A heartbroken daughter has opened up about the loss of her mother in a Donegal nursing home in March.
Bridie Uí Dhomhnaill, or Bridie Diver as she was known, from Gaoth Dobhair in Donegal, died on March 26, at a time when the most stringent restrictions were in place.
She died of old age, rather than of Covid-19.
Speaking on Barrscéalta on RTE Raidió na Gaeltachta, her daughter Bernie opened up about the heartbreak their family experienced.
Bernie said: “We knew that she was dying, and it was very difficult not to be able to visit, because she was a woman who loved company ... But we accepted it.
“We were lucky that we knew a few nurses working there, so I did a couple of video calls with her, I could talk to her and I could see her, and I’m sure she could hear me.
“It was wonderful to have that.”
Bernie got a call on 26 March to say that there was a small change in her mother’s condition.
She added: “We asked could her main carer – my brother Martin – come over and visit at the window and talk to her, so he did that.”
Sadly, Bridie passed away that night.
“It had been five weeks since any of us had seen her.
“She didn’t get the last rites, her body wasn’t brought to the church, she missed out on that.
“We had a funeral mass, and we’re very grateful for that, and that it was on Facebook so we could all be part of it from home.
“Mammy was there in the open coffin in the corner, and that’s something that a lot of families don’t have.
“It was lovely that she was there with us for the funeral.”
