COUSIN'S SUPPORT.

GREEN Party Senator Dan Boyle said he hopes his singing sensation cousin Susan Boyle is on the road to recovery.

Cousin Dan said he hoped her time in the Priory would see her back to normal as soon as possible.

He said: "Hopefully it is something time and space will help her to get over. It is a very stressful experience for any individual to go through - a programme watched by millions of people."

Senator Boyle said he only found out the pair were related two weeks ago.

They are second cousins and both trace their roots back to the tiny village of Keadue, Co Donegal.

In 2006, Dan was one of a quartet known as The Politicians who performed on Celebrity You're A Star. But he quit the show in disgust after one judge said the group should "lose the fat one".

Susan's grandfather and Dan's grandfather were brothers in a large family that lived on Aranmore island off Donegal.

In the early 1940s, Joe Boyle left his brother James behind and emigrated to Scotland. Joe married twice and his second wife Sarah gave birth to Paddy Boyle - Susan Boyle's father.

CAPTION(S):

TROUBLED Susan Boyle collapsed in her hotel room