Brendan Courtney’s mum Nuala has revealed she worried her son would be attacked after he came out to her.
The Off The Rails presenter told his mum he was gay aged 17 and Nuala revealed she accepted it from the beginning.
“I was a bit worried that he might get beaten up — you know when lads have had a few drinks, how they get brave,” she said.
“So if he was late home, I’d be asking ‘where the hell where you?’ I’d always tell him to stick in a group.”
Fear: Brendan’s mum Nuala worried for her son’s safety as a teenager | VIPIRELAND.COM
However, Brendan’s mum admitted she was not always so tolerant and viewed the world as “very black and white” when she was in her 20s.
“When I was a young woman, in my early 20s, I was a very black and white sort of person. I wasn’t that tolerant.”
She continued: “And then I lost two babies to cot death, four years apart. That humbled me. I decided then that my children were whatever they were, and that I would always keep them very close to me.”
Change: Nuala revealed she became more tolerant after losing two children at a young age | VIPIRELAND.COM
It was this open-mindedness that made Nuala realise her son was gay long before he told her.
“I think I always knew he was gay — as a mother, you just know there is something different” she told The Independent.
“When Brendan came to me at age 17 and told me he was gay, I just told him, I love you, and it doesn’t matter.”
Acceptance: Nuala told Brendan his sexuality didn’t matter to her | VIPIRELAND.COM
Nuala hopes to see counsellors introduced into schools to help young kids struggling with their sexuality.
“I would love to see counsellors in primary schools from the age of 10 up. Young boys coming to terms with their sexuality can suffer terribly in all-boys schools” she said.
“Thankfully that didn’t happen to Brendan. He went to Colaiste Mhuire in Parnell Square and he was fine there.”
