Christy Dignam said that his daughter's birth was the happiest moment of his life.
The iconic Aslan frontman passed away today at the age of 63, after a long battle with amyloidosis, a rare blood disorder that is associated with certain cancers. Christy had been receiving palliative care since last January, and spent his last few months at home with his family.
It was at the family home that Christy conducted what would be his last media interview in April, speaking to RTE's Ryan Tubridy. And in the wide-ranging and touching interview, Christy said that the birth of his daughter Kiera ranks highest as the moment he will cherish above all others.
"The happiest moment I ever had in my life was Kiera being born," he recalled. "I will never forget that moment. I remember thinking with Kiera, this person exists after having no identity. She was just a bump on Catherine.
Read more: Christy Dignam RIP: Leave your tributes for the Aslan legend who has died aged 63
"Then in a nanosecond you would kill everybody in the room if they tried to touch that baby. I remember the love hit me that quickly and suddenly that it nearly knocked me off my feet.
"That was an amazing feeling." The Finglas native's family confirmed the sad news today just before 5pm with a statement on daughter Kiera's social media.
She wrote: "On behalf of my family, it is with a broken heart that we convey the news of my father’s passing, Christy Dignam. Dad peacefully left us where he wanted to, at home today 4pm Tuesday, June 13th 2023, after a courageously long-fought battle, surrounded by his family.
"We ask that you honour our family's need for privacy during this immensely painful period. Let us all hold him in our hearts and cherish the remarkable life of a talented singer, great story teller and amazing person. We thank you so much for your love and support shown to us. Kathryn, Kiera, Darren, Cian, Ava, Jake and our extended family."
The Crazy World singer also spoke about how he wants his funeral to go and the happiest and saddest times of his life. There have been tough times as Christy faces the end of his life which can send him into negative "spirals".
He said: "I was sitting here one day and I was looking out the window. This was only about a couple of weeks ago.
"This fella walked by the door. And I looked at him and thought, 'you'll never do that again. You'll never just go for a walk again'."
"That sent me into a spiral and I was thinking about things I won't do again." Ryan asked Christy what a spiral feels like, and he said: "It doesn't feel nice. It is like when you are heading into an abyss.
"I wouldn't be hugely religious. I remember admiring Catherine's mam and dad and my mam and dad because they were thinking, 'we've done the hard bit, now we are going to heaven'."
"When I first got diagnosed, I remember praying, 'please just give me 10 more years'. Now the 10 years are up and I am kind of saying, ' I know I only asked for 10 but you couldn't throw another 10 in there'."
Addiction brought with it the worst times of Christy's life. He said: "Addiction was a nightmare. I feel terrible sorry for kids nowadays.
"It's becoming hopeless. These kids are seeing hoe much money can be made and it is harder to get them to stop now.
"I can't think of any worse times than that [the addiction]. I remember going over to Thailand and Jesus it was a nightmare.
"They put you in a lockdown compound, take all your money off you and give you like monopoly money that only works on site. I remember once I was in bed and when you are coming off drugs you sweat a lot so I was kind of half sleeping.
"I felt a pool of sweat in the middle of my chest rolling down my chest. I opened my eyes and there was like a praying mantis eating a butterfly on my chest. I thought this is not where I should be today."
Christy added that facing the end of his life has made him prioritise the most important things in life. He said: "When I first got diagnosed, I remember thinking I don't care what car I drove. I didn't care where I lived. I didn't care about Aslan.
"I didn't care about fame, well, I never did care about fame. The only thing I cared about was seeing my grandkids for a little bit longer."
Christy is survived by his wife Kathryn, daughter Kiera, son in law Darren, and three grandchildren.
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