Supervet star Noel Fitzpatrick is mourning the death of his beloved mother, Rita, who passed away on Wednesday at the age of 92.
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In a statement released by the family, they requested time to mourn in private before paying tribute to the matriarch. HELLO! has reached out for comment.
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It read, via The Mirror: "Our beloved mother, Rita Fitzpatrick (92), passed away peacefully in her home at Esker, Mountmellick, on Wednesday 2 February. Rita was predeceased by her husband Sean, brothers Tom, Sean and Pat, her sister Marie and her daughter-in-law Sheila.
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"She is mourned by her sister Philomena, her children John, Mary, Frances, Grace, Noel and Josephine, her daughter-in-law Geraldine, her sons-in-law Robert, Liam, Willie and Patrick, her brother-in-law PJ, her sisters-in-law Bernie, Ettie and Sadie, her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, wonderful neighbours and everyone in her care team."
Noel was able to spend Christmas Day with his beloved mum
The sad news comes after Noel revealed he had spent Christmas Day with his mother, sharing a snapshot of the pair together on Twitter. "Happy Christmas everybody. I'm blessed to get to see my mammy today," he told his followers.
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"This morning she said to me, 'Put on that poncho I crocheted so that I can laugh at ya.' She did just that! - followed by 'I invented that poncho ya know.' Which she sure did! I love her so much. I hope many of you get to be with your loved ones - human and animal - your family. 'Love is all you need. All you need is love.'"
The Supervet star pictured with his parents
Noel was very close to his mum. Sadly, his Irish farmer dad Sean – his "hero" - passed away in 2006 after suffering a brain haemorrhage.
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Writing in his book, Listening to Animals, Noel recalled his father's passing. "Mammy found Daddy's death very difficult," he shared. "She never got to say goodbye and she had desperately wanted him to tell her what to do with the stock and the farm.
Noel and Rita had a very close bond
"Everyone grieves differently, but I know for both Mammy and myself the healing tears didn't come until much, much later, and the empty space in our hearts was never to be filled," Noel said. "There was no definitive closure and no goodbyes.
"And sometimes I'll cry now for no apparent reason when I face some crisis or other, and I wish with all my being that I could talk with him."
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