Christy Dignam, the frontman for Irish band Aslan, has opened up about entering palliative care in an emotional and honest interview from his own home.
Dignam, who has been receiving palliative care at his home since January, spoke to the Ryan Tubridy Show on RTÉ Radio 1 on April 17 about a wide range of issues, including his mortality and his music.
The 62-year-old singer was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder cancer in 2013 and told Tubridy that he remember praying for "10 more years" after the diagnosis.
"And the 10 years are up now and you're kind of saying, 'I know I only asked for 10 but you couldn't throw another 10 in there could you, yeah?'" Dignam said.
"I've still a little bit more to do and until me heart stops I'm going to keep trying to do that." ❤️
— RTÉ Radio 1 (@RTERadio1) April 17, 2023
Ryan sat down with Christy Dignam to talk about Aslan, life, love and death as he enters palliative care. https://t.co/4RYyWjvVaT@RyanTubridyShow pic.twitter.com/CALlI7T4Ye
Dignam, the singer of Aslan's hit "Crazy World," said he has been spending his final days in his living room, where a medical bed has been set up, and described palliative care as a "conveyor belt up to Heaven."
However, he told Tubridy that he is not sure how he feels about religion and said he has prayed but is unsure about who he is praying to.
The Dubliner said he went into a "spiral" after seeing a man on a walk and realizing that he would never be able to go for a walk again.
"I was sitting here one day a few weeks ago and I was looking out the window and this fella walked by, and I thought to myself, 'I'll never do that again. I'll never just go for a walk...' and that sent me into a spiral and I thought about all the things I won't do again," Dignam told Tubridy.
"It's like you're heading into an abyss. I wouldn't be hugely religious. Logic gets in the way. But I believe we're all spiritual beings in one sense or other."
Dignam said he would like his daughter Kiera to carry on his legacy, adding that he believed she had a right to his music.
"If I was looking down from, if there was a heaven, I would dearly love Kiera to carry my legacy. Because if there is anyone on earth that has a right to sing those songs, it would be her, do you know what I mean. So that’s a big vibe with me."
He said Kiera's birth was the happiest moment of his life and said it felt like he "won the lotto" when he met his wife Kathryn.
Speaking about his funeral, Dignam said he would rather "just die," stating that he would like a small funeral with no fuss.
"David Bowie’s was the best funeral ever, you know. You just die and get cremated and that’s it. Nobody knew where it was, who it was. Do you know what I mean, he was just gone and that’s it, just a little puff of smoke.
"That’s the way I would like it. Because you know I don’t want to be sitting and with everybody [at the wake] and people saying ‘oh, he is freezing!"
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