Appearing on The Meaning of Life with Irish broadcaster Gay Byrne, the Take Me To Church singer reflected on the difficulties his family faced as a result of his father's ill health.
The 25-year-old star, whose real name is Andrew Byrne, recalled his father undergoing an operation which caused significant nerve damage and changed the Byrne family dynamic forever.
"When I was about six or seven he had an operation on his spinal cord which, simply put, didn’t go well," explained the star.
Hozier elaborated on the strain his father's ill health placed on the family as a whole, saying: "It changed all of our lives. It changed his life, it kind of ruined his life in a big way."
In primary school when the operation took place, Hozier insists it signalled the end of childhood as he knew it, explaining: "That’s where childhood ends. That was, I suppose, the watershed of childhood."
Having suffered irreparable nerve damage, his father endured chronic pain and was rendered immobile for quite some time - something which was incredibly hard to witness as a child.
Paying tribute to his mother, the From Eden singer marvelled at the strength she displayed during this time, saying: "I don’t know how my mum did it. When you’re on morphine the whole time… you’re watching someone you love kind of fade away in many ways."
Thankfully, the star's father has improved considerably as a result of undergoing new treatment, with Hozier explaining: "It doesn’t have the doping effects that morphine does, but it still has a similar pain-blocking effect."
We're so glad to hear it.
