Brendan Gleeson feels he is now in “bonus country” as he approaches his 70th birthday.
The renowned actor was reflecting on life and ageing while talking to The Hard Shoulder about his support for Bewley’s Big Coffee Morning Social for Hospice.
Anyone who registers to host a coffee morning in aid of their local hospice on September 26th and Bewley’s will provide the coffee for free.
Mr Gleeson said both his parents received wonderful care in their final days in St Francis’ Hospital in Raheny, Dublin.
Their experiences left him deeply moved and made him passionate about the importance of hospice care that allows people to live their final days in dignity and comfort.
“It was very beautiful to be honest,” he recalled.
“It just felt that they had been sent on their journey with such care.”
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Now 69, Mr Gleeson jokingly said he was “delighted to address his own mortality” and as he approaches a new decade in his life.
“The 70 thing doesn’t phase me,” he said.
“60 was a bit difficult in a sense because I wasn’t sure about the creaky bits.
“It took me about two or three years to work out what I should expect from my own body and what I shouldn’t - there were bits that were kind of falling off a little bit.”
Although he said he expects “the mortality thing will hold off for another little bit”, he also said that, “I kind of feel I’m in bonus country anyway.”
“I think if you’re capable of moving, if you’re capable of being to a certain degree independent of thought… it’s utterly bonus country - all the time," he said.
“The longer you keep that in mind - I mean I think it’s extraordinary that I’m getting away with it.”
Anyone who wishes to take part in Bewley’s Big Coffee Morning Social for Hospice can do so here.
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Main image: Brendan Gleeson. Image: Rory Walsh/Newstalk
