Saturday with Patrick Bergin: People want to meet me — it’s not unpleasant, it’s very flattering

Actor, and singer Patrick Bergin

07.30

I’ll get up at around 7.30am and have a cup of tea or coffee. I’ll have a bowl of porridge with muesli, local honey and oat milk.

09.00

I like to go for a stroll early in the morning. If myself and Helen are at home in Emmel Castle in Tipperary we might visit The Courtyard Garden Centre in Cloughjordan which has the best coffee –our family insist on going there when they come to the castle.

If we are in Dublin we’ll head out to Powerscourt House and Gardens, go for a walk and have a cup of coffee there.

We are very fond of Powerscourt and were involved with Poetry in Bloom where we devised a river walk based on some of my readings of Robert Graves’ poems.

12.30

If we are in Cloughjordan we might go to the Middle Country Cafe or to Peter Ward’s Country Choice in Nenagh — they sell gorgeous food there. Increasingly I’ll go for a vegetarian option based on taste.

We love to buy Irish and try to eat seasonally when we are cooking at home. If I wasn’t at home in Ireland, an ideal Saturday would be spent in Santa Monica in LA – I really enjoyed my period in LA.

15.00

Helen and I are currently working on a book which we are hoping to release in the Fall. It’s a combination of our original poetry, menus and food – a journey of the heart and stomach.

We are also working on a range of jewellery inspired by the Celtic goddess Clíodhna — goddess of love, beauty and healing.

We are hoping to launch the collection, featuring stones from the area around Carraig Chlíodhna in Cork, in the Autumn. We’ll go for a walk around the woods at our home Emmel Castle.

We have some red squirrels about the place so we are putting up squirrel boxes at the moment. We’re trying to encourage them a little closer to the house as it’s such a pleasure to see them scampering about the trees.

We also have a barn owl so we keep an eye out for him. We are both animal lovers. I’m a patron of Dog’s Trust and we also support My Lovely Horse.

18.00

If we’re in Dublin we might go to Rasam in Glasthule where the food and service is excellent. If we’re in Cloughjordan we might go over to The Green 1918 in Borrisokane. Sometimes we will go to the Tipperary Inn where there’ll be good food and often a good music session.

20.00

Music has been a lifelong passion of mine — it has shaped my life in many ways. I started my career busking around the world and it is one of my great passions.

I am planning to release a song before Christmas and am working with some very important Irish musicians to produce a stunning single.

When I’m on stage, I’m thinking ‘Know the lines, hit the mark, stay in tune… and enjoy’. I still get a great buzz out of performing. It’s the most wonderful feeling in the world when it’s gone well.

When I come off stage people will want to meet me — it’s not unpleasant, it’s very flattering — I know what it’s like as I’m a music fan myself.

One of the biggest achievements of my life was when I sang for the Pope. It was an amazing experience. I would describe myself as spiritual.

I have played St. Patrick, I sometimes perform St Patrick’s Breastplate on stage as a poem and I also recently played Milchu in Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints — he’s the man who put St. Patrick into slavery. So I’ve played the good guys and the bad guys. but I’m better at playing the bad guys.

22.00

If we’re at home we might watch The Tommy Tiernan Show. We often go to the Galway Fleadh when it’s on and I’m a huge fan of Kíla and of Sharon Shannon.

When I go to bed I might read a book of poetry or a novel — at the moment I’m reading a book by Leonard Cohen. I sleep soundly when I go to bed at the end of the day.

• Patrick Bergin’s movie ‘Sunphlowers’ is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime.
• Bergin will perform at the Dalkey Duck in Dublin for Rock Against Homelessness on March 30 in aid of Focus Ireland and will be performing as part of the Liam O’Connor Concert in April at St. Brendan’s College in Killarney.
• He will also perform at Trim Castle as part of the King John Summer Prom in July.
• Instagram: @patrickberginofficial