MICHAELA McAreavey's faith has comforted her family in the four years since her murder, her father Mickey Harte has said.
The Tyrone football manager, who told a TV interview how he still missed his daughter "so so much", said the family took comfort from knowing that Michaela's purpose in life, was "to work her way towards God".
School teacher Michaela was killed in 2011 while on honeymoon on the island of Mauritius. She was found dead in the bath of her hotel room by her husband John McAreavey.
A 2012 murder trial ended in the acquittal of two hotel workers.
In September, Mauritian prosecutors said police were were working hard to bring "fresh and compelling evidence" to trial, with four potential suspects - employees of the former Legends hotel - under investigation by its Central Criminal Investigation Department.
Harte told Pat Kenny on his new UTV Ireland show that losing his daughter broke his heart, but said it created a "special connection" with God.
"I still miss her so so much and in human terms, your heart is broken," he said.
"But, on a higher level, I just feel there is a connection - a special connection - and I can only just believe that that’s the work of God and the work of Michaela - because she had such a belief and that gives me great help, because she so believed in God and believed that was her purpose in life, to work her way towards God."
During the interview aired last night the three-time All Ireland award-winning manager also admitted to placing a bet on Tyrone to win in 2008 when the team was written off as "no-hopers".
"2008 was a strange kind of one because we got beaten in the first round of the Ulster Championship, after a replay, after extra-time, by a single point," he said.
"At that stage, we were written off as no-hopers - in fact, some of the bookies had made us 33 to 1 or something."
Harte said he took the odds even though "I'm not a betting man".
He also dismissed the accusation by Pat Spillane of Tyrone playing "puke football".
"Just because Kerry didn't win in his eyes, and we were supposed to be ultra-defensive, but we had nine points by half-time - I think it was 9-2 or something.
"Well you couldn't be totally defensive if you're getting nine points and the game ended up being won by something like 13-6, so we were actually playing more offensive football than Kerry were on the day, because we had the results to show it."
`Pat Kenny in the Round' is recorded in the Round Room of Dublin's Mansion House.
