Dáithí Ó Sé has opened up about the passing of his father, as well as the birth of his son and how he feels the two coincided, despite the fact that his father never got to meet his grandson.
Speaking to The Irish Times, Dáithí revealed that finding out his wife Rita was pregnant had been the best day of his life. “The day that you find out your wife is pregnant is a huge day altogether.”
He continued, “It was probably, up until then, the best thing that had ever happened to me in my life. I was excited about having a family.”
The early days of the pregnancy were particularly tough, as Rita suffered from hyperemesis, which causes severe morning sickness. At the same time, Dáithí’s father’s health was also deteriorating.
Explaining that he almost felt caught between the two, Dáithí explained, “I’ll never forget. My father was sick in Tralee at the time.
“He was in hospital and Rita was in hospital in Galway and my mother was wondering why wasn’t I going down to see my father because she [Rita] was only probably around two months at that stage, so we weren’t going telling anyone.
“But, basically, I had to say ‘look, Rita’s pregnant’.”
Sadly, Dáithí’s father passed away soon after, and he never got to meet his grandson. “I always say, Jesus if it was only for two minutes,” he said.
“I still believe that when my father left this life and was heading off to wherever he was going that there was a kind of a handshake, ‘how are you doing’? The two lads had a quick handshake as my father went off and my son Micheál landed.
“My father passed away in August, and Micheál landed in March”, Dáithí explained.
“We were so sad that we lost my father, but the fact that there was another one coming as well meant a lot, and the fact that he’s named after him as well meant so much, particularly to my mother.
“The fact that there was a baby coming means you have to kind of straighten yourself up. You can’t throw yourself on to the bed and pull the covers over your head. You have to get on with life.
“There was a moment when Micheál landed out and Rita was taken away just to make sure everything was alright and there was just me and Micheál, this little baby inside of the room, just the two of us, and just that moment when these eyes look up at you and you’re going, ‘Jesus lads almighty’. It’s from that moment on that you realise what your own parents went through, from start to finish really.”