ASLAN SINGER CHRISTY Dignam has spoken about the pain of not being able to say goodbye to his father before he passed away from Covid-19.
Christopher Dignam Senior, who was in his late 80s, passed away earlier this month after contracting the coronavirus.
He had been living in a nursing home with dementia when he contracted the virus, and died not long after being diagnosed.
Speaking on The Late Late Show last night, Christy Junior spoke about the difficulties his family endured before their father’s death.
“He went into a nursing home, so he’s been in a nursing home for the last 11 months or so. About two weeks ago, we got a call that he had tested positive for Covid.
“From then on it was just horrible, because we knew we weren’t going to see him again. We were getting phone calls and stuff, but it’s not the same.”
Christy said that after his father’s dementia diagnosis, he had always hoped that he would pass away in his sleep. But he added that he felt this was unlikely once he contracted the coronavirus.
He also spoke about how the Dignam family weren’t able to say goodbye to their father properly, because of Covid-19 restrictions which prevented gatherings.
“When he passed away, the coffin is sealed and you’re not allowed to see him,” he said.
“When I got the phone call that he had passed away, that was the first thing that came into my head, that I’d never see him again.”
Christy said the experience helped him understand the ability of Irish funerals to give people closure, because they can say goodbye to their loved ones properly.
“We didn’t have that. It was a bit rough.”
He also explained that only nine people were allowed at his father’s funeral, which he described as “awful”.
“I’ll never forget the pain of it, that thing of you’ll never see him again and I’ll never see his face again,” he said.
“You know, when somebody dies, you go to the wake and you say goodbye and kiss them. And honest to God, I know that doesn’t seem like much but I really missed that.”
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