In his final interview, battling Ronnie Drew revealed the fear he felt fighting cancer -- and how his bravery was inspired by his late wife, Deirdre.

The former Dubliners' front man opened his heart to reveal how he was frightened about his condition and how he didn't know if he would beat it or not.

In an emotional interview, he talked with difficulty due to the throat cancer he was fighting.

Ronnie said: "I'm just frightened. If you nearly walked out under a bus how would you feel? That's the kind of fear I feel. Death scares me but we all have a certain amount of time to live. We all have to go sometime. It's a killer disease and I don't know if I can beat this or not."

Incurable

The famous Dub was speaking only weeks after journalist Nuala O Faolain made national headlines after going on RTE radio to reveal she was suffering incurable cancer.

However, Ronnie said he had a different attitude from the columnist, who revealed her despair after being told the cancer which began in her lungs, was terminal after spreading to her brain and liver.

He said: "I'm not angry. I'm just frightened. I heard she was dying. As regards her way of dealing with cancer, I'm not a judge, everyone has their own way of dealing with things. That's her way of dealing with things. Each to their own."

Ronnie said he would never forget the moment he was told he had cancer after being admitted to St.Vincent's Hospital for tests.

"My initial reaction was terror. There you are going 'Oh Jesus'. You can't prepare for something like this. It comes as a shock. But you just hope for the best and that the treatment cures you and if it doesn't, well that's that."

Immediately undergoing life-saving chemotherapy, the iconic singer had to endure the loss of his trademark white beard and hair.

"I was upset because I had my beard for so long and when it started falling out I shaved it off. I thought I looked like Dracula with pointy ears. I was first diagnosed October 12 -- months ago -- and I've had a lot to go through since then."

However, more tragedy was to strike for Ronnie when just a day before he was due to make his stage comeback after undergoing chemo, his wife of more than 40 years Deirdre succumbed to the same disease which he is now battling.

The devoted husband was at Deirdre's bedside, with their children, Phelim (39) and Cliodhna (43), when she died peacefully on June 7, 2007.

Speaking at that time Ronnie said: "It was a terrible blow when it came. As time goes on you don't get over these things but you have to try and live with them as best you can and try and live for other people, so I am doing the best I can.

"It's not so raw now, but it's still there, the loss", he said.

Bravery

However, Ronnie stated that it was his wife's bravery and strength fighting her illness which really inspired him to deal with and fight his own cancer.

"She would have wished me to carry on. She was such a brave woman, I would seem like a wimp if I did not keep going as best I can."

The illness also prompted Ronnie to re-evaluate his life after decades selling millions of records as lead singer of Irish trad band The Dubliners.

"At the moment I just don't give a fiddler's f*** about records. I'm not particularly worried about making more records or anything else. I just want to stay alive. I'm not really listening to music every day either, unless I just happen to hear it."

Asked if he thought he could beat his cancer, Ronnie said: "I don't know. It's a killer disease. But it won't be me who beats it, it will be the surgeons and nurses and the doctors. Not me."

Something which gave him a boost at the time was The Ballad Of Ronnie Drew, a No 1 single dreamed up by Bono to wish him well and raise funds for different cancer charities.

Nearly a million viewers tuned in to see the track performed on The Late Late Show last February by a host of Irish music stars including Sinead O'Connor, Shane MacGowan, Andrea Corr and Damien Dempsey.

"I haven't an idea about how much money it raised yet but I'm delighted it happened. I thought the whole thing was great. Sitting there watching it being performed on The Late Late Show was absolutely marvellous as well as being extremely gratifying."

Despite going platinum and topping the Irish charts, Ronnie said he doesn't know of plans for any further fundraisers which might involve his name.

But he joked: "Mind you, I didn't know about The Ballad Of Ronnie Drew until Bono came out to my house in Greystones to play me the song."

Contact

And he revealed that Irish music stars like Sinead O'Connor, who featured on the record, were still in regular contact with him, making sure he was keeping well

"They're still there for me and I still meet them. They call and keep in touch to see how I'm doing. They're great people who have been wonderful to me."

Ronnie revealed that he was to meet with doctors at St. Vincent's Hospital to discuss his continuing treatment.

"I don't know what way they're going to treat me at the moment. It's an ongoing thing where you take the treatment and hope for the best.

"What's given me hope is that my hair and beard is coming back after the treatment. I'm reasonably optimistic things will go well."