“The Heart Of The Family Was Gone”: Mairead Farrell Opens Up About Her Mother’s Death

Today FM presenter and Her.ie columnist Mairead Farrell has spoken out about her beloved mum’s death from breast cancer 11 years ago. She said it tore the heart of out of her family.

The radio personality and TV host was left crippled with grief after her mum Maureen died the night before her 21st birthday.

And Mairead, 32, said her family has never been the same since.

She said: “The heart of the family was gone, the heart of the house was gone.

“No matter how hard my dad tried, and he is an amazing man, we’re all very close, but it’s just never ever the same again. The mother is the beat of the family. And she was a brilliant mother.”

Mairead said her mum kept strong and tried to shelter her from the realities of her illness, but she passed away much sooner than anyone expected.

Mum-of-one Mairead said: “She had previously had a mastectomy, and loads of chemo. We really thought everything was good, and then it came back.

“She had another operation. We were told she was dying, that she would probably have about eight or nine months, and she didn’t at all. She had three and a bit. I was 20 at the time.

“She kept a lot from me. She shouldn’t have, I was an adult, although I suppose to her I was still her baby. But she died the night before my 21st birthday.”

Mairead with her Today FM pal Ray D'Arcy...

A year later, Mairead, from Finglas, Dublin, landed her dream job on Today FM’s Ray D’Arcy Show. However she felt guilty about being happy.

She said: “It was a weird time. I was really happy that I’d managed to get my foot into something that I really loved.

“It was all amazing, so exciting, and at the same time so sad.

“I was feeling guilty for feeling so happy, guilty for being out having the craic with my friends.”

Mairead found love with husband Eamon, who she married when she was 24, and they had a son, Dara, now five.

However, their marriage ended after three years and Mairead has now been with boyfriend Louie Ronan for two years.

And she said she hopes her dad will find the same happiness.

Mairead revealed: “He’s never met anybody since. We’d all love if he had, but he says, ‘There’ll never be anyone as glamorous as your mum.’”

Mairead has spoken out on the importance of getting breast-checked on her column.