There’s nothing better than a trip down memory lane, especially now, given the current lockdown restrictions. While many can’t be with their mum this Mother’s Day, it’s the perfect time to reflect on all the wonderful days spent together, whether it was a trip abroad or a funny evening at home.
We caught up with a whole host of Irish stars to hear some of their favourite memories with their mammies, ahead of Mother’s Day.
Audrey Hamilton
Now to pick a favourite memory is going to be very difficult as we’re literally best friends. But one that popped into my mind was our trips to London together, just me and my mum, to pick out and design my wedding dress. We had so much fun on those weekends in London, going on girly lunches, shopping ’till we dropped and dinners, sipping on rose and chatting about weddings. I just remember we laughed the whole weekend. They were some of the best times!
Lisa Jordan
My favourite memory with my mum as a child is when we would dress up – she would always let me try on all her dresses – and we would do our makeup. I didn’t lick it off a stone! So it was always my dream to work in fashion and beauty.
Jenny Buckley
When I was a teenager my mum brought me out for a meal in an authentic Indian restaurant where the interior was full of vibrant colours and soft furnishings. When we were shown to our table we realised that were to be seated on big soft cushions in the place of chairs. A waiter came along to take our order and my mum asked to be excused as she wanted to use the ladies room. Always the lady she tried to rise as eloquently as possible but for some reason she fell over and couldn’t get herself up off the cushions. We both started howling with the laughter and the more I tried to help her the worse the situation became. The more we laughed the more people stared, we couldn’t even eat our food we were laughing that much! The one thing we most definitely share is our sense of humour!
Grainne Gallanagh
My favourite memory with my mum is probably us dancing in the kitchen. There is a photo of us and I’m about 7-years-old and we’re dancing. She’s doing this specific dance move that we’ve all always just found hilarious and it always makes me smile. Unfortunately the dancing with mum didn’t really help in my prep for Dancing With The Stars!
Amilia Keating
My mam wanted to bring us to Disneyland but there’s a five and seven year gap between me and my younger brothers so I suppose we got older and we were more interested in sunny Spain. When I got my first acting job I saved up my money and I brought mam to Disneyland. My best memory was the two of us wearing tiaras, sobbing watching the parade. I’d say we definitely got a few funny looks but I was just so happy that I could finally look after her after everything she did for us . She’s just an incredible woman and a brilliant mother.
Maia Dunphy
I have so many lovely memories of my mum growing up, but I will always treasure the six weeks when she came to London to help out after my son was born. I was a zombie for much of it, but she was a lifesaver, minding us all without missing a beat, and in many ways it was like being a child again. Everyone was tired, but the new little man in the room brought us all so much joy, and it was magical to see my wonderful mum become the most perfect nana. Also, without her we would have lived on Pot Noodles for a month.
Louise Cooney
Lots of childhood memories spring to mind, many of which are centred around the kitchen of course as my mom is an amazing cook. I had the chance to experience these all over again as an adult this year while living at home for eight months during lockdown. We did lots of cooking together, both on and offline. A silver lining to a strange year!
Niamh De Brun
I was about six years old, in junior infants at school and I was taking part in an Irish singing competition organised by Limerick Féile. In hindsight, singing was probably not my greatest talent! My mum arrived in the hall to see me perform and the minute I saw her enter the hall I knew I was safe and able to go on the stage. After my performance, I ran to her and she hugged me and told me it was my best performance ever and that I was wonderful. That evening she organised a treat of a family dinner to celebrate. She was so proud of me and that pride and support has been replicated so many times in my life to date. The positive influence of my mum has been so important to me over the years and greatly helped and assisted me.
Holly Carpenter
My mum was so full of energy and creative ideas when my brother Ben and I were young children. She would make us “spooky” Halloween baths with green food dye in the bath tub along with plastic spiders and pumpkin lanterns. Although I love those childhood memories I think my favourite memories come from our adult relationship – days spent shopping in town and stopping for a lovely lunch somewhere just the two of us.