Anyway, he
kind of was with the decision to buy the pub, whilst not drinking alcohol himself. That
is respectable, but still questionable. I'm sure there's an interview ('In Her Own Words' or the 'Baktabak' one which used to be on YouTube, do you have the audio clip?) where Enya seems to be asking a confused interviewer "is that strange?" regarding the point about Leo. There's a moment in one of the Brennan family documentaries where Eithne's sister Deirdre talks about how she found it crazy (at the time, she would've been 9 or 10) for him to have bought such a run-down place, but being able to fix it up, ready for performances, like some kind of magician.


He obviously comes across as a warm, welcoming person in the public eye, and was probably similar at home, but the sisters (besides Moya) seem to mention more about his stage performances and being away travelling, than how he was like as 'daddy'.

Another thing is how attentive he seemed to his sons and their mental wellbeing, in quite a forward-thinking way. However, the younger daughters seemed to get less opportunities (besides what their maternal grandparents gave) and (I could be wrong here) slightly conditional treatment from their parents - doing well in their music career was praised more, or joining in on stage. The parents certainly weren't bad, many do that to some extent, but they did seem less attentive to 'the 2nd crowd' as the younger siblings were sometimes described as, when they were growing up.
Eithne (probably) being the most absent-minded one in a big family wouldn't have helped. If she'd remained compliant, she'd still be nice, but her future could've been rather bleak and uninspired; we'd probably never know of her or the trio.

It's got to be true that, although it could be harsh and not ideal for all, the boarding school experience encouraged Eithne to be more independent and speak for herself, in a good way, with respect for others and belief in oneself.
