I can honestly say that I had no interest in education until I was 17 years of age. Throughout my schooldays, my main objective was to avoid studying. In those days the culture was that you went to school because you had to - if you didn't the Garda would come for you. I grew up in Kilkeely, Co Limerick, and went to the local national school. I have nothing but praise for our headmaster, the late Mr Irwin, who tried to make school interesting.

There were a number of very good secondary school in the area, but my parents, in their wisdom, decided to pack me off the boarding school. They thought I had a better chance of studying if I was separated from my friends. I found life at Ballyfin College, Co Laois, extremely lonely. I often look back at what I consider to be the worst 20 days of my life. They were the 20 days after the start of term when I had to leave home and friends behind me.

Although I did very little study, I got a reasonably good Inter Cert. Then, I decided I wanted to go to college to study law. The competition for places was just beginning, so I knew I would have to shape up and get down to work. I also applied to the civil service and sat the Junior Executive exam a month before the Leaving. I passed and got offered a job. Even today, at times when I'm under extreme pressure, my mother jokes that I should have taken the fine job in the civil service. I got enough in the Leaving Cert to go to UCD to study law and I stayed on to do a master's. I was also called to the Bar but I got a job quite quickly with Craig Gardener Price Waterhouse in the tax department because I had majored in tax at UCD. I also did the accounting exams by night. I was four years in the job before I decided that I wanted to return to academia. I applied for and got a lectureship in UCD's faculty of law and later moved to UL as a senior lecturer.

It's thanks to John Bruton that I got an early start in politics. I was narrowly defeated in the 1981 election but eight months later, Garret FitzGerald's government was brought down by the famous Bruton budget and I won a seat in the ensuing election. The fact that I had been writing for the Limerick Leader, answering tax queries, had helped to boost my profile in the area. Throughout my life I've enjoyed sports - even though I had to give up playing when I was 15, due to rheumatic fever. I was always interested in poker and still play the odd game and I enjoy horse racing. Do gamblers make good politicians? Well, there's Charlie McCreevy and Albert Reynolds, and Bertie Ahern likes the odd flutter. Let's say that gamblers make good Fianna Fail politicians.

Willie O'Dea TD, who is Minister for State at the Department of Education and Science, with special responsibility for adult education and youth affairs, was in conversation with Yvonne Healy