I didn't want to mentor after Richard died, reveals former Dragon Norah Casey
Businesswoman- turned-broadcaster Norah Casey has said she lost interest in mentoring entrepreneurs after her husband passed away.
The former Dragon's Den star said that while she used to love helping young businesses grow, she realised it wasn't what she wanted to do after Richard died in 2011.
"In business I'd murder someone who didn't do strategy, but in your personal life you change all the time," she said.
"I've changed enormously in the three years since Richard died.
"All the things I thought I wanted to do in year one ended up not being the things I thought I wanted to do in year two, and now I think I'm in a more reflective phase.
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"All the things I loved about my life before - like the idea of mentoring someone, investing in new businesses - they were what I didn't want to do.
"It wasn't about the money, it was much more the fact that I didn't want to give a bit of myself when there was so little.
However, the broadcaster was eager to keep busy after her husband's death, so she kept herself occupied with several broadcasting roles and raising her son Dara (16), which limited her social life.
"Getting up at 4am and doing Newstalk and then doing The Takeover, then The Today Show in Cork, it left me with just Saturday night free," she said.
"That's as much as I wanted, to be honest.
"Every evening, Dara and I did our homework together and it suited me that I was going to bed at 9.30pm and not having to see anyone."
Speaking to Woman's Way magazine, Casey said that despite the last few years having been very difficult, she feels younger than ever.
"I look at myself in the mirror and I look younger than I did 10 years ago. I feel younger," she said.
"I feel energised, I feel ready to tackle things that I wouldn't have tackled before."