Lottie Ryan has described the “emotional” moment as she said goodbye to her childhood home after selling it.
The presenter’s mother, Morah, moved out of the home on Castle Avenue in Clontarf last year, giving her a ‘fresh start’.
Mother-of-one Lottie told RSVP Magazine that being away from home in Dublin was “terrible”.
“I knew my mother had wanted to continue for a long time. In that sense, I had mentally prepared for it, but I didn’t expect to be emotional enough to let go.
“I don’t remember living anywhere else, I’ve lived my whole life in this house.
“The interior of these walls has seen all my life. All of my traditions and milestones took place there. I found it really difficult when my family was gathered by my mother.
“She had a lot of memorabilia laid out for us. The house was empty and suddenly it was just a shell,” she said.
“I walked around the house saying goodbye and thanking everyone. I don’t know if that’s weird, but I did it anyway.
“It was about time that another family lived there because we had all moved on.
“I hope it brings them as much joy as it does us. It’s strange letting go of our childhood home, but I’m happy for my mum because she’s having this fresh start.”
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She added: “There was one last Sunday lunch and there was one day we called to collect all the bits and pieces.
“I left pretty early because I was very upset. I didn’t think I could do the big goodbye. Everyone did their own little thing to say goodbye to.”
“I took a lot of old photos, a statue we got 30 years ago of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse that used to sit over the fireplace in the back room, and a few awards from my dad.
“It’s funny,” she told RSVP. “You can tell crap doesn’t matter. When we went through everything nobody wanted the stuff but we all fought over the pictures.
“You accumulate so much over the years, but most of it doesn’t matter. We all wanted the pillow we slept on when we were five or the family albums.”
It was recently revealed that the historic Clontarf home has been sold for €1.5million and the mother-of-five has moved elsewhere nearby.
Gerry, who died in 2010 at the age of 53, shared the house in a north Dublin suburb before the couple split in 2008.
