'I told her I loved her': Marty Morrissey opens up on final moments with late mother
Marty Morrissey with his mother Peggy in 2017. Picture: RTE
GAA commentator Marty Morrissey has opened up about the "difficult" last few months since he lost his beloved mother.
Peggy Twomey, who was 94, died in the single-vehicle crash at Annagh, Miltown Malbay, Co Clare last December.
Mr Morrissey, who was the only child of Peggy and her late husband Martin Morrissey, later thanked people for the love and support they had shown to him since his mother passed.
On Friday, the much-loved presenter opened up about his final moments with his mother.
"When you lose your mum, no matter what the circumstances, it's tragic," he told .
Describing Peggy, Mr Morrissey said: "She was 5'2" but she was a ball of fire. She was a rebel from Cork."
He said she was a "formidable" woman who was "a great" mother. "I could not have asked for a better mother."
Speaking about the night his mother died, Mr Morrissey said the one thing that scared his mother was a storm.
He said when he heard there was going to be a red alert storm, they decided that Mr Morrissey would go down and they would stay in a hotel. They had plans to meet in Annagh, near her home.
"She was driving on a road that she drove three or four times a day, and she missed a bend. And unfortunately, we lost her."
Mr Morrissey said when his mother wasn't in Inagh, he kept driving.
"I came upon the accident. It was tough. I told her I loved her."
Emergency services were already on the scene when he arrived and Mr Morrissey was quick to praise their bravery and kindness.
"I knew what my mother wanted because she [had] a deep faith," he said.
"And I asked the fire brigade and the ambulance and the Gardaí would they say a prayer with me. Once we had mum taken out of the car we all stood around her. We said a prayer together."
Mr Morrissey said he wanted to thank and compliment those frontline workers.
He added the thing he misses is the phone calls, saying they would have five or six phone calls a day.
Mr Morrissey said that in the last few months, he has learned about the kindness of people and bout the generosity of spirit.
He said the "generosity of the people of Ireland" was "overwhelming".
"Every day, without exaggeration, since Mom died I've been getting casrds. Mass cards. Sometimes 120 to 125 per day."
Mr Morrissey said he has read every letter with stories of people's grief, heartbreak and tragedy.
"And their words consoled me so much."
