RTE star Lottie Ryan has told how her family have a cardboard cut-out of their late dad Gerry – and they take it out after the family have a few drinks.
And the daughter of the late radio legend, who suffered a fatal heart attack on April 30, 2010, revealed she has several of her beloved father’s shirts because they still smell of him.
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Lottie made the revelation while chatting to Jennifer Zamparelli on her 2fm show yesterday about an unusual keepsake they’ve got of the father-of-five.
She started by telling listeners how her mother Morah dipped her brother Rex’s first pair of shoes in gold and put them on display in the family home – but didn’t do the same for her and her siblings.
The 36-year-old Dubliner said: “They’re expensive shoes. None of the rest of us… So, she has his first pair of shoes dipped in gold and they’re on display.”
Lottie made the revelation after Cat Deeley bizarrely revealed she is going to have a bracelet made from her son’s teeth and skin.
She then asked Jennifer if it was weird to have an unusual keepsake from someone who is dead.
Lottie added: “I’ve got a couple of shirts, because they still have his smell,” with Jennifer responding: “Still? After all these years?”
Lottie said: Yeah, they still smell like him, isn’t that weird? I have… no I don’t want to admit stuff,” before continuing: “We have a life size cut-out of my dad that was – he didn’t get it made – it was in his work office, it was a thing for work. But we took it when he died and yes, in my home when people have a few drinks the cardboard cut-out comes out.
“It gets whipped out. We have a very dark sense of humour, but that’s how you cope with things.”
Lottie confessed she couldn’t bring herself to get rid of some of her dad’s belongings, and said: “I think they’re good things… I mean I don’t know what is going to happen to them or what we plan on doing with them in the future, but I just couldn’t bring myself to get rid of things like that.
“I will not be dipping them in gold and hanging them up,” she said, jokingly making a dig at her mother Morah dipping Rex’s baby shoes in gold.
On Gerry’s anniversary last year, mum-of-one Lottie opened up about the death of her father.
She said: “Because in so many ways it feels like yesterday, and then in so many ways it does feel like a lifetime ago, because I feel like I haven’t seen him in so long.”
The Dancing With The Stars champ said she wished her dad could witness how her family has grown.
She explained: “I’d love to see what he thinks of where everybody is in life.”
And she said that she is no longer “cagey” when people ask about her famous dad. Lottie added: “I’m in a very, very different headspace now. I have zero issue talking about him, and it took me a long time to get to this point.”
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