Aslan singer Christy Dignam’s elderly father is “at death’s door” after testing positive for coronavirus.
The Crazy World star revealed his 88-year-old dad tested positive for the deadly bug last week and is not expected to survive.
And the heartbroken frontman’s beloved dad, who lives in a nursing home in Finglas, Dublin doesn’t understand that he is gravely ill.
“About six months ago he got pneumonia and when he got pneumonia he was talking in riddles and the nurses told us when his temperature came down he’d be grand but he never came back to us,” Christy told Sean O’Rourke on RTE Radio One.
“It seemed to have triggered dementia in him. I’ve tried to talk to him on the phone.
“He was asking why nobody was visiting him and I tried to explain to him but he just couldn’t understand.”
The veteran singer added that his dad isn’t in any distress and has had “a good innings” but is worried that he won’t get a proper send off due to the current restrictions on public gatherings.
“If there’s a funeral we can’t all go to the funeral because he had eight kids...all the grandkids, great-grandkids, none of them will be able to go to the funeral, so that’s very hard.”
Christy is battling a rare and terminal form of blood cancer and has been cocooning to protect his own fragile health, meaning he can’t see his precious grandchildren.
He said: “I’ve three grandkids and I can’t see them obviously and that’s heartbreaking. That’s probably the hardest part of it.”
But in spite of his own personal struggles, the iconic star has been holding regular concerts in his front garden to keep neighbour’s spirits up and he feels the current crisis has fostered a greater sense of community around the country.
“I’m living off the Navan Road for nearly 20 years. I’ve met neighbours that I’ve never met before and it’s ironic that we’re all separated at the moment yet we seem to be getting closer.
“Even on social media more than they would before... there’s just a lovely atmosphere around at the moment.”
