Mum of the Year Yvonne warns of cyberspace threat
YVONNE Connolly said yesterday that she was “extremely honoured” to be the recipient of the Woman’s Way ‘Celebrity Mum of the Year Award’ 2016.
The mother of three children — Jack, Missy and Ali by her ex-husband, Ronan Keating — thanked the readers of the magazine but also told the Sunday Independent that she wanted to “thank my kids for helping to make me the happy, confident woman I am today.”
Yvonne said she hugely “appreciates their facilitating my going back to work and for insisting everything will be okay when I bite off more than I can chew.”
The 42-year-old added: “we are a team — and at this stage a well-oiled machine. This award belongs as much to them as to my mother who still runs a business after 30 years yet is still always there for me. She is a great inspiration to my daughters and I,” Yvonne said of Ann, whose husband Michael Connolly died of cancer in 2007 aged 63.
Asked what did she learnfrom her mother? Yvonne answered with one but very true word: “Everything.”
Yvonne describes herself as a mother as “firm but fun.” She says the challenges of modern motherhood are “social media” and her kids’ “cyber-life.”
Yvonne, who was one of Ireland’s top models once upon a time, appeared on Celebrity Masterchef on RTE in the summer of 2013 and now is a regular on The Seven O’Clock Show on TV3 showing the nation how to cook. So, how has she combined motherhood with her career? How has she juggled it all? “I juggle it all with the help of the kids and the support of friends.” Previous celebrity mum winners include Lisa Duffy, Anna Daly, Sybil Mulcahy and Blathnaid Ni Chofaigh, Lorraine Keane and Mary Kennedy. Leinster lady Anne Aherne was crowned overall winner of Woman’s Way & Beko Mum of the Year 2016 and won €2,000 cash courtesy of Woman’s Way, a Beko washing machine, six-month’s use of a Renault Captur and a hamper full of goodies and discounts. Each finalist walked away with a luxury goodie bag worth at least €500. The judges included Norah Casey, Blathnaid Ni Chofaigh, Nuala Carey, Edward Hayden and Brent Pope.
“It’s been another year of wonderful mums who are a credit to Ireland. I’d like to congratulate all our finalists on their determination, courage, kindness and ability to perservere when the going gets tough,” says Woman’s Way editor Aine Toner.
Winners: Woman’s Way & Beko Mum of the Year: Anne Aherne. Celebrity Mum of the Year: Yvonne Connolly
Woman’s Way & Beko Mum of the Year — Dublin: Marie Moffitt; Leinster: Anne Aherne; Connacht: Michelle Leggett; Ulster: Ellen McDaid; Munster: Brid Meehan.