Marty Morrissey says 'everything changed' after death of beloved mother

Irish Daily Mirror

27-07-2025

RTE Presenter Marty Morrissey has become a mainstay on our screens over the past three decades.
The much-loved GAA personality is the voice of hurling and regularly commentates on the biggest games of the year, and was the man behind the microphone for last week's clash between Cork and Tipperary.
Marty is well known for being a man that is always up for the craic, but he has had to endure tough times as well.
An only child, Marty's father passed away in 2004 with his mother passing away in 2021. Earlier this year, Morrissey spoke to RSVP Magazine about struggling with his grief following the passing of his Mother Peggy.
"I had mum to myself for 17 years. She was a woman of great strength – small in stature, but big in forcefulness," he shared.
"When your second parent goes, it changes everything. Suddenly that connection at home is not there."
Now, when Marty returns to his Clare home, the house feels desolate, with memories echoing in every room.
He hasn't yet managed to clear out his mum's belongings as he continues to navigate through his grief, four years on from her heartbreaking passing.
"When I do go home now, [the house] is very empty," he revealed on the Changing Times - The Allenwood Conversations podcast.
"All my mum's clothes are there, and I will in time give them away, but I want to keep some of them. Dad's suits are still there, do you know what I mean? Grieving is not easy."
After enduring a difficult few years, Marty now embraces life with more empathy.
Speaking to hosts Mary Kennedy and Mary McAleese on the RTE show, he said: "I've so many friends, we've mutual friends, that are sometimes diagnosed with cancer or whatever. And you say to ourselves, 'let's live every day'.
"And we need to be more positive. We're so critical. Like, we all want everything to be right. But the criticism that's out there now is so harsh." Marty Morrissey and his mum Peggy
Marty further stated: "I'd like people to pull back a bit and not be as angry with each other, and be kind to each other, and empathise. Nobody's perfect. So I would just say, be kind."
Away from the camera, Marty likes to keep his private life just that.
He has been in a long-term relationship with his partner Liz Kidney having first gotten together in 1995.
In a previous interview with the Irish Independent, Marty said:
'We've been together a long time. It took a while to get going but we got going. I remember meeting her at Cork City Council where she works.
'I thought she was a very nice girl, and she is still a very nice girl. I am a private person and so is she. We have always kept something to ourselves and that to us is important. It is important to her. She is extremely private.' Marty Morrissey poses with his mum Peggy