Nicky Byrne shares ‘cherished memory’ in tribute to his late father

The Westlife star took to Instagram to share a “cherished memory” he holds of his dad on his anniversary.

“13 years today since we lost this legend. Miss ya Dad,” he captioned the post.

“Do the Biz” wherever you are,” Nicky said.

The former boybander then shared a wholesome throwback of his father with the other “Westlife Dads.”

The clip shows Nicky’s dad, Nicholas, performing That’s Life by Frank Sinatra with the dads of fellow Westlife band members.

Nicky captioned the post: “Always brings a smile to my face. As a singer, all his life with “Nikki & Studz”. He Bloody loved this moment.

“He was in his element this night with all the Westlife Dads! A cherished memory.”

Nicholas passed away 13 years ago from a heart attack, devastating the family.

Nicky had been on his way to the airport when he or his mum couldn’t get through to Nicholas on the phone.

He knew something was wrong at that moment, he said in the years since his dad’s passing.

Nicky quickly got in touch with a colleague of Nicholas, asking if he could check in on whether his father was at work.

He stayed on the phone, but as his dad’s co-worker opened the office door the line went dead.

Nicky was on a plane at this point, battling with the flight crew to let him get off as his father had collapsed.

His wife Georgina was there to collect him from the airport when he got through to St James’ Hospital.

He told Brian Dowling on his Death Becomes Him podcast the story of that day:

"I phoned St James' hospital, tears in my eyes and I said, 'You've admitted somebody there, Nicholas Byrne, and I'm just seeing how he is.’

"And they said, 'And who are you?' I remember breaking down when I said, 'I'm his son'.

"And they said, 'You need to come into the hospital, you don't need to rush but you need to come into the hospital' so I knew he was gone."

Nicky has been open in the years since about the grief he felt in the aftermath of his dad’s death.

The star has said the grief will never leave him: “I think the emotion is always there.

"It never goes away, life changes forever.

"It gets slightly easier to deal with.”