Michael Patrick, an actor who appeared on “Game of Thrones,” has died three years after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease. He was 35 years old.
Patrick’s wife, Naomi Sheehan, shared the news of his death on Instagram on Tuesday, saying he had died after being admitted to a hospice center in Northern Ireland 10 days previously. He was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in February 2023.
“Words cannot describe how heartbroken we are,” Sheehan captioned a photo of the couple on their wedding day. “He died peacefully surrounded by his family and friends.”
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and StrokeMotor neuron disease, also called MND, is a group of conditions that destroy motor neurons, which control skeletal muscle activity such as walking, breathing, speaking and swallowing.
“There is no cure for most MND, although new treatments are being developed,” the website reads.
It is still unclear what specific type of motor neurone disease Patrick suffered from. Patrick’s last social media post was on February 6, when he revealed that a neurologist told him he had a year to live.
“It has been said more than once that Mick was an inspiration to everyone who had the privilege of coming into contact with him, not just over the last few years, during his illness, but every day of his life,” Sheehan said in the Instagram post. “Patrick lived as full a life as any human being can live: joy, abundance of spirit, contagious laughter. A titan of a man with red hair.”
Patrick studied science at Cambridge University and performed with the Cambridge Footlights comedy troupe. He also appeared as a Wildling rioter in “The Broken Man” and starred in season 6 of the HBO series “Game of Thrones,” according to IMDb.
The actor and writer also co-wrote the BBC series “My Left Nut,” based on his personal experiences as a teenager, which won three Royal Television Society awards and the Summerhall Lustrum Prize, according to his website.
His additional acting credits include appearances in three episodes of “This Town.”, a drama from “Peaky Blinders” creator Steven Knight, “The Spectacular,” and “Explosions from the Past.”
In his native Northern Ireland, he is known for playing the wheelchair-bound role of Richard III in Shakespeare’s “Richard III.” BBC.
In the Instagram post, Sheehan shared a quote from Brendan Behan that Patrick lived by: “The most important things to do in the world are to have something to eat, something to drink, and someone to love you.”