The loving friendship between Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan is clear. They’ve both recently had health issues and there is an impression of two people subtly looking out for each other. 'I’m 73 now. He’s only a child,' McGettigan says, nodding at Harrington, 64, beside him, and they both laugh.'
They've just released 'We'll Be Missing You' - their first recording together since their Eurovision winner 'Rock n Roll Kids' in 1994. It's a fundraiser for Our Lady's Hospice, and McGettigan says it's 'about people that maybe aren’t going to be here for Christmas. That could be somebody that is abroad, it could be somebody who has passed away. It’s just to let them know that they’re still in your heart.'
The pair are sadly no strangers to grief. Harrington lost four siblings to cancer in a short period of time, while McGettigan's son Shane was killed in a work accident in Boston in 1998.
'We listen to each other’s problems,' says McGettigan. 'I remember Paul’s grief, going through it with him at the time. We wrote a song, for example, about (his sister) Siobhan. Paul has these dreams that he sees her and she’s there.'
McGettigan also describes how Harrington was at the airport when Shane’s body was brought home. “He was there for me. Shane will always be 21. I always think of him at that age. And you know what I really miss I have six grandchildren, and I just often wish that Shane was here to see them and to be with them. He was a great man for lying down on the floor with kids and jumping on them and stuff like that. I miss that he missed it. We should be the ones that are gone. He should be over here. But anyway, I don’t dwell on it all the time.'
They've just released 'We'll Be Missing You' - their first recording together since their Eurovision winner 'Rock n Roll Kids' in 1994. It's a fundraiser for Our Lady's Hospice, and McGettigan says it's 'about people that maybe aren’t going to be here for Christmas. That could be somebody that is abroad, it could be somebody who has passed away. It’s just to let them know that they’re still in your heart.'
The pair are sadly no strangers to grief. Harrington lost four siblings to cancer in a short period of time, while McGettigan's son Shane was killed in a work accident in Boston in 1998.
'We listen to each other’s problems,' says McGettigan. 'I remember Paul’s grief, going through it with him at the time. We wrote a song, for example, about (his sister) Siobhan. Paul has these dreams that he sees her and she’s there.'
McGettigan also describes how Harrington was at the airport when Shane’s body was brought home. “He was there for me. Shane will always be 21. I always think of him at that age. And you know what I really miss I have six grandchildren, and I just often wish that Shane was here to see them and to be with them. He was a great man for lying down on the floor with kids and jumping on them and stuff like that. I miss that he missed it. We should be the ones that are gone. He should be over here. But anyway, I don’t dwell on it all the time.'
