“They had such short lives and what I want to keep doing for the rest of my days is keep their memories alive.”
Andrew McGinley has spoken about the importance of keeping his children’s memories alive after details of his Late Late Show cancellation emerged.
Mr McGinley – who tragically lost his three children Conor, Darragh and Carla last year – was scheduled to appear to launch his charity initiative, As Darragh Did on the chat show.
However, his appearance was cancelled. Recently, the grieving father explained that RTÉ made the decision to cancel after receiving a letter which suggested that the interview would be too upsetting.
During an interview on Newstalk Breakfast, Andrew said that being dropped from the show upset him as keeping his children’s memories alive is “all I have”.
He said: “I was invited on to launch the charity raffle for the Daniel O’Donnell concert we’re doing and to launch the Snowman for Carla colouring competition, and I would have been talking about Conor’s Clips as well, the legacy projects in memory of the children.”
Mr McGinley continued: “I understand that people might find that upsetting but for me, it’s all I have and it keeps their memories alive. That’s important to me because they had such short lives and what I want to keep doing for the rest of my days is keep their memories alive.
Statement below from RTE.
So the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland @BAItweets consider a charity launch and a colouring competition to be sensitive issues? Really?
@rtenews @RTELateLateShowCheck their sensitivity herehttps://t.co/zSUMEar2aO
&https://t.co/wsjCPzyUdh pic.twitter.com/Ootisxzr7v— Conor’s Clips (@conorsclips) November 24, 2021
“I was told, I think it was two or three people wrote in who objected to my appearance, I was told they objected because it could be a painful experience for them.”
He explained that he understands where they were coming from, but added that he would only talk about his children “with love”.
He added: “I’m sorry if anyone does find it upsetting but it’s a choice, if they didn’t want to hear me talk, they can turn over.”
He explained that Conor, Darragh and Carla “didn’t have a choice”, and that is what makes the cancellation “deeply upsetting”.
RTÉ has since said that while they understand his “immense grief”, they must “adhere to BAI Codes when dealing with sensitive issues”.
