Linda Martin has opened up about her mum’s passing, revealing it brought the family great comfort having her at home during her final days.
The singer appeared on RTE’s Keys To My Life over the weekend, where she visited her old family home in Belfast with presenter Brendan Courtney.
It brought back a number of poignant memories, including that of her mum’s passing.
Kathleen sadly died from cancer in the family home, and Linda admits it was a ‘pleasure’ caring for her.
While standing outside the house, Linda said, “The emotions that are hitting me at this stage are quite unbelievable. My mom would be at the window waiting for me. That’s what I’m seeing now. Mum was very kind, very soft, very gentle.”
She continued, “Then she got sick. Like most women of her generation, she didn’t complain. She went into the hospital and they did all the tests. We were called in to be told that she had cancer.”
“They gave us a choice, that she could stay in hospital or come home. I stopped working, my sister came home from Manchester and we nursed her here.
“It was a pleasure. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. It was something special. She died here. I can remember that morning. She slipped away very peacefully and we were all here.”
The death rocked the entire family to the core, and Linda admits her dad found it particularly difficult: “He just couldn’t cope. The house was never the same again.”