{"id":361099,"date":"2026-03-23T16:17:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T16:17:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/361099\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T16:17:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T16:17:15","slug":"fair-city-star-una-crawford-obrien-shares-heartbreaking-update-on-bryan-murrays-alzheimers-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/361099\/","title":{"rendered":"Fair City star Una Crawford O\u2019Brien shares heartbreaking update on Bryan Murray&#8217;s Alzheimer\u2019s battle"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Bryan, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer&#8217;s back in 2019 and went public with the diagnosis in 2022, was recently put into full-time care as his condition worsened severely<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Una Crawford O'Brien, Bryan Murray\" loading=\"eager\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1_JS233129037.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p aria-label=\"Una Crawford O'Brien and Bryan Murray\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Una Crawford O&#8217;Brien and Bryan Murray(Image: VIPIRELAND.COM)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Una Crawford O&#8217;Brien has said that the only name that her partner Bryan Murray remembers is that of his dog, Bob, as his Alzheimer&#8217;s has worsened.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Una recently shared that she had to put Bryan into full-time care due to the severe deterioration of his condition.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Speaking to Miriam O&#8217;Callaghan on <a aria-label=\"RTELink opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishmirror.ie\/all-about\/rte\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">RTE<\/a> Radio 1 on Sunday, she spoke of how he is doing and the decision to put him into a nursing home.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;I was determined to look after Bryan myself, but I just couldn&#8217;t in the end,&#8221; said Una. &#8220;It was a number of things, it was any one thing. Everyday was different, what would be good one day would be bad the next.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;Bryan&#8217;s mood changed. He was always so good humoured; now he would get very angry with me and when he would talk to me, I wouldn&#8217;t know if the right answer would be yes or it would be no. I was walking on eggshells all the time, which was awful. It was destroying our relationship. He basically was unaware of who I was a lot of the time. Now I can go, I&#8217;ll visit him, I can make him laugh, we can sing songs, we can go for long walks.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Fair City stars Bryan Murray and Una Crawford O'Brien\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0_Bob-and-Renee-Fair-City.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p aria-label=\"Fair City stars Bryan Murray and Una Crawford O'Brien\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Fair City stars Bryan Murray and Una Crawford O&#8217;Brien<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Bryan&#8217;s memory has deteriorated to a point where he can no longer remember anyone&#8217;s name &#8211; except for his dog&#8217;s.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;I don&#8217;t know if he knows it&#8217;s me, I don&#8217;t think he does,&#8221; said Una. &#8220;The only person he really [knows], and it&#8217;s not a person really, is the dog. When I bring bob in, he loves the dog.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;If we&#8217;re out walking, he&#8217;ll take the lead and at some stage he&#8217;ll say, &#8216;come on Bob&#8217;. That&#8217;s the only person that he calls by name now. It&#8217;s deep down.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Una also spoke of her hurt at getting comments on social media criticising her for putting Bryan into a nursing home.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;It really upsets me that people would think I would do it without putting huge thought into it,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I suppose we all think we can cope, but then the day comes that you can&#8217;t. And if people are going to judge you for that&#8230; I just had to put it down. I couldn&#8217;t contend with that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Miriam O'Callaghan and Una Crawford O'Brien\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0_Broadcaster-Miriam-OCallaghan-and-Actress-na-Crawford-OBrien-on-Sunday-with-Miriam-on-RT-Radio-1.j.jpeg\" \/><\/p>\n<p aria-label=\"Miriam O'Callaghan and Una Crawford O'Brien\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Miriam O&#8217;Callaghan and Una Crawford O&#8217;Brien<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Una also spoke of the struggle of dealing with a false post on social media before Christmas that said Bryan had passed away.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;It wasn&#8217;t true and people were phoning me very upset,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I&#8217;d know if I saw a phone call from somebody I hadn&#8217;t heard from in ages that they had heard or that they had read it. It&#8217;s just horrible.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">She also touched on the loss of her daughter Sorcha, who died in a cot death.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;It was actually her birthday on the 15th of this month, she would have been 36,&#8221; said Una. &#8220;It was cot death. She was an extremely happy, healthy baby. She died on the 12th of July.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1_JS344484283.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p aria-label=\"Una met Bryan on the set in 2005 and the pair have been inseparable ever since\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Una met Bryan on the set in 2005 and the pair have been inseparable ever since<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;It was a roasting day, and she was a fantastic sleeper. I went up to pick her up, it was 9.24pm and I went up and she was blue. It was horrendous. I was so happy when she was born. It was a wonderful time; I already had a little boy, he was four and a half. I thought my life is made, I have my gorgeous son and my gorgeous daughter. And then she died.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">She added: &#8220;It took years for me not to feel physical pain. Heartache is real. I miss her. I was only thinking about her the other day and wondering, how different life would be.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Want to see more of the stories you love from the Irish Mirror? <a aria-label=\"Making us your preferred source on GoogleLink opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=irishmirror.ie\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">Making us your preferred source on Google<\/a> means you\u2019ll get more of our exclusives, top stories and must-read content straight away. To add Irish Mirror as a preferred source, simply <a aria-label=\"click hereLink opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=irishmirror.ie\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bryan, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer&#8217;s back in 2019 and went public with the diagnosis in 2022, was&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":361100,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[2012,93,69545,61,60,47450,6085],"class_list":["post-361099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-alzheimers-disease","tag-entertainment","tag-fair-city","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-miriam-ocallaghan","tag-rte"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=361099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361099\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/361100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=361099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=361099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}