– Music, Acting, and Helen –
Surprise! Damian was the mystery guest on the Tommy Tiernan Show on Saturday, April 19, 2025. It is a live chat show where the host has no idea who his guests are until they walk on stage, and is filmed on the RTÉ Campus in Dublin, Ireland.
Damian discussed acting in Wolf Hall and closed the show with a performance of his ballad anthem ‘She Comes’ with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.
“Playing in front of an orchestra is one of the great joys – to sing one of your own songs with a 46-piece orchestra behind you,” he said.
He also announced he will be performing live shows in October in Ireland – specifically Dublin, Cork, and Limerick! Keep watching this space for details and ticket information.
During the interview he opened up about the death of his late wife Helen McCrory and how he dealt with grief. He shared with Tommy how Helen began to prepare their two children for her death:
“Helen’s incredible act of generosity was to normalize death as much as possible for everyone around her, particularly for our children, and essentially to reassure everybody that she had had the life she wanted. Done the things she wanted, had the family she wanted, married the man she wanted, and so it was an act of incredible bravery and generosity because her heart must have been breaking.”
He went on to share, “There’s a well-known sort of psychological state in grief, or post any sort of trauma, which is called the manic defense.”
“I have the manic defense in a very pronounced way, which is that part of you with which you affirm life. So in amongst the inevitable days of being in a heap on the floor bawling your eyes out, there is your manic defense, which is like, ‘come on, live life, move forward,’ and reaffirm life.”
“That life is there for the taking, to be lived. Especially when you have two children, you know, making sure that they have a sense of, that everything is not over.”
Helen passed away from breast cancer four years ago, this month.
You can view Damian’s full interview and performance from season 9, episode 16 on RTÉ One Player below and view more images in our Gallery:
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