BRIAN’S SADNESS OVER HIS ESTRANGED MOTHER
BRIAN Kennedy has told of the bittersweet moment he was reunited with his parents after 20 years.
The singer said he had grown apart from some of his family because it was “dysfunctional”.
And the 51-year-old revealed he was “envious” of families who are close.
He told Brendan O’connor on RTE’S Cutting Edge: “When the choices are estrangement or dysfunction I’m going to choose estrangement every single time.
“Where I came from, there was violence on the street, violence coming from certain members of the Church, and violence inside the home too. It was a very dangerous place for me to be.
“So I learnt to be very independent. I left home when I was 14 really to live with granny and then she died and then Brian on Cutting Edge this week
RTE’S CUTTING EDGE THIS WEEK
I was gone. I went to England.
“I decided, because my brother had passed away and I managed to reconnect with him before he died, I thought it was important thing to do. wanted to reconnect with them.”
But Brian revealed his estranged mother did not recognise him when they finally linked up.
He explained: “Let’s just say that there’s a lot of ill health going on there now with various alcohol issues and mental health things and so on.
“My mother didn’t know me at all, at all.
“She didn’t know who I was. “She kept saying things like, ‘Are you married, love?’.
“Slowly but surely that all came out that she clearly just didn’t know me.” I
Where I was from there was violence ...it was a dangerous place for me BRIAN KENNEDY