Muireann O’Connell has opened up about the loss of her dad, revealing it’s hardest thing she’s been through and instantly changed her life.
Her dad Brendan sadly passed away in the comfort of his home earlier this month, and his death rocked the entire family to their core.
“You always think you understand this feeling when a friend loses a parent but when it happens to you, it really does change everything,” she said.
“If you have gone through this, I am so sorry that you know this feeling and to everyone who hasn’t felt it, I hope it is a long time coming.”
Muireann spent the last two weeks in Limerick with her family, but returned to Dublin over the weekend after some persuasion from her mum.
“She might not be watching, she is sick of me after two weeks,” she said on the Six O’Clock Show.
“She was like ‘Are you going back to Dublin?’, and I was like, ‘Yeah, I might stay until Monday’.
“Yesterday she said, ‘I think you should go back today’ so she really wanted me gone, she wanted the house back.”
The presenter took a moment to thank viewers, colleagues and friends who have been in touch over the last few weeks, offering their support and condolences.
“I just went into the post room and there are loads of cards and notes. I haven’t been able to read them because I thought I was going to cry but thank you to everyone who has gotten in contact,” she said.
“It has been less than two weeks since my dad died and everyone has been so unbelievably lovely.”
At the time of his passing, Muireann shared a number of beautiful pictures and paying tribute to her dad, said, “He was the most wonderful man I have ever known.
“There wasn’t a thing he wouldn’t do for you, including getting me into nightclubs when I was underage as ‘I know you’ll go anyway. May as well make sure you’re inside and not out on the street.’
“He was such a social man who loved nothing more than playing golf, bridge or 45 with his friends and his wife.
“He loved to laugh and it was the greatest laugh I have ever heard. You could hear it in another county.”
Muireann went on to say, “When cancer comes to your door, it doesn’t knock politely. It kicks the door down like it’s a home invader who doesn’t give a damn but Brendan handled it like a guest you want to leave but have to put up with.
“Our lives which had once been soundtracked by the soft tones of radio Kerry was replaced by the perfidious notes of that home invader but he accepted it like the star that he was.
“The love my parents have is something I aspire to everyday; a true, deep love that knows no bounds. You hear people talk about doctors and nurses all the time and how good they are but my lord, it takes on a whole different level when one of your most precious people gets sick.”
Taking a moment to thank the hospital workers who looked after her dad during his illness, she said, “The doctors, nurses, porters and cleaners of UCH Limerick will never know how much they did for us.
“Brendan loved them for the respect and grace the showed to him in his worst moments. As for the nurses of Milford Hospice, they are truly angels.
“They enabled us to keep dad at home to die surrounded by his family. They are the most wonderful people. We are heartbroken.”
Our thoughts are with Muireann and her family at this difficult time.