Actor Bryan Murray to retire from Fair City after 20 years

Bryan Murray and Una Crawford O'Brien pictured at the launch of the 30th anniversary of Alzheimer’s Tea Day. Picture: Sasko Lazarov / © Photocall Ireland.

Actor Bryan Murray is to retire from Fair City after twenty years of playing Bob Charles on the RTÉ soap.

The 75-year-old, who first appeared on Fair City in 2005, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2019 but continued to appear on the show and went public with his story in 2022 to raise awareness of the disease and to help others.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland, executive producer of Fair City Brigie de Courcy confirmed that Murray will make his last appearance on the soap on Thursday, April 24.

“We are all very sad about this. Bryan has been an absolutely wonderful part of the team for the last 20 years, an integral part of the story and an absolute consummate professional,” she said.

Lord Mayor of Dublin, Emma Blain, singer Daniel O’Donnell, CEO of the Alzheimer's Society of Ireland Andy Heffernan and actors Úna Crawford O’Brien and Bryan Murray pictured at The Mansion House in Dublin to celebrate the launch of Alzheimer’s Tea Day 2025. Picture: Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland.

"He is the very sort of person, when you have a young actor coming in you say to them, 'Go down and watch Bryan and watch what he does, how he occupies the space and how he occupies the screen'."

It comes as Murray’s partner and fellow Fair City actor Úna Crawford O'Brien recently shared an update on his condition, revealing that he had declined in recent months.

Speaking to the Irish Times ahead of Alzheimer's Tea Day on May 1, Crawford O’Brien said she feels as though she has lost her friend and her companion.

“In honesty, I’ve lost my friend and my companion. All he wants to know is, ‘What are we doing next?’ Or ‘How am I getting home?’ When we’re at home,” she said.

Since going public about Murray’s diagnosis three years ago, the couple has opened up about the condition and the stigma that still exists surrounding the condition, with Crawford O’Brien sharing the heartbreaking truth that Murray is no longer happy.

Bryan Murray, Pat Kenny and Una Crawford O'Brien pictured at the launch of the 30th anniversary of Alzheimer’s Tea Day. Picture: Sasko Lazarov / © Photocall Ireland.

“Bryan isn’t happy and he used to be such a happy person. I think it’s because he just doesn’t know … about anything really,” she said.

Crawford O’Brien said she has never been in denial about how the disease would progress for Murray and said she knows there are tens of thousands of families around the country going through similar experiences - one of the many reasons she said she is glad to support the fundraising campaign for the Alzheimer Society of Ireland.

This year marks the couple’s third year as Tea Day ambassadors and the hardest yet for Crawford O’Brien, as Murray has declined significantly in recent months.

This Tea Day, people will gather all over Ireland to share a cuppa and raise vital funds to support the 64,000 people in Ireland whose lives have been turned upside down by dementia.