Death Becomes Him

We all know and love Baz and his mum Nancy from the Emmy Award winning show 50 Ways to Kill Your Mammy. Beyond the show, family is integral to Baz’s success and work – from inspiring his teams to working alongside them behind the scenes. Baz opens up today about just what family means to him, how they coped with the loss of their father and how he struggles to deal with grief.

Today I sit down with Lisa Colhoun.

I find Lisa’s story so tough because it’s a real reminder to make every day count. Lisa was married to Christopher and had two young children. The had bought their dream house, Christopher had just been promoted to principal and Lisa taught in the same school. They enjoyed the simple things – walking their dog, holidays and spending time with family. It was after a dinner with their friends that Christopher started feel unwell and he was soon hospitalised with the flu. Six days later, he unexpectedly passed away. Lisa talks to me today about mourning her soulmate and how she’s coped after such a tragic loss.

Jennifer is a vibrant business woman, a bestselling author and social media star. Her ever-growing success is down to her hardworking nature, her creativity and her supportive family. One person in particular influenced Jennifer’s success more than most – her father.

Today Jennifer opens up about his sudden passing in 2018. She talks about dealing with the shock, going into autopilot and how she threw herself into work in the aftermath.

Alan McGovern and his wife Jenny were the dream team. They worked together, had a family together and enjoyed life together. They worked incredibly hard to build a wonderful life for their two children. When Jenny was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2018, it was another hurdle the couple believed they could overcome. And they did - once. Sadly Jenny's cancer returned in 2019 and the young mother of two passed. Today Alan talks about mourning the person that was integral to every aspect of his life. 

Today Brian talks to Eileen Loughlin aka @Everything_Eileen. Eileen’s story is one of the hardest. Two years ago, in 2018, she lost her young daughter Anabelle after a tragic accident in the home. She chats about mourning the future Anabelle would have had and how despite her grief, she’s determined to give her two sons a happy childhood.

This week Brian meets Shannen Joyce. Shannen brings a new perspective to grief and one that is so important. Since the age of 19 Shannen has battled through three boughts of cancer and for each diagnosis, she has missed key milestones and rites of passage. She chats to Brian today about grieving the moments the disease has taken from her.

This week Brian sits down with TV’s Alan Hughes. Alan is a household name, he’s a staple of Irish telly and someone we all feel like we know. But as we hear today, Alan has experienced many tragedies in his life and for the first time he opens up about losing his parents, two of his siblings and a close friend.

In this episode Brian meets Rachel Gorry, a young mum who lost her husband Daniel earlier this year. Rachel and Daniel were truly love's young dream. They were childhood sweethearts who married in their early twenties, had three beautiful daughters and broken ground on building their dream home. After a series of doctors visits and a bout of illness on holidays in 2018, Daniel was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Today Rachel opens up about finding the strength to support her husband during his illness as well as keeping their young family together.  

If you’ve been following or listening to my journey, you’ll know that this whole series was inspired by my desire to understand grief. Losing my mum two years ago turned my world upside down. She was my best friend, my rock, my guide. But of course, she wasn’t just my mum.

I am the older brother to six sisters; Michelle, Tracy, Valerie, Aoife, Paula and Tara. Each of us had our moments with Mum, like Michelle’s morning phone call or Aoife’s tea and chats at the table. We each have our own memories, our own sorrows and our own experiences of grief.

I wanted to sit down with my sisters and have an honest conversation about losing mum, and how we all feel two years later. While this podcast started as an endeavour to discover whether I’ll ever feel like me again, today I ask the even harder question – how can we be us without her.

We start where this journey started, talking about the day she passed.

This week I speak with Lottie Ryan. We all remember the day we got the news that Gerry Ryan had passed away. He was a national icon, part of all our lives. A state funeral was held in his honour and his death made the front pages. And while there is a solace in the knowledge that he was loved by so many, on the flipside, the public experience of grief is extremely difficult to navigate.

Lottie opens up to me about sharing her father with the nation, following in his footsteps and how she believes his legacy lives on.