"But there's more to life than that and Opus Dei has helped me realise important things in my life, " she says. "I have learnt that God is a loving father who only wants our happiness and that is very liberating. I have learned the reasons why the church has said things because I was never going to accept that at face value. Mainly it has given me a sense of calm that helps me put my problems into a certain degree of perspective."

Daly has been a supernumerary, or lay member, of Opus Dei since she was 23 years old.

Within her family, her mother is a member of Opus Dei, while her father doesn't believe in God. Opus Dei was never discussed much at home and it was Daly's sister who introduced her to religious classes in the Opus Dei Glenard Centre near UCD.

"I went every week for years and then during college, I was kind of torn between going to class every week and living the high life of college in between, " she says. Attending World Youth Day the summer she left college had a big impact on Daly.

"I began to feel that religion is not something you can stand still with or sit on the fence about, " she says. "I felt if I didn't do something constructive, I would eventually lose my religion so for me, becoming a member of Opus Dei was making that commitment I needed."

Daly is the only person in her family, apart from her mother, who has become a member of Opus Dei. Every Monday evening she attends a circle meeting, for a discussion on spiritual matters. She says the rosary every day and