The family of a 62-year-old man who died due to Covid-19 have spoken of the difficulty of being separated from each other during their time of grief.
Stephen Leech's relatives organised an online memorial where they remembered him as a keen singer, whose life was cut short.
Originally from Navan, in Co Meath, Mr Leech was from a family of seven children and lived most of his life in Dublin.
He loved to travel, especially to California to visit family, and he also managed bookmakers in Dublin and London.
His niece, Saramai Leech, said they lost her uncle to Covid-19 last month.
She said he had been especially concerned about contracting coronavirus as he had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but unfortunately he did get it and was hospitalised on 31 March.
Ms Leech said that he rallied initially and she spoke to him two days before he died.
"He sounded okay," she said, "sick, but sounded like he was fighting and winning."
But on 3 April they got word from the staff at St James's Hospital that things were not looking good.
They said they did not think he would be able to fight it and they were starting palliative care as his situation had severely worsened.
Saramai Leech said they were able to ring him and talk to him.
Her aunt Elizabeth was able to talk to him as the staff put her on speaker phone and she was able to tell him that they loved him, cared for him and were all thinking of him.
Saramai Leech said it was hard for her family not to be able to visit him in person.
Although her father, Paul Leech, lived close by, he was advised not to visit because he was in an "at risk" category.
But she said they were able to call her uncle and text him. She thanked the staff at St James's for allowing that to happen and the family are very grateful for all their help.
Stephen Leech died on 4 April.
Saramai Leech said it is very strange because you lose a loved one and that in itself is incredibly tragic and your impulse is to do something to get together so it is an added burden not to be able to do that.
Many of Mr Leech's close relations live across the world.
She said that under normal circumstances she would have come home for the funeral, but they were not able to do that. Instead, the family organised an online memorial.
She said her brother Cormac had suggested they try to do something to mark their uncle's death until they could get together in person.
She said they wanted to do something because it almost feels like it isn't real and that is a big challenge at the moment.
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Twenty-two of Stephen's family members got together online.
The service included prayers, memories, photographs and poetry.
Although they were in different parts of the world, including the US, Germany, Dublin, Navan and London, she said it meant a lot just to be able to hear the voices of her family.
Saramai Leech said it was really important for them to dignify her uncle's death and it also helped them to accept that it had happened.
"Doing something is better than doing nothing because it almost feels like it isn't real," she said.
"I think it was really important to do that and accept that it had happened."
She said physical distance is a real challenge for everybody at the moment and it is made a lot more difficult by the loss of a loved one.
Her family cannot get together in a traditional way and grieve the particular way Irish people do, she said.
Saramai Leech said her uncle gave the best hugs - proper bear hugs - andit is quite poignant that they can't do that now to grieve for him.
But the family say they will get together when the emergency is over.
Saramai Leech said Stephen was a great uncle, and while he was no stranger to struggle, he was always ready to make a joke, or sing a song to make others feel better.
She described him as a terrifically warm man with a great sense of humour, a great smile, a great singing voice and could recite poetry at the drop of a hat and it is hard to believe he is gone.
His nephew, Damien Leech, said that he misses his uncle a lot and he was always very supportive towards him.
Saramai Leech said that as a family they are so conscious now of how real and dangerous the virus is and how important it is to take the advice.
They plan to hold a memorial service for Stephen at a later date.
