The sports broadcaster appeared on the latest episode of Living with Lucy and candidly discussed how it felt to learn about his family's secret trauma at the start of his career
The RTE star made the revelation while working as a cub reporter in the Dail at the beginning of his journalism career.
When the senior reporters he was shadowing heard his surname, they asked Des if he was related to the "drowning". Seven-year-old Joan got into difficulty and her brother Michael, ten, attempted to save her but also got in trouble.Looking back, Des explained to Lucy Kennedy on Living With Lucy that the reason the tragedy wasn't spoken about while he was growing up was because his father wanted to raise his family as one unit, rather than two.
"I think you have to experience it to know it. My mother was a great woman and she was great to them and they all have great love for her."
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