‘I’ve put everything off to look after mum’ – Rory Cowan on his mother’s life with dementia

Rory Cowan has revealed that he has turned down a string of reality TV offers so he would have “no regrets” while he looks after his mother, who suffers from dementia.

The comedy actor, who played Rory Brown on the smash-hit RTE show, said that he refused to become a person who “wished” he had spent more time with his mother when it was too late.

Rory’s mother, Esther (84), became gravely ill a year-and-a-half ago, when he was in Australia touring.
“I was told she had days to live and I couldn’t get home. That’s one of the reasons I left Mrs Brown’s Boys, as we were going back to Australia in January,” Rory said.

“If my mother is still here and with how bad she is, I don’t want to be on the other side of the world.
“I’m taking time off for the rest of the year. I’ve been offered loads of stuff but I’m putting everything off, I’m not even going to look at anything else until next year.

“I’ve been offered practically all the reality shows and I’m just putting them all back, and there’s a lot of other things I want to do.”
Rory also highlighted the importance of getting help for depression, as he attended the launch of the Suicide or Survive (SOS) National Tea Break at The Green Door Market in the Liberties.

Illness
It aims to encourage communities across Ireland to host tea breaks to allow people to talk and raise funds for the charity.

Rory said a friend of his who suffers from depression had taught him about the severity of the illness.