency in Europe. I'm really looking forward to getting stuck in.” 

As a young 39-year-old mother-of-two, and dare I say a “celebrity”, surely her credentials would earn her some sniping from the sidelines?

It did, but Ms Carberry isn’t deterred by the keyboard warriors.

“I didn't know what to expect. 

There are always people who won’t like what you’re doing but I knew if I put the work in, I'd have no regrets. That's been my motto in anything I've done in life.” 

No regrets

Another criticism of Ms Carberry’s claimed she was running a “silent campaign”. 

Independent MEP Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan accused Ms Carberry of being invisible but when I ask her was she avoiding the tough questions, she is completely unfazed and laughs at the idea.

“I feel I was visible on the ground. Listen — I gave it my best shot. When I started out the campaign, I was like; ‘What it's all about?' It’s the people in the constituency.” 

Some called it avoidance, she called it strategy: Ms Carberry’s approach was certainly more focused on constituents “on the ground”.

“I got to as many counties as I could on the ground and it was relentless. I won't — I don't regret my campaign.

“I did my fair share of media, but obviously some people didn't feel that I did but I felt I’d done my bit. I did the hustings with other candidates and live TV as well. So listen, people are never going to be satisfied.” 

Taoiseach and fellow Fine Gael party member Simon Harris was adamant that Ms Carberry is not a celebrity but a “champion”. 

'Farmers are fearful'

Having grown up on a farm in Meath, Ms Carberry’s agenda is very clear — to bolster perceptions and funding of the farming industry in Ireland.

“Farmers are fearful. I want to be a strong voice for them. We need funding within the commuter belt and rural areas — they need to be connected. We need to make them less isolated.”

In anticipation of the upcoming budget this October, Ms Carberry says she will be pushing for greater economic parity for farmers and fishermen.

“There will be pressures coming from outside to spend more money on defence and security. We don't need farmers to be left out.

“We need farmers’ livelihoods to be protected. They rely on the CAP funding so we need to make sure they are in a place where they have their future secure.” 

Future-proofing the agriculture industry means looking to the younger generation, Ms Carberry says.

“We need to make sure that younger people are getting into farming because it is a worry that we're losing all these farmers because younger people feel there's no viable future in it.” 

That skills shortage needs to be tackled, says Ms Carberry and it won’t happen without robust funding.

“SMEs are struggling with a skills shortage out there and that’s something I really want to push hard for that in Europe. If people want to upskill or learn other skills — that they’re provided with the funding.” 

The fishermen in Killybegs were one of the cohorts Ms Carberry visited on her campaign trail.

“They got such a raw deal with Brexit — it's something that we need to fight hard on — for them.” 

'A lot of sacrifice'

The tired trope of work-life balance seems to apply exclusively to women pursuing careers outside of the home and Ms Carberry has been asked how she “juggles it all” on more than one occasion — three, in fact. She laughs off the idea that women with careers can’t parent effectively.

“The girls are used to me working. I only want to be a role model for them. I want them to see that when you work hard, you do get the benefit from it.” 

Carving out a bright future for her daughters is Ms Carberry’s driving force and her husband Ted Walsh Jr of the Walsh horseracing dynasty is her greatest supporter.

“We couldn’t go on holiday because I needed to be in my sport. There was a lot of sacrifice that was given up on his part to be with me. He's still doing that. It's a good partnership because he understands that’s what I had to do. There was always room for me to achieve.” 

She wants her daughters to know that it’s OK to compete alongside men and to want success in more than one field. Her campaign really sparked their curiosity.

“My two little girls are great. They see my posters and they're wondering what's going on. They ask lots of questions but they're very proud as well.” 

Perhaps Ms Carberry’s toughest audience of all is the middle-school children who know her as the author of the Rowan Tree Stables series.

As with everything Ms Carberry does, it was a hit. In fact, book number two, Pony Camp Chaos came out in May 30. Art imitates life in that the book shows a young female protagonist on equal footing with her male friends.

“I didn't want it to just be for girls. At my book signings, I had young boys coming up and that's exactly what I wanted to achieve. The kids really connected with it.” 

Inspiring legions of women to compete alongside their male counterparts and Ms Carberry credits her brothers for including her in competitions growing up.

“I was always trying to play catch-up with them, one was five years older and one was 10 years older. If they had made a course out of jumps, they'd have a little one for me. It never mattered — what age or gender I was, I was always included.” 

Ms Carberry urges young girls and women not to limit themselves based on their gender.

“You should always test yourself to try other things. You never know what you could be good at until you try. That's what life's about. 

"If you put your mind to it, you can do anything.”