“I am going to miss her so much”: “Mrs. Brown’s Boys” star Dermot O’Neill in heartbroken farewell to his beloved wife after her courageous battle with aggressive cancer
The funeral of Patricia ‘Chickie’ Maguire, the beloved wife of actor Dermot O’Neill for the past 14 years, took place today in an emotional ceremony at Dardistown Crematorium in Dublin. Her passing at age 60 marks a profound loss for the actor, who is best known for his role as “Grandad” in the hit sitcom Mrs. Brown’s Boys.
A cruel stomach cancer claimed Chickie’s life just months after it was discovered during a hospital visit in Spain this past January. Although offered treatment abroad, she chose to return to Ireland, driven by the heartbreaking fear that staying in Spain meant she would “never see my kids again”.
Reflecting on his final days with his late wife, a devastated O’Neill shared, “We are absolutely devastated. I am going to miss her so much”.
Their life together began with a unique proposal via text message in 2012, two decades after they first met at a Brendan O’Carroll concert. The actor had messaged her asking, “Do you want to be Mrs O’Neill?”, to which she gladly agreed.
During her final months of battling the illness at Beaumont Hospital and later at St Francis Hospice, Chickie and her husband faced the difficult task of breaking the news to their seven children. She recalled the poignant moment her husband “put his hand on my knee” before they “all hugged and cried”. Despite her condition, she held onto one final, moving wish: “my dream is to make it to Christmas Day and give her a kiss,” referring to her three-year-old granddaughter, Ellie.
