Tommy Fleming: ‘My dog is more famous than me’

Tommy Fleming Shape I'm In

When Tommy Fleming picks up the phone, he tells me he is holding a bowl of fresh fruit and natural yoghurt. 

The Sligoman is getting ready to hit the road again for his 30th Anniversary Tour and it can’t come quick enough.

“I finished the Irish tour on the second of March 2020. Normally I would take six months of the year off [touring], so the first six months in lockdown were not too bad. But the second and third lockdown was really hard on me. 

“I lost three tours in Australia, an American tour, an English tour, and an Irish tour.” 

It was tough, he says, financially and mentally.

But, after gaining “a good few Covid pounds” and drinking a bit too much in lockdown, he’s spent the summer getting back into shape.

“I am actually very proud of myself,” he says, “I’m in the best shape I’ve been in since I was about 24.” 

• Tommy Fleming's latest album All These Years is out today, October 29. His nationwide tour kicks off on November 26 and includes dates in Cork Opera House, the INEC Killarney and Bord Gáis Energy Theatre. Tickets are available online at tommyfleming.com

What shape are you in?

I'm doing really good. I started rigorously exercising and watching my calorie intake and diet from about June and I've lost 19 pounds. So I'm really happy with that.

What are your healthiest eating habits?

In the morning I have a really strong coffee before I go for my run. I don't eat before I exercise. When I come back, I alternate between a bowl of fruit with low-fat yoghurt or a bowl of porridge oatlets with almond milk. I don't have a huge appetite so sometimes I don't need lunch. I make up for lost calories at dinner. I make sure I stock up on veggies and all that sort of stuff, so that I'm full and I'm not tending to snack later on. 

What are your guiltiest pleasures?

Chocolate is my worst. I could start a packet of chocolate digestives with a cup of tea and finish the packet. My way around that is I don't have the cup of tea and then I don't crave the chocolate.

What would keep you awake at night?

If I haven't completed something during the day that I know I have to do tomorrow. I worry about the kids. The things that keep everybody awake at night.

How do you relax?

Exercise relaxes me. I love reading. Fiction doesn't wash with me at all, but I read an awful lot of biographies. I'm addicted to a programme on Discovery plus called Homestead Rescue. It's about this Raney family from Alaska who go around America helping people that have gone living off grid. It would be my fantasy to live off grid away from civilisation.

What’s your favourite smell?

Freshly cut grass or lilies.

When is the last time you cried?

I cried when my friends rang me to tell me that their dog had died, and I knew the dog really well.

What traits do you least like in others?

Arrogance. Dishonesty. Falseness. Bullshit, really.

What traits do you least like about yourself?

My impatience. I like my drive, but I don’t like that I strive for everything to be right - I drive people to distraction with that.

Do you pray?

I have faith, but I don't have a religion. I have a picture on my bedside locker of both my parents and I speak to them a lot. That's my form of prayer. I drifted away from religion a long time ago. 

What would cheer up your day?

My dogs, Teddy and Jodie. I'm a huge animal lover. Sometimes I prefer animals to people. Jodie is a rescue, a little Yorkie. She's become a huge part of the house. Teddy has been with me for 12 years. I think he's more famous than I am. Everyone knows him from being in the jeep. Even when I go running and I might have a hat and sunglasses on me, somebody will say: 'Oh there's Teddy'. My kids cheer me up too. 

What quote inspires you most and why?

My mother had a brilliant one: 'Comparison is the thief of happiness'.

Where is your favourite place in the world?

Enniscrone, it's where I live, and Sydney, Australia. Sydney is my second home. Lockdown has been tough on me with it because I used to go about twice, maybe three times a year. I know more people in Sydney than I do in Dublin.