Eilish previously revealed she spent eight years in a physically and mentally abusive relationship when she married her first husband in 1971

Mrs Brown’s Boys star Eilish O’Carroll has revealed she was left “numb” after she found out about her abusive first husband’s death.

Eilish previously revealed she spent eight years in a physically and mentally abusive relationship when she married her first husband in 1971. She had two sons, Stuart and Lee, from the marriage.

The Dubliner revealed she found out her ex died a year ago. Eilish said: “It was a hard one really because I went into numbville because he is the father of my two sons, who are absolutely amazing people.”

She told us: “My eldest son phoned me to tell me. He had heard via a cousin on Facebook. Not a nice way to hear it but anyway, he rang me and said ‘I’ve good news and bad news’. I said, ‘give me the bad news first’ and he said, ‘Michael passed away’. I said, ‘oh that’s sad.’ I asked him how he was feeling and he said he didn’t know how to feel. And that is exactly the reaction I had. I didn’t know how to feel.

“There was no contact with this man at all. That was his choice. He never made any contact with the kids when they were growing up. You have to remember as well; it’s been well over 40 years that I’ve actually set eyes on the man.

“It’s very hard. It’s like hearing somebody that you knew in your teens and 50 years later, someone phoning you and saying, ‘oh you know she died.’ That kind of reaction where you go, ‘Oh yeah, I do remember her, or I do remember him’. But did I go into a downward spiral? No, I did not. But I didn’t jump for joy either.

“Life is so precious; I would hate anybody losing their life.”

The 71-year-old star opens up about her past on tomorrow night’s Keys To My Life with host Brendan Courtney as she revisits homes that bear witness to her pre-fame struggle.

She said: “Brendan was very gentle. Was it easy? No. I had a choice where I could’ve said that I wasn’t going to talk about it. But I do feel strongly for women who find it very difficult to talk about it but it’s letting other women know that they are not on their own and it does happen and you can have a better life in time.”