The young NI Catholic attending his first Conservative conference

Conor Boyle is a 20-year-old Catholic from Crossmaglen - believe it or not he's also just been to his first Conservative conference.

So just how does a young person from a nationalist background in South Armagh end up in the thick of true blue Toryism?

No it's not a case of mistaken identity.

In fact according to Conor it's his "beliefs in traditional values" that align best with the Conservatives.

All that said, the student who's already studying at university in England admitted he keeps his Conservative credentials on the down low when he visits home.

"I've heard lots of stories from young Conservatives here in Manchester about how hard it is to be a Tory in their area, well I've got a story to tell them," he said.

"I've no doubt it would be impossible with the social stigma to be a Conservative back home.

"Unionists dislike the Conservatives as much as nationalists do and having right-wing values on a university campus is not easy either."

This year, the Conservative Party Conference was held in Manchester

Does all of his family know about his political allegiances?

An immediate "no" is the answer.

"I come from a nationalist family; my mother is from Meath.

"I'd talk about what I believe in if that was up for discussion or debate with family, but I wouldn't necessarily admit it or put a label on it."

• Five ideas being pushed at Tory conference

• We've been too squeamish on migration - Braverman

• Tories must focus on younger voters - ex-minister

Aside from explaining to fellow Tory members how he ended up being an unlikely lad within the party, Conor has spent this week searching for Northern Ireland fringe events to attend.

While those might have been in shorter supply this year, Conor has his own assessment of how the party faithful currently feels about us.

"Some people when they find out you're from Northern Ireland will ask those questions about a lack of government, I'm happy to talk about it, it's not entirely the Tories' fault we haven't got a government.

"While the criticism of back home is that the Tories aren't interested in Northern Ireland, and that might be true for some parts of the leadership but it's not true for our grassroots, they do have concern for it and the union."

'Rishi's come out fighting'

As for the leadership of the party Conor supports, he reveals he backed Liz Truss in last year's race.

So how does he feel about Rishi Sunak 12 months on and does he rate his chances of winning the next general election?

"I was frustrated with him for a while when he first came into Number 10 as he was boring and a bit technocratic, but now he seems to have got some grit and is coming out fighting.

"I think he has a shot now."

Conor came face-to-face with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak earlier this week

Conor and dozens of other NI Conservatives got their shot to meet the PM when he attended a reception with them on the final night of the conference.

Between a tight scrum for selfies and handshakes Rishi Sunak told one NI Tory member of his determination to "change things up".

But if polls prove correct, and Labour wins the next election, the big change for Conor and the rest of the Conservatives will be having to select Rishi Sunak's successor.