{"id":4801,"date":"2026-04-09T19:45:37","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T19:45:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/?p=4801"},"modified":"2026-04-09T19:45:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T19:45:37","slug":"tributes-pour-in-for-irish-actor-writer-michael-patrick-after-death-at-35","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/?p=4801","title":{"rendered":"Tributes pour in for Irish actor-writer Michael Patrick after death at 35"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div><!--$--><\/p>\n<p><h2>The acclaimed actor was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in February 2023.<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose drop-cap \">\n<p>Tributes are pouring in for Irish actor Michael Campbell, known professionally as Michael Patrick, after his death at the age of 35.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>Born and raised in Belfast, Michael was well-known for his work in theatre, writing the play My Left Nut, alongside his frequent collaborator Ois\u00edn Kearney.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>Based on a cancer scare Michael had as a teenager, the play was adapted into a BBC series in 2020 that featured Jessica Reynolds, Lola Petticrew and Sinead Keenan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>On screen, he also had roles in the TV shows Blue Lights, Death and Nightingales, Game of Thrones, Krypton and This Town.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>In February 2023, the actor and writer was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND). His father died of MND when Michael was a child.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>The actor and writer continued to work after being diagnosed. Together with Ois\u00edn Kearney, he staged an acclaimed adaptation of William Shakespeare&#8217;s Richard III.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>In their production, Richard III had MND, used a wheelchair and was portrayed by Michael.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><!--\/$--><!--$--><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>Michael also co-wrote a short film inspired by his diagnosis titled So You&#8217;re Going to Die, which stars Conor MacNeill and James Nesbitt.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>In a statement on Wednesday, 8 April, Michael&#8217;s wife Naomi confirmed that the actor and writer passed away in the Northern Ireland Hospice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>&#8220;He was admitted 10 days ago and was cared for by the incredible team there. He passed peacefully surrounded by family and friends,&#8221; she wrote.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>&#8220;Words can\u2019t describe how broken-hearted we are.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>&#8220;It\u2019s been said more than once that Mick was an inspiration to everyone who was privileged enough to come into contact with him, not just in the past few years during his illness but in every day of his life. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>&#8220;He lived a life as full as any human can live. Joy, abundance of spirit, infectious laughter. A titan of a ginger-haired man.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>&#8220;We are so grateful for every person who supported us through the last few years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>&#8220;Mick loved this quote from Brendan Behan, and this feels appropriate now: &#8216;The most important things to do in the world are to get something to eat, something to drink and somebody to love you. So, don\u2019t overthink it. Eat. Drink. Love.'&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>SNL UK star George Fouracres studied at Cambridge with Michael and called him &#8220;one of the greatest human beings&#8221; he ever shared time with.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>Fouracers&#8217; tribute reads: &#8220;He stars in nearly all of the most carefree memories in my head; he was hilarious, wise, kind, pure mischief, and beloved of everyone who encountered him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>&#8220;It\u2019s always summer in my mind when I think back on our mad capers as students, and our never-ending conversations that could swing wildly between Pok\u00e9mon, the best way to roast a ham, dinosaur phylogeny and the Flight of the Wild Geese. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>&#8220;If you were lucky enough to see his Richard III at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast (the best piece of Shakespeare I have ever seen staged), or any of his achievements on stage or screen alongside Ois\u00edn Kearney, you don\u2019t need me to tell you he was a prolific talent as a performer, writer and creator. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>&#8220;Even as his illness progressed, he grew ever more prolific, \u2018raging against this bloody tyrant, time.\u2019 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>&#8220;There was no prouder Irishman, and as an artist, he not only made his country proud of him but all of us, his friends and his family. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>&#8220;More than that, as a man, he improved the day of anyone he cared to pass it with.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>He also wrote: &#8220;There was no better friend. I will miss him for the rest of my life.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><!--\/$--><\/div>\n<p>#Tributes #pour #Irish #actorwriter #Michael #Patrick #death<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The acclaimed actor was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in February 2023. Tributes are pouring in for Irish actor Michael Campbell, known professionally as Michael Patrick, after his death at the age of 35. Born and raised in Belfast, Michael was well-known for his work in theatre, writing the play My Left Nut, alongside his [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4802,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4994,1698,4064,1627,4995,904,1562,4632],"class_list":{"0":"post-4801","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-featured","8":"tag-actorwriter","9":"tag-death","10":"tag-irish","11":"tag-michael","12":"tag-patrick","13":"tag-pour","14":"tag-sensitive","15":"tag-tributes"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}