Speaking on The Bookshelf podcast with Ryan Tubridy, television presenter Hector Ó hEochagáin recalled discovering his mother, Triona Keogan, dead in her home, EVOKE reported. The TG4 star explained that he immediately knew something was wrong after she sounded off during an 11:00 am phone call, prompting him to drive down from Dublin when she failed to answer later that afternoon.
Morning Phone Call Raised Alarms After Today FM Shift
Ó hEochagáin had just finished filling in for Ian Dempsey on Today FM’s morning radio show when he phoned his mother from the Camden Court Hotel. Keogan, who typically served as his most vocal critic regarding his broadcasting work, sounded unusual during their conversation. She didn’t answer the phone,
he told Tubridy, describing the sequence of events on that Monday morning. I rang her at 11am but she was a little bit off in certain things she was saying.
Because Keogan always monitored his career and acted as the first person to critique his media performances, her uncharacteristic responses and subsequent silence left the broadcaster uneasy. By 2:00 pm, after receiving no further answer, he drove to her residence and found her deceased, holding a Bible in her hand.
Funeral Mass Attended by Bishops Across the Country
Following her death at age 74, Keogan’s deep ties to the Catholic Church became apparent during her funeral arrangements. Ó hEochagáin noted that his mother ran the local parish office and maintained personal connections with every bishop in Ireland. When she passed away, all the bishops came to say her funeral mass,
he said on the podcast. The attendance of clergy members exceeded the capacity of the altar stage, a turnout he stated his mother would have deeply appreciated.
Childhood Struggles With Alcoholism and Father’s Death
During the podcast appearance, the broadcaster also reflected on his upbringing and his father’s struggles with alcohol addiction before his death in 1993 at age 52. He described how alcoholism created a fractured household during his teenage years, forcing him and his brothers to protect their mother. You learn how to get thick skinned, and as a teenager, then you defend the person that’s minding you the most,
he said. He acknowledged that while his father was a proud Meath businessman, the progressive nature of his addiction left the family with limited time together before his untimely death.
When Did Triona Keogan Pass Away?
When did Triona Keogan pass away?
Triona Keogan died in January 2015 at the age of 74.
What was Hector Ó hEochagáin doing prior to finding his mother?
He had just finished filling in for Ian Dempsey on his Today FM radio show on Monday morning and was staying at the Camden Court Hotel in Dublin.
How did Hector Ó hEochagáin describe his father’s passing?
His father died in 1993 at the age of 52 following a long battle with alcohol addiction, which left the family with a fractured household during Hector’s teenage years.