Marian Finucane’s son Jack has revealed his upset, as his late mother never got the chance to meet her first grandchild.
Jack’s wife Jennifer was just weeks away from her due date when the acclaimed broadcaster sadly passed away in January 2020.
Speaking on RTE’s Liveline, he said, “Five weeks after mam died we were blessed with a little girl, so it was bittersweet I suppose.
“For her to pass just before Sinead was born was obviously devastating for us and even for Sinead not to know who her grandmother was, it’s very sad for us all.”
Marian retired from RTE a short time before her passing. She planned to savour every minute of her free time and spend it with her family and of course, the new baby.
“Being a grandmother was going to be a big part of [retirement]. We really looked forward to the fact that she was going to be a big part of our kids’ lives,” he mused.
“But it wasn’t to be and so we just have to do our best to make sure that our kids know who their grandma was and that’s all we can do I think.”
Jack also lost his sister Sinead in 1990 and the couple decided to name the baby in her honour.
“We didn’t know if we were going to have a boy or girl and I think given my sister Sinead had died when she was eight-years-old, it would have been far too close to the bone to name a daughter Sinead if mam was around,” he said.
“But when she died, myself and my wife Jennifer, we talked about it, and we thought it was a nice tribute to both my sister and my mum that the legacy be carried on with the name.”