Mrs Brown’s Boys star Brendan O’Carroll is mourning the loss of his sister Fiona after she died in Canada last month.
Co-star and other sibling Eilish, 68, confirmed the news in an emotional chat.
She told the Irish Mirror: “An awful lot had to be halted for me [recently].
“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.”
(Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Speaking about Brendan, the heartbroken actress added: “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.”
(Image: BBC Studios/Alan Peebles)
Eilish went on to explain that despite the tragic loss, she is grateful they managed to wrap up filming of the hit BBC show before Fiona’s death as it meant they could mourn together.
“We got to stay there for a couple of weeks. And then we flew back here and we flew into lockdown actually,” she continued.
“None of this had happened when we flew out but we flew back in on the March 16 and we were straight into isolation because we had been on a long-distance flight and it has been the same ever since.
(Image: Daily Record)
“So that was a blessing and I’m looking forward to the tour that will hopefully start in June but who knows.”
Trying to remain positive an look ahead to the future, Eilish says she hopes things will be back to normal soon after the concerning coronavirus pandemic and believes that comedy is now needed more than ever.
The star explained that often in dark times such as the recession comedy comes into its own as people are keen to escape from the difficulty of day to day life.
