Miss World Is Not Enough

Her victory caused some controversy at the time. Back home, accusations were flung around that the jury had been influenced by the fact that her father, Chris de Burgh, is a famous musician.
“It upset me,” she says now. “It’s easy for people to say that. It’s similar to Cecelia Ahern’s success. That success is all hers. At the time I thought, ‘How dare these people say that!’ I knew how hard I had worked. The majority of the judges hadn’t a clue who my dad was, so how could he sway their votes? I just thought, ‘I’m not going to pay any attention to it’.”
At the time, however, Rosanna retaliated with comments about begrudery.
“I made a comment about Irish begrudgery and, of course, there was this big storm about it’s because I was this new face. I’d only said it – out of pure innocence – in relation to the story about my father being involved in my win. But, of course, it was taken out of context. I was very new to the media game. I’ve become more savvy and cynical now. But I’m still learning!”
In truth, Rosanna has been learning about how the media can eat you up and spit you out ever since she was a child. He may never have been a critics’ darling, but her father was hugely successful, first in Ireland, Canada and Germany – and later in the UK and throughout the world, when ‘Lady In Red’ became a massive global No.1. She has experienced the upside of that success – a childhood during which money was scarcely an object and her father was lionised by the media generally. All that soured, however, when in 1994 Chris embarked on an affair with the family’s 19-year-old nanny, Meresa Morgan. The tabloids got hold of the story and it was splashed across the front pages – damning pictures and all.
While his career as a singer-songwriter has been relatively becalmed, Chris was back in the headlines recently, talking about his ‘healing hands’ and – separately – pointing out that the family are related to no less than Scotland’s Robert The Bruce.
“There was something in the Irish press dissing him for saying that,” Rosanna resumes. “But, in fact, we are related to Robert The Bruce, who got together with a De Burgh and they had King James – it was the first or second – of Scotland. So, yes, there is a royal connection. It’s very cool.”
Rosanna, meanwhile, has been a constant presence in the tabloids, with an allegation of cyberspace bullying on Bebo being the only negative story.
Her romance with Wesley Quirky, whose father owns the Quirky entertainment emporium on O'Connell Street has been depicted as a kind of Irish Posh and Becks. “The word celebrity amuses me,” she proffers. “It’s used so freely. Wes has no desire to be famous.”
But Rosanna – well, that’s a different matter. Or is it?

JASON O’TOOLE: Your father once described your birth as a “miracle”?
ROSANNA DAVISON: My mother had great difficulty in conceiving. She had, I think, four miscarriages and one ectopic pregnancy, which really put her life in danger – if it wasn’t for the quick-wittedness of one of our family friends she wouldn’t be alive. She had microsurgery on one of her ovaries, so she eventually managed to conceive me with one ovary, which was quite amazing. She was trying for years and she conceived me when she was 31. And she said, “Great! I have one child now, I’ll be happy with that,” and then my two brothers came along.
As a young child you spent time on the road with your father?
I travelled the world by the time I was ready for play-school! I do feel very lucky that I was able to accompany dad and the band. I saw many strange and wonderful things (giggles) – the wild realms of a band was fascinating. I was always a very energetic child and dad put everything onto video tape. He has videotapes of me racing around hotel corridors and my mam chasing me. But I thought it was normal.
Was it difficult when you had to finally settle down and go to school?
My primary school was a nice, homely environment. I had a very happy childhood there and went on to Rathdown School. For me, my dad was somebody who had to go away and work, but he spent a lot of time with us to compensate. He constantly surprised us. He used to say, 'OK, put on your wellies – we're going on a trip', and he’d take us out for the day, to the beach or the Powerscourt waterfall. He once took us on a helicopter trip. He always made an effort – if his tour was taking four weeks, he’d return home in the middle of that or he’d build into his schedule a chance to come home for special occasions like a conformation or a birthday party.
It sounds like a great childhood.
It was. I was so happy. I didn’t have enough life experience, obviously, at that age to understand that not all children get to experience what I did. We were never spoilt though. We had access to nice things, but we weren’t sort of handed them on a plate, we had to work for them or get good grades.
Chris wrote a song about you shortly after your birth.
I’m very touched that he wrote a song in my honour. I don’t hear it that often now. I don’t go home and request him to sing it on the piano for me (laughs)! But if he does happen to sing it at a concert I’ll get emotional. When I was a kid I’d listen to it and my friends thought it was very cool.
How would you describe your teenage years?
I was never really a rebel. I was never really cool either. I lacked confidence until I was in transition year in school and I suddenly blossomed. I was finally given the freedom to explore the city a bit. I began branching out on my own – going out with friends at night. I became a little more streetwise and with that I became a bit more confident. My parents knew that they could trust me – as far as you can trust a 16-year-old! I was quite a good student; I always worked hard. I was very sporty and even now I find sport a great way to focus my mind.
So you are competitive?
Yeah, I am and I’ve become more so in the last, say, five years. But sports and exercise has always been a great way to channel that into something positive. I worked very hard for my Leaving Cert. Obsessively hard. The same with my college finals. Sixteen hours a day and eating my meals at the desk. I don’t know how I did it.
Did you manage to have any type of social life back then?
I’ve always been somebody who’s had boyfriends. A serial monogamist. I did have boyfriends up until the Leaving Cert. But I was very much a two months girl. A shameless flirt. I’d last two months, then I’d get bored and move on to someone else. Luckily (laughs), I’ve grown out of that.
When did you first become interested in boys?
I’ve always loved male company – and male attention. When I was four I had my first boyfriend; he was called Alistair and he was in playschool with me. We called each other ‘boyfriend’ and ‘girlfriend’ and played mummies and daddies with my dolls. Of course, it wasn’t an intimate relationship (roars laughing). In primary school I had giant crushes on three boys in the class. And then I had a boyfriend in sixth form. Again, it was very innocent – we might just hold hands or dance. I don’t thing I’ve been single since about fourth year in secondary school.
So how old were you when you had your first proper kiss?
I was 13, which is probably a bit late actually! Or maybe I was 12! Anyway, it was a disgusting experience. It was like a washing machine! I had my eyes open and I was in a field looking at the sky thinking, ‘Is this what it’s meant to be like? They don’t do this in the movies!’ It was dreadful. It was one of those clashing of teeth, choking experiences. But it didn’t put me off, I suppose (giggles).
Did you ever question your own sexuality growing up?
When I was younger, I was a tomboy. We spent a lot of time on my grandmother’s farm in Wexford and helping with lambing the sheep. I used to stick my arm up to the elbow in the sheep and pull out the lamb. I’d help the vet and everything. I had no problems getting messy, and running around the fields with no socks and shoes on. That’s always been a side of me, but I was always a girly-girl too, and I never had any issues with sexuality.
At what age did you lose your virginity?
I waited until I was 18 – when I was old enough to emotionally deal with it. I didn’t find it awkward; again, because I knew the person. I’ve always seen it as something that brings people closer – and it’s necessary for a close relationship to be intimate. If I’m away from Wes for, say, two weeks I’d always come back and not feel as close because we haven’t had that contact. For me, it’s all about the loving, the closeness – it’s not really about anything wild or raunchy.
What are your thoughts on one night stands?
I’ve never been interested in one night stands. I can count the people I slept with on the one hand – that’s a good thing. They’ve always been in relationships or somebody I’ve been seeing for a while. I was brought up to believe that you should reserve being intimate for someone you actually have feelings for. You don’t have to be in love with the person, but you should have strong feelings for this person.
Who was your first true love?
It was my previous boyfriend. I was with him for four years. We started going out when we were 18. He had been going out with a girl for a few years and I sort of came along and stole him away. We had some great times, but we just outgrew each other. I bumped into him in Renards a few weeks ago and I chatted with him for an hour, while Wes was sitting there. I have great respect for him and his family. But college is meant to be the experimental stage where you grow up doing whatever you want, and we actually had this long, committed relationship throughout college. It was difficult. I was forever travelling. When we broke up it was reported that I’d cheated on him, but the truth was we’d broken up about six weeks before it was reported in the press. I just kept it very quiet, out of respect for him. And then I went away with a girlfriend for a week to Cyprus and immediately after with another girlfriend to New York. I remember thinking, “Brilliant! I’m single.” I just went out, and had fun without feeling guilty. It was very liberating. And then I came back and got together with Wes.
Are you a romantic person?
I am, yes. Romantic and passionate. I have a wild streak! But it’s never been wild in a slutty way (laughs)!
Describe your wild streak!
I just have moments of madness. On holiday in Bali recently, Wes and I had a private pool with our villa and a couple of nights we went out on the town and came back and went swimming naked (laughs), just because we felt like it! It was pouring rain and we ran out skinny dipping in the pool. Those moments of utter freedom, I think, are wonderful – so much of daily life is structured by time, by place, by people that you need that liberation.
What attracts you to a man?
You need to be attracted to someone, to want to get intimate and physical with them. You want to be attracted to them when you see them naked type of thing. Then that fades as soon as you get to know them. One of the most basic things I have been attracted to in boyfriends is a good family structure, a good solid background. Like what I’ve had, which was a very loving upbringing. The next thing is a sense of humour. And somebody who looks after me – I like to be treated like a lady. In terms of power in relationships, it’s important to be equal. I have more power over Wes in some situations and he more over me in others, but we guide each other. I teach him things and he teaches me, and we balance each other very well.
The tabloids are saying you're getting engaged?
Certainly not. Our next step would be to move in together and then maybe further on we’ll think about marriage. It’s a commitment that I don’t think is necessary in our lives at the moment. I can see myself settling down when I’m 30 or 31. I don’t think the time is right, but saying that I’ve had moments when I feel quite broody (laughs)! When I see people with kids now, I think, ‘God! I’d love something to look after’. But then when I do something silly, I think, ‘I can’t even look after myself right now. So, I can’t be responsible for a child’. I’ve always believed that it’s better to live with someone first for a few year to, you know, learn about their habits – whether they leave towels lying on the floor or whether they don’t put the seat down or things like that!
Would you ever pose for Playboy?
You can never say never. But it has never been one of my ambitions. If the price was right I’d have no problems with it. I wouldn’t do full nudity. But I’ve been photographed topless now and anyone who read the Sunday World that time has seen my boobs (laughs). It’s more the issue of it being degrading. I’d prefer to be a woman who doesn’t use my body to get ahead – I’d rather be able to communicate and that’s why TV presenting appeals to me. It’s nice to be photogenic but you don’t want to just be a ‘face’.
Speaking of those topless pics, were you annoyed?
That was quite intrusive. Wes and I were staying in a very private resort and a paparazzi got over the wall and took photos. I was sunbathing topless, which I do anyway because if I’m doing a shoot that involves little clothing then I don’t want the lines showing. I don’t have any problem with nudity, but that was a little bit of a shock to see my nakedness spread over the tabloids. I showed it to my parents and they said, ‘You look great! Don’t worry about it’. So, I tend to just not read it and look at the pics.
The tabloids have really intensified their focus on celebrities in recent years.
With the introduction of the Daily Mail – absolutely, yeah. They’ve had to step up a gear in synch with the Daily Mail style – a very UK sort of aggression. You do get the paparazzi springing up in strange places when you are not expecting it. My job is to liaise with the media and I have to accept that sometimes the media will go against you and sometimes it will support you. If we can get the message out there to the general public that what they’re reading is not generally true in the tabloid publications – just enjoy the entertainment value of it. Personally, I can’t imagine how these people go home to their families and say, ‘How was my day? Oh, I told a whole lot of lies about someone’. But you have to accept that’s the way the world works. Everybody has to earn a living.
I’m sure it can be hurtful...
It’s annoying when things are written but I accept that it’s part of the job. Again, through studying sociology – we did all sorts of courses in media studies – I realised that the tabloids are there to entertain the masses, to keep them away from political society, from political decisions – and that’s it. It’s to keep the so-called working class down. That’s what it is: a strategy to maintain order. One of the greatest worries is that history is being made in the wrong way. Look at any newspapers archives, how much of that is factual and how much is fiction? It worries me what will go into the history books for our children.
Your Bebo site made the headlines recently over allegations of you being involved in so-called cyber bullying.
Every couple of days I get nasty, jealous remarks. But I’m like, ‘Keep it coming (laughs)!’ I have a Miss World photo album on my Bebo website, which is all about photo sharing – sharing bits of your life – and the Miss World event is obviously a significant part of my recent life. I had some girl comment, ‘Would you ever get over yourself! Your not Miss World anymore – just grow up and get over it’. Generally, I’m not really annoyed by most things, but I just thought, ‘That’s particularly cheeky – how dare she say that’, and I set up an ‘album of nastiness’ – out of boredom – and I put her picture up. I was going to put up pictures as a sort of ‘name and shame’ thing of everybody who’s been nasty and hopefully it would prevent other people from being nasty to me. I had about twenty comments saying, ‘Great idea. I love it. I’m going to do the same’. So, I thought this might work and make Bebo a nicer place for everyone. Someone then commented on this girl who is (pauses) large (laughs) – I don’t want to be any more rude. So the tabloids thought, ‘Oh, this is great. Rosanna is bullying some girl’. But I wasn’t, I was just actually defending myself – showing her up for what she’d done. And, of course, this girl’s mum got onto the Sunday World and was giving out. I was the one who was criminalised – the one made into the bully – and it hadn’t been the case at all.
Are you saying it was blown up out of all proportion?
Yeah. And look at these sex scandals. I was following the Eliot Spitzer New York sex scandal and the press love it. They love those Clinton-style scandals.
They're probably waiting for you to have a sex scandal! (Laughs) God! What can I have? A threesome!
You seem to be very comfortable talking about sex.
I have always been very comfortable talking about sex. I’m comfortable with my body and, to me, everyone looks the same naked. I don’t think people should get caught up with feeling embarrassed and ashamed. I was brought up in a family that didn’t see sex as a taboo. We’ve always been open about it. It’s a much happier way to be because I’ve never been one of those girls who tries to find love and affection through sleeping with a boy. I’ve always done it when the time is right and I feel close enough to them. I believe we are on this earth to procreate, to have families, to continue your genes, continue your family tree.
Do you think women’s attitudes are changing?
Women are certainly more predatory in terms of: if they see a man they like, who cares that he’s got a girlfriend? They’ll still go get him. I did the same thing, admittedly, a few years ago – not in a cruel way. It’s the way it works. I think everyone’s in it for themselves these days and if you're able to keep up with the pace you’ll be more successful.
Your family came under intense media scrutiny after you father’s indiscretion with the nanny, Marese Morgan. How did this affect things at home?
It made us tighter. You sort of form this cocoon. All I remember is seeing paparazzi everywhere when I went to school in the morning, things like that. I was very sheltered from it, which I appreciate. My school friends weren’t aware of the media goings on, so it meant that nobody was really commenting on it school. It was still a very normal environment for me. It would have been much harder if it happened now.
Sometimes in situations like that it can be much easier to just to walk away. But your mother didn’t…
Sure it can be, but she’s a very strong lady. She’s been very inspirational. I have huge admiration for my mum. She’s another believer in positive thinking. She had her neck accident. She was very close to death – as she had been in the past with her pregnancy – so, she’s very strong. She’s very positive. We still do pilates classes together twice a week, which is great.
You’ve already talked to the press about the nanny affair...
I was chatting to this journalist and we were having a laugh and perhaps she had lulled me into a false sense of security. I was joking and I said something stupid and then said I don’t really want to talk about it. And then, anyway, that came out and even in the context of the piece it wasn’t like ‘Rosanna Davison was ranting and raving’ – it was just an off the wall comment. I don’t regret it in the sense that I haven’t changed my attitude towards the woman. But I just know now better than to say it because it can get libellous!
Did you ever think about a career in music?
I love music. I listen to the radio in the background all the time. At school I played the recorder and the piano and I sang in the choir. I always enjoyed it. I sang a little bit on one of dad’s albums. And then on one of the most terrifying nights of my life I sang live on the biggest German TV show in front of 15 million people, and then we sang on Polish TV as well. I retired at the top (laughs)! But it was never a career that I was drawn towards.
Are you sick listening to ‘Lady In Red’?
No, I like it because it’s iconic. It’s a real wedding song. I was only two when it was released. He’s always going to be associated with the song. It’s still regularly played on Q102. Funnily enough, it’s not his favourite song. I think my mam denies that he wrote it about her. It was Princess Diana’s favourite song. Dad told me stories about how he shared a helicopter ride with her years ago and she mentioned to him how she loved the song. It was a nice story to remember her by when she passed away.
Does the stereotypical perception of models being bimbos annoy you?
After winning Miss World, I got comments from certain areas of the media, saying, ‘Oh, she’s another blonde bimbo! Don’t mind her…’ I knew I wasn’t, but that was actually one of the reasons I made myself go back to college – as much as I disliked it – and worked as hard as I could. I was delighted when I came out with the 2:1 and the First and the PhD scholarship offer because that puts to bed any of that talk.
You mention disliking university life. Was this because it was difficult to go back to studying after winning the Miss World title?
I found it hard to adapt. I was very, very happy in first year. I participated in the UCD fashion show and that was my first insight into modelling. I was very much involved in student life. I was a typical student, getting the bus in every day, wearing my jeans and runners. Suddenly – after winning Miss World – people looked at me completely differently. The girls didn’t talk to me anymore. Luckily, I did have friends in college that I was able to hang around with, but it was a very difficult experience. I began to literally use the university campus as a means to get a degree and that was it. I didn’t involve myself in student life.
Were there snide comments?
There was actually an issue with the ‘net. People were mentioning my presence on the campus. Someone would say, ‘I saw her today and she looked awful’, or ‘There are much better looking girls in my class’. I have no problem with someone’s opinion. But I don’t claim to be the most amazing looking person ever, and the fact that they were commenting on me was upsetting at the time.
Did you think you’d win Miss World?
Not at all. I arrived in this unknown country with strangers, not having a clue about the language, jet-lagged, and I actually cried down the phone for the first five days to my parents. I’d tell them, ‘I hate this. I’m so lonely’. I was so intimidated by the beauty and the flair, particularly of the South American girls, who just had the most stunning outfits and they had all the enhancements and everything, which I don’t have (laughs)! After the first week I began to relax and quietly observe the girls that had been trained for up to a year. Miss India had her own handbook to consult! I spent the second half of the competition really pushing myself, working hard. The whole competition is just work, work, work. Then my parents came over and that injected a renewed confidence and desire to get there. It was a competition and I was there for one purpose. Funnily enough, the most terrifying moment was when I was announced as the fifth girl in the top five. I won the beachwear competition and I was fast-tracked into the top 20, so when the top five was being announced I didn’t think I’d make it. I remember when the names were being called out for the winners. In my head, my main rival was my roommate, Miss Canada, and she came second to me. And when her name was called out I thought, “My God! I think I’ve won this.” So, I had a couple of seconds to prepare.
Why didn’t you take up more international opportunities after winning the Miss World?
I was represented by the Miss World organisation and I had no say in what I was doing or what was being organised for me. It’s not like Miss Universe, which has TV deals and everything obviously because of Donald Trump. The majority of what I was doing was charity work with a little bit of modelling and TV stuff thrown in. I never knew if any offers came in because I was never told.
You could have moved abroad to work after the year was up.
I was never really interested in moving away. There is so much competition abroad, so maybe I’m just taking the easier route – sometimes it’s easier to be in a place where you’re known anyway and that you can get the best of the best jobs and get paid well for them. I’ve had offers but I’ve always prioritised other things.
You are now going to co-host the upcoming Miss Universe Ireland show…
I’ve been asked by Andrea Roche to co-host the Miss Universe Ireland competition, which she has just taken on and she’s agreed with TV3 to televise it. It will be a great night and fantastic television experience for me. It’s good for the country to have these competitions. I know some people probably disagree with them but, in my experience, they provide a whole range of opportunities for those involved.
Some papers are suggesting that there is a conflict with the rival Miss Ireland organisers over you – a former Miss Ireland – hosting the show?
I don’t think so. I’m very good friends with the organisers of Miss Ireland World because my good friend is going out with the son of the owner of the franchise. There’s an understanding there. I was asked to do it. I’m trying to get more opportunities in TV, so I was not going to turn down the opportunity. Storm (major UK talent agency) have taken me on with the view of putting me in the television world, rather than (pauses)… I don’t want to be competing with 16-year-olds, six foot tall, stick insects! I’m aware that I’m certainly past the teenage years that a lot of designers would prefer, so I’ll eventually have to move on. There’s still plenty of opportunities in Ireland. Modelling is a buoyant, growing industry here. I’m tempted to enter the Miss Universe Ireland competition because I thought, ‘I could make it – and be Miss Ireland twice!’ I might enter it next year. You can put that in. I’m still within the age limit!
Is the modelling world awash with drugs?
Not in my experience. I’m sure it is happening. I’m always being told by tabloid journalists that it’s rife. I just stay away from it. If people choose to do it they know the risks. I’ve never chosen to go down that route. I was once offered coke at a party – obviously I’m totally anti-drugs. I’ve been brought up in a healthy, clean living way, so it’s not something that I’ve ever been tempted by.
But surely you have experimented with marijuana?
I don’t mind people knowing that I have tried it. But we were in Amsterdam on an education trip. We were studying Rembrandt and we went to museums. We stopped off at a café for lunch and, of course, we tried it. The effects lasted for 10 minutes. I laughed my head off and then I suddenly felt really hungry and got the munchies. That was it. I’m glad to say that I’ve tried it in the sense that I do believe in trying things, which are not dangerous to your health. But it’s not something that I wanted to do again. That’s all I’ve tried. One of the reason I didn’t want to smoke weed is because I hate smoking. I’ve always been clean living – and, because of the sports, I’ve always respected my lungs.
But you love champagne and cocktails!
I’m afraid I’m one of those girls who never turns down a glass of champagne when I’m offered it! That’s my only vice. When I was younger it was men and champagne (laughs)! Now it’s Wesley and champagne!
The TV documentary about Katy French was shown the other night.
I don’t want to speak too much about her, out of respect for her family. I knew her through work and I would never say we were great friends, but I respected her drive and her ambition and her focus. In a way it’s good that her legacy and her impact on the modelling world is being remembered. But for the family’s sake, it is time to let them grieve properly without having to read something new about her. Her situation was slightly exploited by some parts of the tabloid press. They knew a front page story about Katy would sell and that’s sad in a way.
What was your reaction to news that she’d died from a drugs overdose?
It was a very grim week for everyone in the industry. It was a journalist that told me. There was no surprise to hear that she was into coke. She had made admissions in the press about doing coke. To be honest, the first thing I thought when I heard she’d collapsed and was in hospital was that it was a coke overdose. It’s not the nicest thing to think, but I thought that because I’d associated it with her since I’d read it about her.
What do you think of the comparisons that were made with Princess Diana.
I disagree with that completely. Princess Diana was somebody who left a huge legacy and she did so much good for people around the world. I don’t think it compares in any way. I think Katy’s death is just a terrible tragedy – a modern day Irish tragedy. From what I hear, I don’t think it’s generally changed people’s attitudes, on a Saturday night, towards cocaine. They’ve been taking it for years, so why should they stop now just because somebody was unlucky enough to suffer the ill effects? People forget.
It was strange that she died so soon after her big party bash.
It was like it was planned. She was giving her big, final media-friendly farewell – and then it all just ended, which saddens me to think about it now. The Friday after her birthday party I was reading the papers and looking at the pictures and I thought to myself, ‘God! She’s pushing so hard right now that this has to end. Something has to give. A fuse has to go out. Something has to break to end this cycle’.
Why did you think that?
Something had to give because, in my experience, nothing in life can be pushed to the point that it won’t break – something will break eventually. Unfortunately, as we all know, it was a strong reaction. Having watched the documentary on her, she was so much focused on getting her face in the papers that she sort of lost sight as to why she was doing it. In my experience, girls in this country can earn a perfectly good living without having to push yourself all the time and reveal every single little detail about your life. The route she took was extreme and probably not entirely necessary. Within a year it was this huge bubble of publicity and presence... It was like a flower that came into bloom and then died. Very strange.
And then all her modelling colleagues, who probably weren’t that close to Katy, felt guilty about not turning up to her party?
I regretted that I didn’t go. I felt guilty (pauses)… no, I didn’t feel guilty. I try not to feel guilty about things. I texted her that day saying, ‘Sorry, I don’t feel well’. I was coming down with a cold and I had a busy weekend ahead and I didn’t fancy being sick. I just said to her, ‘I’ll see you again soon’. We weren’t close, but people did suggest we were great friends. I’d only met her about six or seven times. I always got on well with her and chatted to her. But I think we all felt we knew her because she infiltrated every area of the press. I live only a half mile from where she was buried. Wes and I visited her grave just before Christmas and wished her a happy Christmas and left flowers.
Do you believe in an afterlife?
I take the scientific, practical route that we are part of nature and when we die we introduce ourselves to the food chain. We become absorbed in the earth; we create new plants. It’s a nice way to think that we become universal, rather than individuals – that we become part of the universe. So, that’s the way I tend to think. Although I would love to believe in reincarnation and I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who have reasons to believe that – who believe their cat is their grandmother kind of thing. I don’t necessarily believe in heaven or hell. I would never take the religious route. Religion annoys me a great deal.
Why?
Religion to me is something that has been made up by man, for man, to unite people – to create an ideal for people to live by. To create a perfect template for people to live their lives by. Religion is a great uniting force, but it has caused so much tension and conflict – so many wars are created by religion. I think it would be better if we all agree that we are only here on this planet for a short period of time – and that we are united by the forces of nature and by our own mortality. If we can each stick to our own religions or if we want to be atheists or whatever.
As a Protestant was it difficult for you to grow up in such a Catholic country?
Catholicism is another thing which I have never been able to talk about because Ireland is a Catholic country. It’s something I don’t have a lot of respect for. The power of the Pope and people like that just annoys me. Look at the scandals. Look at what’s been kept quiet by certain higher authorities. Why should this be allowed to happen? Also, their discrimination against homosexuality is wrong. That angers me. I’m just grateful that I was brought up in a Protestant way. Priests should be able to marry. It’s totally against human nature to go without sex. We are driven to procreate – sex is completely normally. We are animals – we are obviously more complex and intelligent – but we are still animals driven by hormones.
Your father apparently has healing hands?
He has always kept it quiet. I’ve known about it all my life. A lot of people are born with a gift and I do genuinely believe that when, say you’ve sprained your wrist or cut it, he’s able to hold his hands over you for a few minutes and concentrate his energy into healing the part of you that’s sore. From a scientific perspective, it is perfectly legitimate because if you are using your own body heat to heal another part of somebody’s body – and we are all made up of molecules connected by energy fields – there’s no reason why you can’t put your energy onto somebody else and heal them that way. When somebody dies they leave energy: look at Auschwitz or any of those concentration camps – the birds don’t fly above them because all of this negative energy is being left after all these people have suffered and died. So, I believe in the power of energy and the power of positive thought.
In what sense?
There is a power of positive thought and visualisation. I’ve always believed that if I think of something enough, if I want it enough for the right reasons, then it will happen. With something like Miss World, I thought, ‘I really want this’. And recently I thought that I’d love to do some travel writing and it happened out of the blue. I’d love to do TV and it happened. If you believe in something enough then it will come true. Last year I was thinking that I’d love a new car – four days later, Audi rang and asked me, ‘Would you like to be our Irish ambassador for the next year and you’ll be driving our new cars’. I was like, ‘Wow! How did that happen?’ I guess it all comes down to powers of the mind. I like to believe in fate but I do believe you can direct your own course as well. I think the Katy story is very much a fated sort of story in a way.
And what do you think about the likes of astrology?
I recently went to see an astrologist and he read my charts and everything was so true to me. It was accurate. I totally believe that you can actually chart your path in life in many ways. He knew all about my childhood and the inner-most secrets that I have and other things that I didn’t know about the deepest parts of my personality. It’s a great way of finding out about yourself and moving on with things. The astrologist also said, ‘You and your father have a unique bond. You were actually husband and wife in a former life’.
What did you make of that?
I thought to myself that it makes a whole lot of sense. After the astrology brought it up I started thinking that it sounds quite true. As sceptical as one can be, nobody knows what the situation is with us (my father and I). We argue from time to time, the same as anyone does, but we do share a close bond. It’s partly because of his experiences in the entertainment industry and the knowledge that he has managed to pass on to me has been hugely valuable. He’s like a guru (laughs)! It meant that from the start I was never impressed with seeing myself on TV or magazines or newspapers. I never went “Wow!” as some people surely do, who go down that path.

Photos: Kip Caroll