A DUBLIN man whose brother died from coronavirus was resigned to saying his "last goodbye" while standing on a bench outside his hospital window.
Padraig Byrne's brother Francis passed away on April 1, just a few days after being diagnosed with Covid-19.
Due to provisions put in place to try and reduce the spread of the virus, only Francis' wife and daughter were allowed into the hospital to see him at the time of his death, leaving Padraig with no better option other than to bid his brother farewell from outside the window.
Speaking on Liveline on RTE Radio 1 on Wednesday, Padraig explained the heartache of the situation.
"None of the family were allowed to go up to see him. His wife had been a couple of times. But the family weren't allowed up when the restrictions came in," he said.
Padraig's brother Francis died from Covid-19 last week. Padraig coudn't visit him due to the restrictions and only saw his brother though the hospital window after he had passed away.#liveline#COVID19 @joeliveline pic.twitter.com/6Yzt9JfZCb
— Liveline (@rteliveline) April 8, 2020
Padraig said that he hadn't seen his brother for three or four weeks prior to his death because of the restrictions, and revealed that the only way he was able to see Francis one last time was by standing on a bench outside the hospital.
"The day he passed away, I went up to the hospital and I got a bench in the hospital grounds and I put it up against the window to see him," Padraig said.
"It was the only way I could say my last goodbye to him."
Padraig managed to get a glimpse of his brother about half an hour after he passed, something which the Dubliner admitted bringing him comfort.
"We had tears over the time that he was in hospital, and I shed another tear when I had a look.
"I just said 'goodbye Francis'."
One of seven siblings, Padraig said he was upset that he wasn't able to carry Francis' coffin into the church at his funeral, as he had done for their older brother who passed away previously.
"Little did we know when Francis passed away that we were never going to carry him in, and that just stuck with me ... being brothers, you'd love to carry your brother in," he said.
