Imelda May has opened up about the death of her beloved mother Madge – saying she was glad her music career gave her a bit of excitement.
The songstress and poet was left heartbroken last November after her 94-year-old mother passed away. She battled with dementia before she died.
Opening up about her death, the Dubliner said her father Tony was “cracking on” but she admitted she did feel guilty living away from home in London.
She said: “Dad is cracking on. We miss her so much. I’m keeping him busy and one thing over the last while that I was able to reflect upon was that I was able to – because the guilt of me being away and living away – and I am glad that I was able to give them excitement because god knows my mam and dad loved excitement so I was able to bring them to gigs and give them the best seats in the house and put them up in a hotel.
“They were my entourage. I would bring them to my television shows… I loved seeing how much they loved it so I miss her greatly,” she told Ray D’Arcy on his Rte Radio One show.
Imelda said there was “no unfairness” to her death, saying her mother had the “ideal death”.
“I mean there is no unfairness in her death at all so it’s not like losing a child. There is no unfairness. She died at home, in her bed, surrounded by love. There is no anger in it with that. It is the way it should be. She had the ideal death if you like, the dream.
“And she’s grand wherever she is gone but we just miss her like mad. We love her so much. Life is not the same without her and she was a very strong character and funny as hell and very loving. It’s just not the same. It’s my mammy. I always thought she would live forever. You don’t want the to ever go away. I just loved her so much,” she added.
Imelda often spoke adoringly about her parents and said she gets her fighting spirit and activism from her mother.
Last April, Imelda told fans her mother was battling Covid-19 in hospital after she suffered from a stroke.
But she had since recovered, with Imelda saying: “She had a stroke and then caught Covid when she went into hospital. Luckily, she’s made a recovery, but my mam is made of strong stuff – she’s a real trooper and something special.”
