The Winnie McGoogan actress opened up about losing her father at a young age as she recalled breaking down in tears after hearing his whistling three months after he passed
Eilish O’Carroll says she misses “everything” about her late father Gerard after losing him at 12 years old.
The Mrs Brown’s Boys star says she broke down in tears three months after he passed after she believed she heard him whistle.
She explained that he instilled his love of storytelling in his children which she then passed down to her sons.
Eilish told RSVP Live that her father was great at doing “mammy things” around the house.
She said: “I miss everything about him. He was a great whistler and would whistle songs because he wasn’t a great singer but he could whistle any tune.
“I remember the year he died, I was travelling home on the bus from school. When you’re that young you don’t really realise what’s happening.
“I remember about three months after he died in September, it was the middle of December. This man started to whistle at the back of the bus and I nearly lost my life.
“I just cried and cried and cried. I miss his whistling because it brings back so many lovely memories of him.
“He was a great man for doing the mammy things in the house like cooking, cleaning, washing and bathing us.
“He always did it with such a good nature and you always knew he was in the house because he’d be whistling.”
The actress recalled that every Friday he would bring home sweets as the children’s treat.
Eilish explained: “My father passed away when I was twelve so most of my memories are when he was coming home from work.
“He used to go out every Friday night with his friends to play cards. It was the only night he ever went out and the only night he had to himself. I’d watch him get shaved and get ready, put his Sunday best on and go out. Friday must have been payday.”
She shared that he was a “great storyteller” and would sit Eilish and her siblings around the fireplace at nighttime to tell them ghost stories.
“Why he did that, I do not know. He was the entertainer as well and would always get us to sing, dance or say a poem.
“He really introduced me and encouraged me to perform. He was a great critic as well, he would say, ‘No, no, you’re singing through your nose but you have to sing from your belly.’ He was a very quiet man and very gentle.”
The Mrs Brown’s Boys star says that she inherited her creativity from her father which she passed on to her two sons.
She said: “I brought my kids up like that, not that either one of them are performers. We were always having sessions in my house.
“Even though I was living in England at the time, I would invite my English friends but they had to come prepared to say a poem, sing a song or tell a story or they couldn’t get in. My dad made a lasting impression on me.”
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