Bryan went into full-time care last year, and while it was a heartbreaking decision for his partner Una to make, she says he has more order and less chaos in his life now
Bryan Murray and Una Crawford O’Brien pictured at the launch of the 30th anniversary of Alzheimer’s Tea Day(Image: Sasko Lazarov / Photocall Ireland)
Una Crawford O’Brien says partner Bryan Murray is more content and less frustrated since going into full-time care.
The popular actor, famed for playing Bob Charles in Fair City, went public with his Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2022.
Bryan’s condition has since deteriorated over the past few years, prompting Una, also a Fair City star, to put him into full-time care.
While it was a difficult decision for Una to make, she knows it was the right one and, these days, Bryan is doing well.
Una told RSVP Magazine: “Bryan is in great form at the moment, smiling and chatting away.
“He doesn’t make a lot of sense, but he’s in great form and that’s so important.
“I was with him on his birthday and we went out for a picnic. He also knew me that day.
“When I gave him his card, he read, ‘Love from Una’ and said, ‘That’s you’.
“He had a very good day that day, because most days he doesn’t know me.”
Una Crawford O’Brien and Bryan Murray at the Lauralynn Hero’s Ball at the Clayton Hotel,Burlington Road, Dublin(Image: Pic Brian McEvoy)
Bryan sometimes felt frustrated and asked a lot of questions when living at home with Alzheimer’s, but Una says there is less chaos in his life now.
She explained: “I think what’s good for Bryan is that he’s not surrounded by lots of people anymore.
“There is no chaos in his life, but there is order and I think that’s been very good for him.
“I never realised it when he lived at home and I tried to make life as normal as possible.
“It seems that, without even knowing it, he likes the routine and he’s happy.
“He has a lovely room which is decorated with pictures of himself in various productions on television and stage.
“He doesn’t know himself in the pictures, but he recognises it’s his room.
“I think – no, I know – he’s more content than when he was home this time last year.
“He was very frustrated by a lot of things.
“There was a lot of questioning, and sometimes anger, and that’s all gone now.”
Una has had to get used to living on her own, something she admits was “absolutely horrible” at the beginning.
Over time, though, she has gotten used to her new normal.
“For the first at least four months it was awful, there is no denying it,” she said.
“Then ever so slowly, I just began to get used to it.
“In the last couple of months I’m beginning to enjoy my own company, which I didn’t think I would ever do.
“I love my garden now. I never had time to do it up in the last few years because Bryan just took up every spare minute, because he was restless.
“Now I have time to do things I want.
“In saying that, I have less time than I thought I would, because going to see him takes up a lot of time and I’m still doing his washing and ironing.
“That is my choice completely, but I’ve never ironed so much in my life [laughs].
“’I’ve less free time than I expected living on my own but that’s okay too, because I have more time to do the important things.”
Alzheimer’s Ambassadors, TV producer and presenter Jon Slattery with Tina Gates, Councillor Emma Blain, MEP Nina Carberry, Podcaster Louise McSharry, Beauty entrepreneur Pamela Laird, Content creator Danielle Websdale and Actress Una Crawford O’Brien, pictured at the launch of the 2026 Alzheimer’s Memory Walk, Supported by Aviva Ireland (Aviva) held in the Aviva Stadium, Dublin. (Image: Pic. Robbie Reynolds)
Una says she is more conscious of her health following Bryan’s diagnosis.
“My ex husband, who I had a very good relationship with at the end, died last year, and I had a daughter who died, so I’m very aware of what death is,” she told us.
“I know that might sound like a stupid thing to say.
“It has made me aware now where my sons and my granddaughter are concerned, that when I’m gone, I’m gone.
“So I’m going to try to stay around for as long as I can. I try to stay healthy.
“I walk with my dog Bob, named after Bryan’s character in Fair City.
“I’m conscious of having a good life for as long as I possibly can.”
In Una’s experience, there is plenty of awareness out there about the reality of living with or seeing a loved one have Alzheimer’s.
However, knowing how to access it can be extremely difficult.
She said: “The information is there – when you finally find out where to get it.
“When you’re given the diagnosis, you’re basically handed telephone numbers and leaflets and sent home, because there’s very little they can do for you on the spot.
“You go home and think, ‘What am I going to do, how am I going to cope, where am I going to turn?’.
“I think there needs to be more help in that area, where you can be given not just phone numbers, but people can sit you down and say, ‘This is what we can do to help you, where you can go, what they can do for you.’
“Have a point of contact; someone who can talk you through everything.
“I think that is very necessary to have in place, and we don’t have that at the moment.”
The Alzheimer Society of Ireland is urging people across the country to show their support for Memory Walk and register now to make and share memories on Sunday, 20th September at a location near them. To find out more and to register, please visit www.memorywalk.ie
Read the full interview with Una in the September issue of RSVP Magazine, on shelves nationwide now.
RSVP Magazine September 2026
If you’re a Fair City fan, join our exclusive Facebook group to get the latest spoilers, interviews and pictures – Here
Want to see more of the stories you love from RSVP ? To add RSVP as a preferred source of news on Google, simply click here