Eddie Rowley



It's been a year of heartache for Westlife, but their sense of humour still lifts the mood in the room.

Sligo-man Shane Filan is reminding his pal Nicky Byrne about his eulogy to his dad, Nikki, at his funeral last month.

"The story you told about your wan resuscitating him, a 26-year-old blonde giving him mouth-to-mouth, and you said 'My dad would have loved that,'... priceless," Shane laughs.

Brotherly

Nicky smiles. "I had a brotherly relationship with my dad, which not a lot of kids and fathers do," Nicky says.

"You used to go on stag nights with your dad," Shane reminds him.

"I did," Nicky acknowledges. "But I regret not going for more pints with him because I was so busy witht he band. I could have had a conversation with him about anything.. sex, anything. He was just the coolest dad you could have had.

"I've got lots of memories and it's all positive. I always got on with him, never had a falling out with him.

"I think I can count on one hand the number of times he disciplined me in my life.

"I know I said it in the church on the day. but he never didn't have a smile on his face.

"He would do anything for anybody. He had a great outlook on life."

Nicky admits he just can't come to terms with the fact that his father's death was so sudden.

Harder

His Westlife pal, Kian Egan, whose own father, Kevin, died from a rare form of cancer in July, assures Nicky that while a sudden death is harder on a family it is easier for the individual.

Kian talks about the harrowing ordeal his father suffered and the fear he experienced knowing he was dying.

"My dad would have hated to be sick," Nicky acknowledges.

Shane mimics Nicky's dad: "I'm never f**king sick. I'm f**king great. Look at the six-pack on that!"

Nicky laughs, then admits: "If dad had survived that morning and was left impaired in any way, he would have hated it. If he couldn't go out every 20 minutes for a smoke, or if he couldn't have gigged like he gigged."

Kian's father, Kevin, has suffered from a rare cancer called Ewing's sarcoma. "An eight-year-old girl from the same part of Sligo died from it, so his system had fought it off till he was 63 years of age," Kian reveals.

"When you look it like that, he was 63 with 7 children, 10 grandchildren... a serious legacy. And that's what life is really. We're all going to die, but it's what we're going to leave behind us what makes our life importnat."

Nicky recalls how his dad attended Kevin Egan's funeral in Sligo last July and had said afterwards: "Enjoy your life, enjoy yourself; it goes like that (clicking his fingers)."

Nicky also remembers showing the sleve of the new Westlife album, Where We Are, to his father and mother after it was emailed to him for approval.

"I showed my mam and dad the picture of Kevin on the sleve, in loving memory of Kevin Egan. Both of them were looking at the picture saying it was hard to believe he was gone," he says.

Passed

"That was on Saturday night... then Tuesday morning my dad passed."

There was still time to include an acknowledgement to Nicky's father on the sleeve. Kian took the decision to do it.

"It was great; it was a lovely think for Kian to do," Nicky acknowledges.

Although still grieving, Nicky was determined to get back to work immediately after his father's funeral.

"My dad and Kian's dad would have wanted that," Nicky says.

"My dad, I know for a fact, would have gone nuts if he thought that I wasn't giving the best to the band.

"Maybe if I was a police officer or something he might go, 'Ah, take your time and get over me.' But music was his life so no way could I even contemplate not doing it.

"But there's no rule book for dealing with grief and sometimes it hits you like a big stream train.

"Sometimes I find myself drifting in interviews. I feel I haven't answered a question in 10 minutes. I haven't even been listening."

One of the big consolations for Kian and Nicky is that their dads got to see all of their major success, including their sold out-show at Croke Park.

"They've got to see us play at Croke Park and that was the pinnacle," Kian says. "It couldn't have got much bigger.

"It was my dad's 63rd birthday when we played Croke Park and I had the crowd sing happy birthday to him. It was a month later that he found out about his illness."

Shane tells how Nicky lived his dad's dream. "He always wanted to be a superstar singer and Nicky did it for him," he said.

Nicky chips in: "And if there's someone you don't mind getting to do what you wanted to do it's your child.

"It's not like it's one of your mates and you're going 'The bastard!' It's your son and he loved it; he loved the buzz of the whole thing."

Westlife's new album Where We Are, is out now. Tickets for their Croke Park concert next June 5, go on sale Friday, December 11.

Credit/Source: Sunday World / Thanks twitter.com/TeamMarcky for the scans