Elaine Crowley has paid tribute to her dad on the 20th anniversary of his passing.
The Virgin Media star was only 23 years of age when she lost her dad to Liposarcoma in 2001.
“His death hit me quite hard. I was just putting one foot in front of the other and kept doing what I was doing,” she previously told VIP Magazine.
“He adored all his children but when dad was very ill at the end, all he wanted was mam. I suppose when you’re married to someone for forty-odd years, that’s the way it is.”
Remembering her dad on the anniversary of passing, Elaine shared a beautiful family picture as well as a snap of her mum and dad on their wedding day.
“Bittersweet day today… 20 years ago I lost my beloved Daddy, but am so grateful to be celebrating Mother’s Day with Mary V, albeit virtually. There’s no love like that of a parent for its child or a child for its parents,” she said.
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It was a big week for Mary V, who also received her Covid-19 vaccine, bringing much relief to herself and the family.
“One year on and the best news ever! Mam is vaccinated. I feel like we’ve won the lotto,” Elaine said.
“Covid-19 has robbed us of so much, and I’m thinking of all our loved ones that should be here with us but are not because of this dreaded virus.
“But there is light.. we need to hold tough for another while so we can all be with our friends and family again. I’ll light a candle for all those we’ve lost and pray for better times ahead.”
Earlier this year, Elaine and her family got an awful fright as Mary V, who was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2019, fell incredibly ill.
The presenter begged people to be careful when it comes to the virus as it could be detrimental to people with underlying health issues.
“We were in close contact with somebody, we were locked into the house, I was there with my mother,” she said on her self-titled chat show.
“She was very, very sick, she had an inconclusive Covid test – the first one – you have to presume that she had it.”
Seeing her mother so ill scared Elaine, as the severity of it continued to grow for some time.
“I had a few days where my mother was very, very, very sick and it was touch and go and it broke my heart to pieces… sorry, but it was the darkest time of my life and that kind of fear I don’t think people get.
“And just because someone’s older, just because someone has an underlying illness does not mean that their life isn’t worth anything.”
Through tears she continued, “Sorry for getting emotional but a lot of people I think are throwing away the elderly under the bus because of this.
“Luckily my mother did not have Covid, the next test was negative but we were the lucky ones.”
Elaine wasn’t able to see her mum for the entirety of the first lockdown as Mary was based in Cork while she was working in Dublin.
The presenter revealed “it broke my heart to pieces” as she couldn’t be with any of her loved ones.
“I’m terrified of catching it and I’m terrified of passing it onto anybody else because I couldn’t live with it,” she said.
“Because I know from people close to me who work in hospitals, who work in Covid wards, who work in intensive care they have seen the absolute heartbreak that has gone on. And unless it has touched you you can’t be that empathic with people.”