Marty Morrissey says everything changed for him when his mother died and his family home in Clare now feels very empty.
The GAA reporter’s father, Martin, died in 2004 while his mother, Peggy, passed away following a road traffic collision just before Christmas in 2021.
As an only child, Marty said losing both of his parents has now changed everything.
Read more: Marty Morrissey addresses "error of judgment" after being caught up in RTÉ payments controversy
Read more: Marty Morrissey on his serious heath scare, dealing with grief, being an only child and retirement talk
“I had mom to myself for 17 years. She was a woman of great strength – small in stature, but big in forcefulness,” he explained.
“When your second parent goes, it changes everything. Suddenly that connection at home is not there.”
Now, when Marty returns home to Clare, the house feels empty, and the weight of memory lingers in every room.
He hasn’t cleared out his mum’s belongings yet as he continues to navigate grieving her, four years on from her sad passing.
“When I do go home now, [the house] is very empty,” he told Changing Times - The Allenwood Conversations podcast.
“All my mom’s clothes are there, and I will in time give them away, but I want to keep some of them. Dad’s suits are still there, do you know what I mean? Grieving is not easy.”
Following a tough few years, Marty now embraces life and has more empathy.
The RTE star told hosts Mary Kennedy and Mary McAleese: “I’ve so many friends, we've mutual friends, that are sometimes diagnosed with cancer or whatever. And you say to ourselves, ‘let’s live every day’.
“And we need to be more positive. We're so critical. Like, we all want everything to be right. But the criticism that’s out there now is so harsh.”
Marty added: “I’d like people to pull back a bit and not be as angry with each other, and be kind to each other, and empathise. Nobody’s perfect. So I would just say, be kind.”
Listen to Changing Times - The Allenwood Conversations wherever you get your podcasts.
English (US) ·