Hello, in this programme I'm talking face to face to someone who's now well-established figure on Northern Ireland's political landscape.

She entered elected politics 13 years ago at the age of 31 and already she's represented her party at Council, Stormont and Westminster levels.

She held her common seat comfortably in July's general election and regularly appears as a spokesperson for her party on the

media. But she has had major policy clashes with colleagues in the past and despite being closely

associated with her constituency in which she's lived since she was three, she unapologetically

describes herself as a Galway girl. Terhanna, welcome to Red Lines. You clearly grew up in

a political household because both your parents have been involved with the SDLP over many years.

But do you remember when you first became politically aware yourself? I mean, it was definitely

a political household. It was an activist household, I suppose. they were always involved in different bits and pieces it wasn't we know we weren't weren't sitting with the flip chart and the the ideology around the kitchen table but I picked up my parents values very much I do remember snatches of of awareness of of political events and obviously the troubles being a major part of that.

And I remember just the sense of that you get involved in things and you play a role.

And I suppose there would have always been, as there are in my own house now, you know, a box of leaflets in the hall or we'd be stopping off at an event if we were going

somewhere. But it wasn't, I don't know, I don't know, it was a cumulative effect. And I suppose

it wasn't really until, I was a political person as in, I was interested, but I probably, it was

into my late, or mid-20s before I became kind of independently involved and my politics

broadened out a little bit more than just what I'd known here in terms of nationalism and

unionism. So we'll talk about those later years, those experiences in your 20s in a moment or two,

but I just want to focus on those early years because you grew up in Barnah in County Galway until the age of three.

And then your parents moved back north and your father, Raymond, took up the role of STLP General Secretary.

How much do you remember about that move to Belfast in the mid-80s? Because you were very small. Yeah I don't remember that much. I'm the youngest of four and I was

just coming four actually it was just we moved a couple weeks before my fourth birthday and I have

vague memories but I and I suppose I can't separate my summer times and holidays in Galway from when

we lived there but I don't remember much of of actually living there but it was always a big part of our lives you know at

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