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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Entertainment
Susan Knox

Mrs Brown's Boys star Brendan O'Carroll opens up on death of three family members in 12 months

Mrs Brown's Boys star Brendan O'Carroll has opened up about his incredibly tough year which was full of heartbreak after he tragically lost his two sisters and a sister in law in the space of 12 months.

The 66-year-old creator of the hit BBC One show was isolated from his extended family and loved-ones during the pandemic as he had based himself Florida while the rest of his nearest and dearest were back home in Ireland.

Brendan found himself he dealing with the grief of losing his beloved sisters differently to his other family members as he learned to cope with the colossal losses to his life so far from home.

The comedian first lost his beloved sister Fiona at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.

He then lost another sister in January 2021, his eldest sister Maureen and tragically, his sister-in-law Ann died the following month.

(BBC / Alan Peebles)

Opening up on his grief, Brendan revealed that he managed to get through the tough times by keeping in constant contact with his family back home while he was stuck in Florida amid the pandemic.

"First of all, I tried to stay in touch with everyone as best as I could," he told RSVP Magazine.

"On the other hand, I always tried to keep in mind that somebody was always having it worse than I was.

"And I know a lot of people who had it worse than us. But losing two sisters and a sister in law was tough and God is good."

Brendan's other sister, Eilish recently told how her comedian brother was able to have one last laugh with Fiona.

She told the Irish Mirror : “An awful lot had to be halted for me recently.

Mrs Brown's Boys' Brendan O'Carroll tested positive at Christmas (Getty Images)

“Sadly my sister took very ill and passed away in Canada on March 3.

“I had been out there with her for Christmas but we didn’t manage to get out until the day after she died.”

"He was there to see her and got her talking and laughing and singing and I knew she was hanging on for him.

“They were very close, she was like a second mammy. Very much so. For her I know it was her wish to see him and she did and that was lovely.”

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