TUBRIDY: MY DELUDED HOPE FOR EMMA

RYAN Tubridy has opened up about his last visit to see Emma Mhic Mhathúna in hospital, and how he had hoped her latest drug treatment would work.

The broadcaster said yesterday he visited Emma in St Vincent’s Hospital and had had a belief, ‘deluded’ out of hope, that she would get better.

The mother of five received a standing ovation on The Late Late Show earlier this year.

‘We stayed in the green room talking for about two or three hours after the show. That’s not common,’ Tubridy said.

‘We stayed in touch and I went to see her in Vincent’s ten days ago... She was compos mentis but she was not well. The drug treatment, she had about two weeks or ten days left, and if this didn’t take she was in trouble... We talked about that.

‘I got the impression that she was going to get up out of that bed and walk to good health.

‘Actually, I was completely deluding myself. Probably out of hope rather than reality.

‘Then she sent me a text last week to say the drug test didn’t work... I got a text on Sunday to say that she died.’

Speaking about Emma and Vicky Phelan, he added: ‘When you meet these people you realise they’re not just headlines. They’re not just stories. They’re extraordinary women who would rather not be where they are.’