Champion jockey Nina Carberry has opened up about the death of her father Tommy – saying it was hard to see him suffer in the end.
Tommy, 75, died in July 2017 after suffering a stroke and battling dementia and Nina said she hated to see the former Grand National winner suffer in the end.
The Dancing with the Stars hopeful had just given birth to her first daughter Rosie and said her father’s death “was a weird time”.
She said: “She was only a couple of weeks old. Dad got to hold her hand, but that was about it, which was sad.
“It was a very weird time, to be honest, because your emotions are already high after having a baby.
“Dad had a stroke and it hit his eyes, so he lost his sight. He also had dementia pretty bad towards the end.
“It wasn’t an easy time seeing him suffering that much.” She told Woman’s Way magazine: “Dad was a brilliant jockey and trainer and he was a great help to me when I started riding and was there any time I needed advice.”
Nina and her professional partner Pasquale La Rocca are topping the leaderboard each week on the RTE One show.
But she admitted she will find it hard to take criticism on a week where she doesn’t impress judges Brian Redmond, Loraine Barry and Arthur Gourounlian.
“It’s going to be hard to take criticism, but that comes along with anything you do. I’m hoping I stay in for a few more weeks and get to learn a few more dances, but it’s going to come up thick and fast now so I’m going to have to learn quicker as I really don’t want it to end yet.”
