07/06/2026
Every room in their apartment reminds Dermot O’Neill of his late wife. The Mrs Brown’s Boys star (74) shared the home with Patricia (60) — known to family and friends as Chickie — until a few days ago when she sadly passed away.
“There are photographs all over the place and I just stare at them,” he said. “I feel so lonely. I feel the pain all over my body. I’m simply vegetating on the couch. I have the telly on and I don’t know what’s on it because I’m hurting inside. Really hurting.”
A large canvas hangs on the wall, capturing their wedding day 14 years ago. “That was the happiest day of my life because I got to marry her,” he said. “It was the best moment of my life.”
O’Neill has played grandad Harold Brown in the BBC sitcom since 2011.
One day last week, his daughter Nicola rang him shortly after 3am. He had been asleep after spending much of the day travelling back and forth to St Francis Hospice in Raheny, Dublin, where his wife was receiving end-of-life care after being diagnosed with cancer.
“Nicola said to me, ‘Mum has passed on’. I was devastated. It was surreal. I knew she was dying, but at the same time I was holding on to hope for a miracle,” he said. “I went straight to her. When I looked at her, she looked so pretty.
“I’d want her to know how much I love her and to thank her for all the years of happiness.”
