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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Entertainment
Erica Carter

Brendan O'Carroll opens up about heartbreaking reason he 'decided to be funny' after his dad's untimely death

Brendan O'Carroll had emotions running high for viewers of Friday night's RTE Late Late Show as he spoke about his childhood and the sad passing of his dad.

The renowned funny man behind the massive Mrs Brown's Boys franchise sat down with Ryan Tubridy and opened up about aspects of his personal life.

He said one of the questions he's most often asked is when he realised he was funny - and he had a surprisingly emotional answer.

Read more: Brendan O’Carroll nearly called off wedding to wife Jennifer Gibney after major fighting

"It's usually a standard question - when did you realise you were funny?" said Brendan. "I'd give loads of different answers.

"But I remembered when I was writing the book, that about three weeks after my dad died, I was 10. We lived in a corporation house in Finglas and the toilet was downstairs. I got up and went downstairs to go to the toilet and I was coming back up the stairs.

"As I got to the top of the stairs, I heard my ma and she was sobbing. I remember sitting on the stairs and I cried. Not for the loss of my dad, because I hadn't seen my dad for so long. He had been in and out of hospital; he hadn't been a constant presence in the house. But for her, I was feeling really sad for her."

He continued: "I remember making a promise then: my job is to make her laugh everyday. And that's when I started being funny. I think I kept that promise. She died laughing!"

It was writing his new book, Call Me Mrs Brown, that Brendan remembered this memory. Another emotional moment for him was writing about his late son, Brendan.

"That was tough," he told Ryan. "Losing a child for anybody ... Well if you look at Donegal right now, you can see it's dreadful for people.

"Especially your first child. I had everything in my mind; a white picket fence, a swing in the garden. And then you lose a child, and it never leaves you.

"I don't like talking about it."

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