Popular radio presenter Dermot Whelan has spoken about the "pain" of losing his mother to dementia, saying some days he cried to himself when she failed to recognise him.
The Today FM presenter told Kieran Cuddihy's The Hard Shoulder programme that it felt like the "rug was pulled out from under him" after his late mum was diagnosed with dementia.
"It doesn't matter what age you are, your mammy leaving you, even if you weren't seeing her every week, psychologically, it's a blow," he said live on Newstalk afternoon radio.
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The Limerick comedian and former Republic of Telly host told listeners that it was the second time he had lost a parent, after his father passed away more than 20 years ago.
"It's just a tough journey. Anyone living with someone with dementia, is going through all kind of emotions, all the time," he stated.
He recalled that he used to leave his mum feeling uplifted if she was in good form, getting that sense of just being with her, which he described as "lovely."
"And sometimes I would get into my car and cry because it was just all so weird and hard and she didn't know who I was," he said.
Dermot, who is also a qualified meditation teacher, explained that he learned to step back and let whatever emotions wanted to come through to simply "come through."
"I was very lucky that when she died, I happened to be with her," he said, outlining that he had a lot of his siblings coming and going when his mother was on her deathbed.
"It just so happened that at that moment when she was ready to leave us, I was with her.
"It was a really beautiful experience," he added.
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