Ellen Keane: ‘The greatest challenge I’ve faced is definitely my own mind'

‘I always think who would I be if I had two hands or what would I be doing and if I’d want to have two hands, and honestly, I wouldn’t’

Ellen Keane and The Dove Self-Esteem Project has partnered with Shine Festival and The Shona Project to help the next generation in Ireland develop a positive relationship with how they look.

I am from Clontarf. I have two brothers and a sister. I’m the youngest. I went to Belgrove in Clontarf for primary school and then I went to Holy Faith for secondary school and after that, I went to a boarding school in England for two years to swim and then I came home, and I did my Leaving Cert.

My earliest memory is a weird one because I’ve spent so much time in and out of Cappagh Orthopaedic Hospital where you get your prosthetics and stuff. I would have had prosthetics as a really young kid so anytime I think about my childhood outside of swimming and outside of sport, I always think of Cappagh, and I always think of being there as a kid and getting prosthetics and the rehab that comes with having one hand.