"There are a lot of people out there who have had terrible trauma in their lives. The important thing is family and community and the need to get out there, engage again."
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has opened up about how his life was completely turned around after the tragic deaths of his two children, Ruairí and Léana.
Revealing how the loss shaped him as a person, the Taoiseach said it had a huge impact on his decision-making, particularly when it comes to the pandemic.
Martin and his wife Mary lost Ruairí in 1999 when he died of cot death at only five weeks old, with tragedy striking again in 2010 when seven-year-old daughter Léana passed away as a result of heart problems.
Explaining how grief takes over when you lose a loved one, the Taoiseach shared how his loss has a huge impact on how he made decisions with the pandemic, as his "number one priority [is] to prevent people from dying".
Speaking on
The Brendan O’Connor Show on RTÉ Radio 1, he said:
"We all have personal experiences in life. It does give me a sense, I think, of the finality of when death occurs in a family, the devastation that occurs to a family."
The Taoiseach said that the passing of his son caused him to suffer with a "lot of anxiety" as the "certainties of life" were suddenly gone, adding the experience has ultimately changed him as a person.
Following the loss of his second child, Martin said that the support he received from his "fantastic" network of family and friends really helped.
"They got us through what was a terrible trauma in the loss of Léana and Ruairí," he said.
Adding that he "resonated" with others across the country and has had others reach out to him after going through something similar.
"There are a lot of people out there who have had terrible trauma in their lives.
"The important thing is family and community and the need to get out there, engage again. You have to get up again and you do have to just get out again," he added.
