Harry arrived safely and within days his politician mother was giving thanks to Brian Cowen for his budget day initiative of 1,000 a year for each child under the age of six. "I thought he was thinking of me, " Flynn laughs.

Ever the politician. But the mother of two . . . Harry joins three-year-old Keelin . . . says her children have given her a new perspective. "They have changed the way I look on life.

There was a time when I thought politics was my number one priority. Well, it's clearly not now . . . my family are that and that is probably a good thing. It gives me a very good grounding and, to be honest, I'm probably a little bit more relaxed in myself. You have to be. Going out in the morning with a load of puke on your shoulder rather than in a prim and proper suit is fairly grounding. But those things don't bother me now the way they used to."

When the Dail is sitting, Flynn takes Keelin . . . and now Harry will join them . . . to Dublin where a childminder and "going in and out of the Dail during the day" allow her to combine both roles. It's an unusual situation as most rural TDs leave family at home when they travel to Leinster House. "A lot of people talk to me about why there are not more women in politics. But it's very, very hard to juggle the two, " she says.

"When I went into the Dail in 1997 I didn't have any children. Now I'm the mother of a three-year-old and a six-anda-half-week-old. That has brought a busier lifestyle but it has given me a greater understanding, I can tell you, of how the working mother operates because I have the practical thing of bringing two children to Dublin every week, going up on a Tuesday and coming down on a Thursday."

Motherhood may have brought new demands, and a changed perspective, but Beverley Flynn is still a highlycharged political animal. Her career in national politics has been a controversial one, smothered before it really started by revelations from her previous career as a financial advisor with National Irish Bank. A High Court libel loss against RTE, followed by an unsuccessful Supreme Court appeal, only added to her woes. Twice thrown out of the Fianna Fail parliamentary party and in May 2004 expelled as a party member, Flynn now sits as an Independent TD.

"I was elected in June 1997 and from January 1998 this issue has been with me. You actually learn to live with it.

There's no doubt about it . . . at the start . . . it can be time consuming and a little bit distracting. But, to be honest, now I just live with it."

The payment of the outstanding legal bills owed to RTE . . . in the region of 3m . . . is described as "a private matter". But probed a little further, the Mayo TD admits, "It obviously has to be resolved but it will be up to myself to do that. . . I don't believe it will be any issue come the election."

The next general election will be a strange one for Flynn as she seeks to defend her Dail seat. Being outside the Fianna Fail fold still clearly rankles.

"It's a situation not of my choosing, no question or doubt about that, " she says. She describes herself as "technically an Independent" and takes heart from the fact that in her home town of Castlebar . . . and probably in other parts of Co Mayo . . . " I'm seen by people on the ground very much as the Fianna Fail TD."

Despite the rift with Bertie Ahern, Flynn has no interest in walking away from her former party. "Everybody knows that I was born into Fianna Fail and my political philosophy is Fianna Fail, that's exactly who I am and that' s where I'm coming from. That hasn't changed. The situation I find myself in is obviously not of my choosing but it's one I'm going to embrace now and work for the best interests of the people of Mayo."

The latest opinion polls indicate a very close race between the current Fianna Fail-PD coalition and the Enda Kennyled alternative. If she's back in Leinster House, Flynn's position as an Independent could be interesting, and she knows it. "The outcome of the next election is far from certain. It could be a cliffhanger. Any group of political parties may well need the support of a number of independents and if I'm lucky enough to be one of those independents it will be an opportunity to do what is best for the people of Mayo."

The former Fianna Fail member says the scenario is "hypothetical" but she's already pondering what she might do on the vote for the next Taoiseach. Would she automatically row in behind her former party and support Bertie Ahern, or would she back her fellow Mayo person, Enda Kenny? "I will not be taken for granted by any party and that includes Fianna Fail.

So despite the fact that my philosophy is from a Fianna Fail background I intend to do what I think is in the best interests of the people of Mayo."

Over the four decades the Flynns and the Kennys have fought many bitter political battles in Mayo. So it would be a strange situation if the daughter of former Fianna Fail minister Padraig Flynn walked through the voting lobby in Dail Eireann to help elect Enda Kenny as Taoiseach. The prospect brings a smile to Beverley Flynn's face that clearly says "come and offer me a deal". But at this stage all she'll say is "I'm ruling nothing in and I'm ruling nothing out."

All options are being kept open. Flynn says Kenny has "worked very hard and has made a difference within Fine Gael" while Bertie Ahern is described as "one of the most successful Taoisigh in modern times". But the wishlist for potential political suitors is already being rehearsed.

"There is a lot of satisfaction with this government but there is a sense that the west of Ireland hasn't got its fair slice of the cake. Our disposable income is 11% less than in the eastern part of the country."

The failure to spend all the money promised for the western region in the current National Development is, she says, "not good enough".

And could a junior ministerial position be ruled out?

"When I went into politics I was young and ambitious. Ten years on, I'm not quite so young. . ." she laughs. So the ambition remains.

"There's no doubt about it but I haven't been in the right place at the right time for the last number of years. But you could never say never in political life, " the Mayo woman admits.

MAYO CONSTITUENCY:

FIVE SEATS Outgoing TDs: Enda Kenny (FG); Michael Ring (FG); John Carty (FF); Beverley Flynn (Ind) and Jerry Crowley (Ind) THE internal party battles are almost as bitter as the contests between candidates from the different political groupings. One story told in the constituency is that when Fine Gael's Michael Ring attends any function he makes sure to stand in the middle of the room and loudly ask, "Is Enda here?"

There is no love lost between Ring and his party leader but the trouble for Fine Gael is that Ring's quest to top the poll, alongside Kenny's strong vote as the alternative Taoiseach, may cost the party a chance of a third seat in a "ve-seat constituency In the aftermath of the expulsion of Beverley Flynn as a party member, the Fianna Fail organisation in Mayo has been totally overhauled. Winning two seats is priority but "nishing off the Flynn dynasty will not be easily achieved. Almost 1,000 people are expected to attend the convention next month when three members of long-established FF families and several local councillors will be among those vying for a shot at joining Carty on the ticket.

According to a privatelycommissioned Fine Gael opinion poll, leaked to last week's Connaught Telegraph, FG is certain of two seats with Fianna Fail much less likely to win two. Added into this scenario will be Independent Jerry Crowley who won a seat in 2002 on a platform of delivering on health-related issues. Sinn Fein's Gerry Murray will poll well but is not expected to be in the hunt for a seat.

'EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT I WAS BORN INTO FIANNA FAIL' BEVERLEY Flynn is, according to her father, "a class act". The phrase, uttered on Padraig Flynn's infamous 'Late Late Show' appearance has now entered Irish political folklore. The 40-year-old Mayo woman was first elected to Dail Eireann in June 1997 with the not unreasonable expectation of following in her father's high-pro"le footsteps.

Padraig Flynn was a TD in Mayo from 1977 to 1993 during which time he held several senior ministerial positions. He eventually departed for the European Commission but, in recent years, has had his reputation damaged by . . . still unresolved . . . revelations at the Planning Tribunal in Dublin Castle.

Notwithstanding those issues, Flynn is, according to his daughter, "fantastic and enjoying his retirement".

Painting, golf and travel fill his time. Like his daughter, now an Independent TD, Padraig Flynn will be in the unusual situation at the next general election of battling against his former party for votes in Mayo. " I always think that my Dad thinks he's still the TD and I have to remind him from time to time, " Beverley Flynn laughs as she adds that her father is "a good sounding board and, I suppose, my political mentor".

Kevin Rafter