Fair City star Byran Murray ‘isn’t aware’ he’s left Irish soap as wife opens up on dementia battle
Veteran actor Bryan Murray has left Irish soap Fair City after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, with his final appearance as Bob Charles airing last week.
The 75-year-old star played the owner of The Hungry Pig cafe for two decades on the RTÉ show and received his diagnosis in 2019, but continued to make regular appearances alongside his real-life partner Una Crawford O’Brien, who plays Renee Phelan.
British viewers will recognise Murray from his role as the abusive Trevor Jordache in Brookside, also gaining fame as the cheeky character Shifty Boswell in the popular 1980s comedy Bread.
His departure comes after a 20-year run on the Irish soap, where he became a beloved fixture for viewers, with his wife recently confirming the actor does not remember leaving the show following his diagnosis.
She told the Irish Mirror: “He wasn’t aware that he was finished either, and that was good. Once it started to stress him in any way, I knew the time was right for him to finish.”
O’Brien made the decision late last year that Murray would need to step away from the role, praising the support they had received from the production team during the past six years.
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“Brigie was incredible; her and the team have facilitated him the best they could, and that included everyone – acting, staging, sound – they all helped out. Huge thanks goes to them all,” she said.
Executive producer Brigie de Courcy had given O’Brien complete autonomy over when Murray would leave the show and recently spoke of his departure on the Morning Ireland show earlier this month.
“We are all very sad about this. Bryan has been an absolutely wonderful part of the team for the last 20 years, an integral part of the story and an absolute consummate professional,” she said.
The production team made significant accommodations to help Murray continue working, with de Courcy adding: “Initially, we put all of his scripts onto a clipboard so he could read his scene, and it was very efficient.”
They later developed an innovative system using technology to assist him: “We ended up with a situation where he had a Bluetooth ear loop and we had a dialogue guide who would actually listen to him in rehearsal and pick up his intonations and his rhythms and then he would repeat it back to him on the floor.”
O’Brien has shared her experience of becoming Murray’s carer, saying he can no longer be left alone “for any length of time. Being a carer changes your relationship,” she told The Ray D’Arcy Show.
“Looking after someone who has Alzheimer’s, you realise this is not who we were, who we were together. And I think that is the saddest part of it.”
Despite the challenges, she recalled happier times in their relationship and said: “When we got together, he made me laugh so much, I fell off a chair! He brought laughter back into my life.”
During his two decades on Fair City, Murray’s character was involved in several major storylines, which left him to become one of the most favoured characters.
These included experiencing homelessness and being ostracised from the Carrigstown community, before working his way back to the top for a happy ending for his exit.
Bob Charles was also involved in a fraudulent scheme and was respected locally as the landlord of McCoy’s Pub.
Fair City airs Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays at 8.30pm on RTÉ One.